LEADERSHIP

I served as Online Editor for my junior and senior year.

EDITING

Every two weeks, a student must contribute either one video, story, podcast or design.

The first day of our two week cycle falls on a Monday. On the first Monday, I ask the writers and videographers to work together in coming up with topics for them to cover. I walk around and sit with different groups and give them suggestions where they may be stuck. While I do this, I also accept their story proposals and write them down so I can later type them onto a Google Document.

On Tuesday, I print off the document and take it to the photo editor, Alina Peret, who then makes sure that the photographers sign up to take pictures for every story. After this, I take the proposal list and give it to the designers so they can either sign up to create a design for a story, or create an original work of their own. Once everyone has signed up, I place the document into a plastic cover attached to the photography room's door, that way everyone can easily access what they have signed up for.

Writers are given a week to interview and write.

Stories are due the following Tuesday. I divide the stories up with my co-editor, Dahlia Bray. I edit the stories online, so that the writers and I can quickly go back and forth until the story is ready to go the adviser, Lisa Stine. I check for AP style, grammar mistakes, clarity and depth. Sometimes I ask the writer to get additional interviews or get more information from a source if I feel they can help drive the narrative more than relayed information from bigger publications. After I have finished making corrections, I leave a comment at the top of their story, explaining what I feel they did good on as well as what may still need some work.

On Wednesday, photos must be edited and uploaded into the server.

The writer's story goes to Stine on Thursday and I see it again once it has been drafted onto prospectiveonline.com on Friday. Writers must include the photo with their story, along with tagging the story and filling out appropriate fields.

Late Friday or during the weekend, I check the drafts to ensure they are correctly filled out and titled. I then schedule stories to post throughout the next two weeks while we begin the process again.

I edit using Google Drive, making it easier to help writers quickly turn around coverage. The purple are changes made by me, while paragraphs in green are comments I made.

Once I have finished editing, I leave a comment at the top of the writer's story.

I explain what I liked about their story and also what they can improve on.

TEAM BUILDING

At the beginning of the year, the editors decided we wanted our staff to be like family. We decided to plan a staff outing -- a potluck at the photo editor's house. We got together to play games, eat good food, and get to know another.

The editors took turns making treats for the staff to celebrate birthdays. In November, we created a powderpuff team consiting of newspaper girls, led by two of our senior boys.

After a busy online cycle, I baked cookies to give to the few writers who successfully met deadline. Small rewards can go a long way. Those who did their work on time were glad to be recognized in front of the staff and have a snack afterward.

In addition to this, I make an effort to start conversations with students on staff. I try to ask them how they're doing or start a conversation about how much I liked a photo, video or story they turned in. Even small encouraging words can help a student be more motivated or confident with their work.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

When students joined staff, they had little to no experience writing journalistic stories. Instead of teaching through my edits, I wanted to lead a class before the staff ever had their first assignment.

Sarah Graham, a print editor, and I led "Writer's Boot Camp," a several day long course in which we instructed students on how to purposely interview, find an angle and write to engage the audience.

Here are our talking points: