How To Produce A High School Newspaper Essays - Journalism

How to produce a high school newspaper I sat nervously in front of the classroom while my hands shook uncontrollably. I sat and watched each member of my staff walk into the classroom one by one. Lumps formed in my throat as I tried to swallow them into my churning stomach. These were the chosen students who were going to depend on me, their editor-in-chief, for guidance and assistance. All of a sudden, a piercing ringing of the bell indicated that it was time for me to begin. I was the person in charge of nineteen fellow peers. I wasn't sure what to expect while hundreds of questions raced through my mind: What if they don't listen to me? What if I'm not experienced enough? Can I just forget about this and go home? The first day of class was the most nerve wracking and scariest day I have ever had to experience during the course of my short-lived newspaper career. Coordinating a high school newspaper staff and creating a newspaper every three weeks is a lot of fun, but on the other hand, it involves a lot frustration. Much goes into producing a high school newspaper, but most important is the ability to manage and organize a group of people within an allotted amount of time. Patience is also crucial in order to understand and help other staff members. However, when it's completed, the satisfaction is its own reward. Before understanding the entire newspaper production process, there are a few key people whose duties rely heavily on it. The editor-in-chief is the actual ?big cheese? or ?head honcho.? As the editor-in-chief, it was my job to organize and lead the class during every issue to produce a newspaper. This stressful position required good leadership skills, people skills, and production skills since the other staff members depended on me, the editor-in-chief, to direct them. The advisor is usually a teacher who doesn't actual run the class, but advises the editor-in-chief when needed. Section editors have the duty of laying out each page in their section. Some section editors have assistants to help them, but most don't because they usually only have two to three pages. Reporters are the glue in this process. Everything relies on their story and the deadlines they meet. Their main duty is to meet the deadlines. If a reporter misses a deadline, or they are late, then the entire production process gets held back. For instance, if a story is not ready, the section editor can't layout the page without a story; the photographers can't size the pictures onto a page without a story on it; the advisor can't final that page until its completed with a picture and story on it; and finally, the editor-in-chief can't take the paper to press without the pages finaled. So, everything that happens revolves around the reporter and his/her story. The second duty of a reporter is to write a story interesting enough so that the readers will read it. There is no point in writing a story just to take up space. If that were the case, then the efforts (of the entire class) would be meaningless. Photographers also have many duties. They are responsible for taking and printing all the pictures that will be placed in the newspaper. The pictures must be visible and exciting to attract the reader's attention to the story. Sometimes, they have to take twenty or thirty pictures of one athletic event to get that one good action shot. In order to follow the procedures of newspaper production, there are a few terms and newspaper lingo to understand. Dummy sheets are the sheets of paper where section editors design the pre-layout of their pages. Each section editor is responsible for about two to three pages. To crop a picture means to cut a picture or clip art in the appropriate proportions to the picture box where it is to be placed. Copy is the actual text. All the cartoon-like pictures or hand-drawn pictures are the clip art designs. Gutters are the columns between the text that must remain empty. When a story or layout is finaled, the reporter has been through the process of