Editing
Since being named Co Editor-in-Chief, there have been a few things we have changed to try to improve the publication as a whole. The other editors and I have tried to introduce a coaching model where editors and other leaders are supportive of staff members. I have learned sometimes writers need to be challenged in a respectful manner to do their best work.
Remind
After being on staff as both someone in a leadership position and someone who was not, I had always felt a disconnect between staffers. For my publication, there are two separate hours of class time and there was nothing tying those two hours together until this year. Going into this year, the other Print Editor-in-Chief, Charlotte, agreed we needed to use the app “Remind” to help communication. Since we implemented the use of this app in August, we have used it to remind staffers of content being due, meeting times, general announcements, and available breaking news stories.
This is an example of a breaking news send-out I did for a story that we wanted ready for print. The story broke on Friday, and the print deadline was Tuesday. I knew sending this send-out to staff, that it might be difficult to get a response due to it being the weekend after exams and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, but we still got one.
As soon as I got a response, I helped align the writer with sources as quickly as possible. I offered advice to assure that the story would be as unbiased as possible.
The edits made in color are the first revisions I made to the story after it being turned in. What is not reflected in these edits are the changes I made to the lead while getting ready to send the paper out. I changed the lead to have more of a news feel than feature.
This is the published story.
This story was written by a talented writer and there were no structural problems. I tried my best along the way to help the writer with sourcing over the weekend. Without the use of the Remind app and better communication, this story likely would not have been published due to deadlines.
Sheets
Going into the new year, with a new advisor, as an editor I knew that we would have to change how editors kept track of staffers. At the start of the year, I proposed two new spreadsheets, one that tracks extension and late stories, and another that is meant for editors to use during story check ins.
For the “Extensions/ Cut stories” editors write down any extensions given out on stories, late stories, or issues with stories. This has made it easier for our advisor to keep track of staffers' progress throughout the year and demerits.
As of this year, we started doing check-ins in class at a minimum of twice before a story is turned in. To do this effectively, we needed check-ins spreadsheets. These are to be used by the editors in each class to remember what to tell writers in class when reviewing their stories with them. We don’t use it for every story, especially those where there is not much to tell the staffers.
My approach to editing
In the school day, there are two hours with each Print Editor-in-Chief in each. We have a system where we both edit those in our class, so we can have a more in-person editing approach. I have found from being on the leadership staff for the past two years that making critiques over text/Google Docs comments can be confusing. Below is my structure to being a good leader for editing.
1. Sourcing Checks
We do our story sign up on Mondays and all content is due the following Monday, giving writers a full week to submit their work. Between Tuesdays and Wednesdays I meet with each writer to make sure they have correct sourcing. Each story needs an expert source on the topic of the article, a teacher/parent, and a student to represent the student body. I have noticed that by doing these check-ins, each story has strong sourcing. We rarely have sourcing issues.
2. Editor's first look
​After stories are due on Monday, I go into each submitted story and review for any major issues. Most of my comments refer to structural changes, like LQTQ (Lead, Quote, Transition, Quote) format, when to introduce sources, and how to attribute. In these I try to make any apparent AP Style corrections, but leave most of those for the copy editors. While doing these I also fact check any stats and check any quoted articles online to ensure we are being factual. I have noticed the majority of my time looking over stories is spent with the first year staffers still trying to adjust to being part of a publication.
3. In class check-ins
After making comments on the documents, I meet with each writer in person to explain all my comments. Most of the time writers realize the mistake they made and fix it throughout the story. If the writer does not understand the correction I made, I sit with them in class to explain line-by-line any mistakes made.
4. Deadline edits