BULLETIN: Additional Chapter 4 notes

1. Present general information on the school newspaper staff.

The organization of a school newspaper closely parallels that of a commercial newspaper.

2. Present the structure and functions of specific news organization roles.

There are several news organization roles:

EXECUTIVE STAFF

• Publisher (PUB): The principal serves as a publisher. Just as the publisher of a commercial newspaper is rarely concerned with the minute-to-minute operation of the paper, neither is the principal in most cases. The principal is usually working close with the adviser and the students. The principal sets broad guidelines and policies. The principal oversees the entire publication from a business and organizational aspect. This person is responsible for the incorporation of the publication as a company and the acquisition of staff members to produce a quality magazine.

• Adviser (ADV): The adviser serves as a liaison between the publisher and the students, public, and faculty. This person is often caught in the middle of disputes between the student’s aims and that of the administration. The adviser must be able to keep all parties ‘happy’ so that everyone involved is pleased. The adviser is responsible for overseeing all of the facets of the paper. Schedules meetings, evaluates stories, and recommends promotions or demotions. The adviser oversees the financial aspect of paper (i.e. payment of printer, acquisition of funds, etc.)

DEPARTMENT HEADS

• Editor-In-Chief (EIC): The Editor is in charge of the total production of the paper. This person oversees all jobs carried out by the rest of the staff. The EIC must have specific knowledge of how to run everything that is involved with putting the paper together and should be able to answer any questions about production. The editor will oversee the overall layout of the paper and will provide the Section Editors with input on their section layouts and designs. In addition, staff meetings are organized and run by this person.

• Managing Editor (ME): The Managing Editor is a senior editor position. This position is under the EIC. The ME has the responsibilities of keeping up with dates and working with the staff in order to maintain deadlines. The ME will in essence serve as organizational manager, a role that will require both planning and organizational skills since this person will be overseeing the Layout & Design, Tech, Art & Photography, and Business Departments. The ME will work with the EIC and ADV in scheduling meetings with staff members. The ME, along with the assistance of the EIC and ADV, will create a Futures Book that will be used to highlight and plan/organize up-coming dates, events, stories, etc.

SUBEDITORS

• Senior Copy Editor (SCE): The senior copy editor The Senior Copy Editor will oversee all writing in the various departments and will be available for assistance with writing and/or editing. Every story and/or document containing text must go through the SCE before it will be published. The SCE will both train and assign persons in the various departments to the role of copy editor. These copy editors will oversee the editing of text in their specific departments, but will report to the SCE. All stories MUST be checked carefully and proofread by the SCE, and ALL facts and quotes used in a story will be checked as well.

• Section Editors (SE): All Section Editors (CAMPUS AFFAIRS, SPORTS, SCRIPT, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, FEATURES, and OPINION) are responsible for their sections and reporters. The SE will design the layout of their section with the help and final approval of the EIC. SE will also assign stories to reporters and be responsible and held accountable for all of the reporters under their section, this includes contributing writers that work outside of the publication’s staff. The main task of the SE will be to make sure that all stories under their section are turned in on time and that all pages contained within their section are finished by the scheduled deadline. All SE are expected to assist their section reporters with the writing, editing, and revising of their stories. The SE will also schedule and conduct meetings with the members of their sections. In addition, the person assigned this role must be knowledgeable of the designated type specifications and have proficient knowledge of all layout/design software being used by the staff. These persons MUST work well with others and will report directly to the ME and/or EIC.

• Assistant Section Editors (ASE): In each section there will be persons who will aid in production, editing and layout. These ASE will be working with the SE and help layout section pages, assess and collect stories, find information, and communicate with the Art Department for the obtaining of photos and/or artwork/graphics. The main purpose of the ASE is to aid in the many facets of production that occur within the section. This person must also be trainable and possess a broad knowledge of how the section and publication operate.

• Art Director (ARD): The Art Director is responsible for managing and the Art Department and the various sections that are within. This person will assign personnel to the Photo, Ad, or Art sections and assign managerial duties to those that they feel are adept in operating the section. The ARD will also facilitate communication between the various layout sections and coordinate the acquisition of photos and artwork/graphics, and design advertisements for the business department’s ad sales team. In addition, the person assigned this role must be knowledgeable of the designated type specifications and have proficient knowledge of all layout/design software being used by the staff. The ARD may also be responsible for creating and/or obtaining artwork needed for section stories. This person must be highly creative and will report to the ME and/or EIC.

• Blog Manager (BLM): The Blog Manager is responsible for organizing and coordinating the all of the technological aspects of the publication. The BLM will manage the organization of the blog site.

• Business Manager (BSM): The Business Manager is in charge of the whole Business Department and will manage all aspects of that department. This person must be highly skilled at organization, money management, and fund raising. Also, this person must be an independent thinker; thus generating his or her own ideas in regards to the business aspect of the paper. The BSM is in charge of all ads, funds, equipment, or supplies needed. This person will also head the PR department and hold update meetings weekly with the ME and/or EIC regarding the status of the ad sales. The BSM is also responsible for coordinating the circulation and distribution of the publication, writing letters to potential business clients, setting advertising rates, and creating ad contracts. The BSM is also responsible for communicating the status of the Business Department to the ADV, EIC, and ME.

• Senior Photographer (SR PHTG): A Senior Photographer will take photos and be instrumental in managing the corps of PHTG, as well as delegating photo assignments; this person will report to the ARD. The person assigned this role must be knowledgeable of the designated staff camera equipment and have proficient knowledge of all photo editing software being used by the staff. He or she must also be willing to train the corps of photographers employed by the staff.

SUPPORT STAFF & REPORTERS

Support Staff

• Ad Designer (AD): The Ad Designer will design ads or adjust sizes to the ads so that they fit to the paper. The AD will work wit the Ad Sales Rep and make sure that all of the ads received are the right size and format. AD must be highly creative and adept at designed well-detailed ads. In addition, the person assigned this role must be knowledgeable of the designated type specifications and have proficient knowledge of all layout/design software being used by the staff.

• Art Designer (ATD): The Art Designer is responsible for creating and/or obtaining artwork needed for section stories. This person must be highly creative.

• Photographer (PHTG): Photographers are responsible for taking pictures needed for stories or pages. The PHTG will be expected to keep up with all photos taken and facilitate communication between the Photo department and the various layout sections. PHTG will be responsible for turning in general photo assignments at the end of each week. PHTG are not required to be enrolled in the class, but must be willing to meet all deadlines set by the class staff. The PHTG will maintain a folder of job assignments (i.e. photo requests) so that they can employ a more organized system. This person will report to the SR PHTG.

• Staff Recorder (SR): This person will essentially take minutes during meetings for record keeping purposes. They will also provide staff members with copies of written minutes at each meeting. Also, this person will record notes during the brainstorming sessions and manage the Future’s Book. This person will report to the ME.

Reporters

• Reporters (RPT): However, in each section a small corps of writers will exist. These reporters will be responsible for going out acquiring information, writing their stories per publication standards, and submitting them on time. Reporters report directly to their SE and/or ASE. These persons must be assertive and willing to meet deadlines. RPT will turn in stories of substantial quality. These pieces will then be graded/evaluated using a reporter-tracking rubric, which will assess them on a number of journalistic skills. There are three types of reporters:

 Cub: a cub reporter is a novice reporter who more or less may be assigned to pick up brief items from fairly regular sources or to check weekly three or four sources to see if they have any news to offer.

 General Assignment: a general assignment reporter goes anywhere for news. They have an unlimited base of sources. This type of reporter is a jack-of-all-trades, and goes anywhere the editor assigns.

 Beat: a beat reporter covers the same news sources for each issue of the paper. They build a base of sources that they rely on while writing their stories. This builds consistency and rapport.

4. Present a definition of the beat system.

The beat system divides the community into logical areas that produce news. Reporters assigned to a beat make regular contact with the sources of possible news to find out what’s worth writing about.

As a reporter assigned to one or more beats, students are expected to contact their sources regularly to learn what news might be developing.

5. Examples of the beat system.

Beats on a city newspaper include the following:

• city government
• police
• education
• hospitals
• public transportation

Beats on a school newspaper include the following:

• administrators
• the school board
• department chairs
• student government
• organization leaders

6. Present the pros and cons of the beat system.

Pros: The beat system tends to provide routine news efficiently. Stories about awards, upcoming concerts and plays, new courses, and policy changes grow out of this system quite easily.

Cons: The beat system tends to limit the reporter with a wide variety of opportunities to receive news efficiently.

7. Present information on the WED Approach.

The WED approach (or maestro) is a prime example of the team approach to staff organization. This method enables the W(riters), E(ditors), and D(esigners).

The method is simple. A team of editors, reporters, photographers, and designers work together planning stories and graphics before the reporting begins. The concept requires reporters to think visually in an effort to figure out ways to break long stories into readable chunks.

All parties involved in this approach are in a sense forced to consider the dilemmas of his or her teammate. Ultimately, the designers need to consider that the information is first; how it looks is second.

CONNECTION: This connects to Assignment #2 (p. 95)