Restructuring the editorial staffDuring my first year as Editor-in-Chief, it was a struggle. Coming out of the pandemic, publishing only online, and trying to run a hybrid publication both online and in print for the first time in our publication's history, there was a lot to handle. We were also trying out a new structure for the editorial staff, with section editors for news/feature, lifestyle, sports, and opinion, in addition to copy editors, visual editors, and an Editor-in-Chief of Online, my role, and Editor-in-Chief of Print. The system proved to be too clunky and decentralized, with coordination being difficult. My fellow Editor-in-Chief and I elected to restructure how the editorial staff worked for next year. We took what our adviser gave us on our own editor applications, and began revising. The first move was to remove the section editors-- most of them were left with nothing to do the previous year, or were confused about their roles. Additionally, the roles of the Editors-in-Chief were moved down one level, to become the Print and Website Editors. The Editor-in-Chief role became a role that was not associated with either the website or in-print. Instead, it allowed the Editors-in-Chief the necessary flexibility to help and mentor in both publications, while the day-to-day managing and assignments were handled by the paper or the site's respective editors. We also overhauled the application process, changing the application so that it allowed for optional letters of recommendation. The remaining roles were rewritten to give the applicant an idea of how much work would be expected from them. This new system has worked well so far, with both the website and print paper publishing regularly. As Editors-in-Chief, we are able to better mentor and work with staff throughout their assignment. I hope to see the system continue with future staffs of Portrait. |
Our reworks and restructuring of the application is mostly within the role descriptions. Similarly, titles remained similar for 2022-2023, but roles changed.
|
Guides, presentations, and policy
I don't love public speaking. But I love making presentations and guides if they are helpful for others. Most of my presentations focus on the website and ways people can help contribute to it. Throughout the past two years, I've helped create several documents we circulate internally, including contributing to the editorial policy and other "About" pages on our site during my sophomore year. The remainder of my work in this area is presentations, and how-to's. I don't like talking at the staff, though. When I present, I try to ask questions, and mainly use it as a way to guide them through a resource that they can use later. I also try to make them fun, so if someone is at home looking at them, it's more than just a chunk of notes.
This year and last, I've helped push the staff to try more breaking news stories. Last year's presentation was a bit long for someone who just wants to go through quickly, so I rebuilt it from the ground up into a new presentation formatted more like a lesson, including an activity at the end. I am hoping this presentation can be used in the future as both a resource and something that can be included in training for new staff. As part of our restructure for 2022-2023, I also reorganized the Google Drive we use, and tried to create an easier way to navigate the many resources and presentations we have in our Drive. I updated several old documents and got rid of irrelevant ones. While the Drive remains difficult to navigate at first, it still provides relevant resources to those who brave enough to click through multiple folders. |
|
Editing over google driveEditing on Google Drive is tricky. It's easy to want to write short, to the point comments about the writing I'm reading that can easily be misconstrued, and it's made so easy to pick apart every tiny detail of a story. That isn't my goal in editing, though. As an editor, I strive to provide comments and criticism that is actually useful to the writer, instead of just saying their work isn't good enough. To me, work is always "good-enough," as long as they are trying their best and are willing and open to feedback. It's difficult to let someone pick through your writing, something I know personally from previous editing experiences. That's why I always give writers verbal comments and compliments, based on the many good things I notice in their work too. I believe everyone has something they should be proud of in their work, and giving verbal compliments is a good way to help them recognize what they did well. I also choose to give verbal comments for corrections or changes because I know that being able to talk face-to-face allows the writer to talk about what they might disagree with, or for me to explain my rationale for certain suggestions. One-on-one editing is the most effective type in my experience, and restructuring our staff as we did in 2021-2022 allows the Editors-in-Chief to do this even more. |