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Editing
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What I've Learned
Supporting Writers
Having been in journalism for some time now, I often forget that there are new writers who aren't sure how to write articles. Nothing helps remind me more than being an editor. Writers can have a large range of problems - from issues with angle ideas, to biased writing, to AP Style mistakes. Part of my job is to grade them on these mistakes, but a more important part is to guide them towards fixing them. One of my writers had a lot of bias in her first pieces, and had angles that wouldn't interest Carlmont students. However, throughout the year, we worked together to improve her writing. Now, her pieces have much less bias and her stories - while continuing to be top news stories - have had student focused angles. Her story about Omicron earned over 30,000 views!
Saying "No"
Loving journalism as much as I do, I tend to want to foster this fondness in others as well. Unfortunately, editors don't always get that opportunity. Whether it's a bad pitch, an unpublishable article, or a request for an unwarranted extension, it can be really disheartening to have to say "no" to writers. Due to this, I've learned other ways to let writers down, like brainstorming alternative story ideas, offering writers the opportunities to fix their mistakes in order to get published, and working with writers to make the writing process smoother so that their next article won't require an extension. Ultimately, editing had taught me how to use authority in a responsible and fair manner.
Staying Positive
In my journalism class, we have an editing mentorship programs so that sophomores are prepared to be editors in junior year. My editor mentor taught me the basics of AP Style and approving pitches, but I would argue that the most important lesson I learned from her wasn't technical. Rather, it was the lesson of positivity. No one likes to be criticized, and writing can be so personal. Adding positive feedback along with negative feedback when editing writer's articles can help foster a good editor-writer relationship and can boost writer productivity. I always make sure to "add a smile" when assessing writers.
From B to A: How I Grade
I like to incorporate a good balance of content editing and AP style. In this beat, my main focuses were bias in writing, which is always an adjustment for sophomores who are used to essays, and basic AP style. When I summed up my edits to the writer, I made sure to mention that her mistakes were common for beginning writers and that I was excited for the rest of the year.
This was the last beat I edited for this writer. I had much less feedback to give and saw many of the comments I had given being fixed. I also saw growth in areas that I hadn't expected, like visuals. Through our time together, I saw this writer merge her essay style of writing and the journalism program's necessities. This article earned over 30,000 views!
Leadership
Package Coordination
My friend and I organized a project about our school's Heritage Fair Assembly. This assembly highlights the different culture clubs at Carlmont, giving each club the chance to perform and display traditions that they practice throughout the year. We knew that exemplifying this diversity was important to Carlmont and its community, and we though our site needed to display this sentiment. We had to coordinate and communicate with many of our classmates to put the media package together.
When the project was finally published, we made sure to make our appreciation for all of our staff writers clear. We were proud of everyone, and so proud of the final product!
Managing Editor
As Managing Editor for the 2022-2023 Highlander, I was active in creating a new style guide and re-organizing the method we use to create magazines. This was a new experience since I had only designed one complete spread before being given this opportunity, but I wanted to be active in the leadership and decision-making process. Luckily, my fellow Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief were extremely supportive, and I was able to grow and offer my ideas to the team. Together, we recreated the process for the Highlander, allowing people to pursue different journalistic passions - whether that was fun writing, feature writing, photography, or art. This went through a revising process throughout the year - we had to add an extra step so that I could organize assignments based on people's top choices ahead of time instead of wasting class. We also created boards to communicate deadlines and assignments with our staff, which were not as clear the year before.
Mentoring
As a Scot Scoop editor, I worked with an interested sophomore to prepare them for editing in their junior year. After editing a couple of practice articles and hearing my feedback, he was ready to edit official articles. His feedback was great and very thorough, although I occasionally had to correct some edits. In his most recent articles, he has caught every mistake. He definitely took my advice into account, adding positives along with criticism and mentioning both content and grammar errors.
Not only did I assist my editor mentor on this article, but also the writer of the article. This was the first time the writer had taken her own photos, and she was feeling unsure about attending a live event in order to do so. I helped her get a professional camera and taught her the basics of using it. I suggested a few different angles, and she came up with this photo. It's one of the best that a writer has submitted to me this year!
Team Building
In addition to the many parties and bonding activities we've had this year, including a non-denominational Secret Santa and an individually-ran journalism convention, there are more everyday forms of team bonding used in journalism as well. One of these methods is the journalism Discord server we have. I use the Discord to connect with members of other classes, who I might not talk to every day. I have also organized trivia about senior members of the class to help bond staff members and have helped plan many outside of class bonding activities, like bowling and dinner.
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