No one wants to be responsible for informing the student body of a death. At most schools, such things are handled through administration or counseling offices of some kind.
Many school papers avoid reporting deaths -- no obituaries, limited coverage, etc -- usually citing ethical issues. But you cannot simply pick and choose the news. Student newspapers have an equal responsibility to report tragedies as the professional media outlets.
There is no denying, however, the necessity of handling these situations delicately. Many schools' administration argue that any case of suicide should simply not be reported through campus media, due to copy cat concerns. They also try to limit coverage of violent crimes, fearing for the school's reputation, as well as some illnesses.
A good newspaper can report on these cases without bias, however, and can provide valuable information about limiting the chances of further tragedy. In a situation involving suicide, a newspaper staff can take a proactive position and direct students towards counseling and other help. If there is a legitimate concern, such as illness or crime, a newspaper can inform students of precautions to take.
Finally, if a member of a campus' community dies, the community has the right to acknowledge it. Even a simple obituary can help with the grieving process.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Your Bible and Mine
I've used an AP Stylebook
as a pillow more than once, at least partially in hopes of getting just a few more minutia down through osmosis. Most editors live and breath AP style, as it should be.
But, an AP style guide isn't enough to keep your paper consistent -- which is the goal of AP style. You need to make your own additions.
What all should be in your personal style guide?
Fact sheets can also be useful to have around. Lists of information about certain facets of school life, such as student body statistics, can speed up your fact checking process.
as a pillow more than once, at least partially in hopes of getting just a few more minutia down through osmosis. Most editors live and breath AP style, as it should be.But, an AP style guide isn't enough to keep your paper consistent -- which is the goal of AP style. You need to make your own additions.
What all should be in your personal style guide?
- Names of important people on campus (i.e. officials, student government leaders, athletes) with double checked spelling, as well as their correct titles.
- Correct names for campus buildings, along with acceptable nicknames. If your student union is known across campus as the "U", make sure you establish a style for it that students will recognize.
- Any deviations from AP style that you regularly use. For instance, if you capitalize "the" in the name of your university, you should note it to make sure you are consistent.
- Organization-specific terminology that some writers may find unfamiliar, such as terms dealing with Greek organizations (fraternities and sororities).
Fact sheets can also be useful to have around. Lists of information about certain facets of school life, such as student body statistics, can speed up your fact checking process.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Farming out your comics section?
Some papers chose not to run any comic strips, or puzzles, or anything 'fun', although it seems like an easy way to draw in readers -- Johnny may grab his friend in microeconomics and say "Read this strip!" or "What's 10-down?", but he'll never ask, "Did you see that review of the cafeteria?" It's up to you, though; it's your paper. If you aren't, though, you won't find this post very interesting.
There are thousands of comic strips out on the vast internet, whose creators would love the exposure of even a student newspaper. But are they valuable to your paper? Their value boils down to how much of a local paper you are trying to create. It's easy to convince an art student on campus to draw a comic, or even make one yourself (there are several comic strip generators online, even -- all you have to do is upload a photo or two). It's just as easy to get puzzles or humor columns.
It's not ridiculous to look outside your community for these things, though. You may be able to find a more dependable or humorous source online. Some will charge, some will be work for exposure alone. It all boils down to how much of your paper you want to come from students at your school.
There are thousands of comic strips out on the vast internet, whose creators would love the exposure of even a student newspaper. But are they valuable to your paper? Their value boils down to how much of a local paper you are trying to create. It's easy to convince an art student on campus to draw a comic, or even make one yourself (there are several comic strip generators online, even -- all you have to do is upload a photo or two). It's just as easy to get puzzles or humor columns.
It's not ridiculous to look outside your community for these things, though. You may be able to find a more dependable or humorous source online. Some will charge, some will be work for exposure alone. It all boils down to how much of your paper you want to come from students at your school.
Monday, August 27, 2007
The Class of 2011
Every year, Beloit College publishes a list of points to keep in mind about the world view of new students. The original intention of the list was to aid instructors in relating to their students, but it is now an annual event for national newspapers. USA Today published the list last week.
Any item on this list is an opportunity for an op-ed piece or an interview with an instructor. Heck, what about the differences between this year's freshmen and this year's senior class? Those four years make the difference of whether a person might personally remember the fall of the Berlin Wall!
A list like this is also an opportunity to consider your paper's demographics. What's popular with the 'new kids'? And what doesn't matter?
Any item on this list is an opportunity for an op-ed piece or an interview with an instructor. Heck, what about the differences between this year's freshmen and this year's senior class? Those four years make the difference of whether a person might personally remember the fall of the Berlin Wall!
A list like this is also an opportunity to consider your paper's demographics. What's popular with the 'new kids'? And what doesn't matter?
Definition: Fourth Estate
The Fourth Estate refers directly to journalists. The term comes from the idea of the three estates of the Ancien Regime: the First Estate is the clergy, the Second the nobles and the Third the commoners. The Fourth Estate is responsible for advocating the needs of the other three estates, as well as framing issues so that each estate can understand them.
There is a quasi-mythical attribution of the term to Edmund Burke, which Jeffrey Archer summed up in his novel, The Fourth Estate
:
There is a quasi-mythical attribution of the term to Edmund Burke, which Jeffrey Archer summed up in his novel, The Fourth Estate
:In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the Estate General. The First Estate consisted of three hundred clergy. The Second Estate, three hundred nobles. The Third Estate, six hundred commoners. Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, said, 'Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.'
Friday, August 24, 2007
Gearin' Up For Game Time
This is the time that most student papers are starting publication for the year. You may be doing desperate last minute searches for writer, photographers or even editors. You may be trying to learn about the production side of your paper on the side, or figure out just how distribution is going to happen.
Every issue of a newspaper is a small miracle -- but it is a repeatable miracle. You can get this done, I promise. Good luck, kids, but I don't think you'll need it.
Every issue of a newspaper is a small miracle -- but it is a repeatable miracle. You can get this done, I promise. Good luck, kids, but I don't think you'll need it.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Fine Points of Ethics
On Aug. 19, the New York Times ran a question an ethics question from an intern at a national magazine:
The internet and its associated blogs and forums have forced good journalists to voluntarily disclose their associations. But what constitutes disclosure?
This intern did not mention the name of the magazine he interned at, but he signed his name to his question. Google tells us immediately that he worked for Tennis Magazine. Does the fact that it’s so easy to find out his associations count as disclosure?
What about student newspapers? With the absolutely incestuous nature of student organizations – especially at small schools, it isn’t unheard of for a writer to also be part of student government, Greek life and various other organizations.
It simply isn’t practical, at least in a print publication, to add a writer’s associations to every story, but the magic of the internet is that it’s amazingly easy disclose things online. If your newspaper maintains a website, why not post profiles of individual writers and editors? If that’s too much effort, why not make sure that your writers have up to date Facebook profiles?
My editor asked me to post comments on one of the magazine’s online blogs, being sure not to mention my working for the magazine but to write in a style that suggests I’m a reader.
The internet and its associated blogs and forums have forced good journalists to voluntarily disclose their associations. But what constitutes disclosure?
This intern did not mention the name of the magazine he interned at, but he signed his name to his question. Google tells us immediately that he worked for Tennis Magazine. Does the fact that it’s so easy to find out his associations count as disclosure?
What about student newspapers? With the absolutely incestuous nature of student organizations – especially at small schools, it isn’t unheard of for a writer to also be part of student government, Greek life and various other organizations.
It simply isn’t practical, at least in a print publication, to add a writer’s associations to every story, but the magic of the internet is that it’s amazingly easy disclose things online. If your newspaper maintains a website, why not post profiles of individual writers and editors? If that’s too much effort, why not make sure that your writers have up to date Facebook profiles?
Monday, August 20, 2007
Learning from the Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is the highest award in American journalism, as well as a literary and musical accomplishment. An independent board selects winners in 21 categories every year, and has done so since 1917.
That's 90 years of exceptional journalism right there. Reading some of those prize winning articles might be useful, right? While the Pulitzer Prize people haven't seen fit to offer up online access to all winners, award winning pieces from 1995 and forward are on the Pulitzer Prize website.
I suggest reading one every once in awhile, when you need a little inspiration. You might find a new technique or a new subject. At the very least, you might learn a little about your competition when you're ready to go for your prize.
That's 90 years of exceptional journalism right there. Reading some of those prize winning articles might be useful, right? While the Pulitzer Prize people haven't seen fit to offer up online access to all winners, award winning pieces from 1995 and forward are on the Pulitzer Prize website.
I suggest reading one every once in awhile, when you need a little inspiration. You might find a new technique or a new subject. At the very least, you might learn a little about your competition when you're ready to go for your prize.
Definition: New Journalism
New Journalism is a term used to describe the style of journalism practiced by Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer and Truman Capote, among many others. They introduced literary techniques to news writing, which was quite new and unconventional at the time (hence the name).
Techniques include:
Techniques include:
- first-person point of view
- using scenes to tell a story
- conversational speech
- inclusion of everyday details
New journalism styles can be most effective in feature writing, or in book-length projects.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Just what the heck is Title IX, anyway?
The phrase "Title IX" commonly refers to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, or the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
Basically, Title IX is the rallying cry whenever a college is offering more money to men's sports than women's, or otherwise promoting men's athletics over women's. There's a whole lot of legalese behind it, but let me break it down to how it specifically affects students news media.
Odds are you cover your school's athletics, right? But maybe you don't have enough room to cover all the sports. Maybe this week, you're covering men's basketball, women's softball and men's golf.
Well, if you're supported financially by your school, that's not okay. If you're taking money for printing, administration, anything, you need to be giving equal coverage to both men's and women's athletics. (If you aren't funded in any way by the school, you can cover whatever you want, but someone will complain at some point if you give unequal coverage.)
Equal coverage is a pretty nebulous concept, too. Some people might count column inches, some might consider how many photos you run. The general rule I would recommend is running an equal number of articles over the course of the semester -- this will let you run a full section of football stories if you win the big bowl game and still be compliant.
Basically, Title IX is the rallying cry whenever a college is offering more money to men's sports than women's, or otherwise promoting men's athletics over women's. There's a whole lot of legalese behind it, but let me break it down to how it specifically affects students news media.
Odds are you cover your school's athletics, right? But maybe you don't have enough room to cover all the sports. Maybe this week, you're covering men's basketball, women's softball and men's golf.
Well, if you're supported financially by your school, that's not okay. If you're taking money for printing, administration, anything, you need to be giving equal coverage to both men's and women's athletics. (If you aren't funded in any way by the school, you can cover whatever you want, but someone will complain at some point if you give unequal coverage.)
Equal coverage is a pretty nebulous concept, too. Some people might count column inches, some might consider how many photos you run. The general rule I would recommend is running an equal number of articles over the course of the semester -- this will let you run a full section of football stories if you win the big bowl game and still be compliant.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The New Sports Coverage
ESPN used to be the new sports coverage -- round the clock information on the most popular sports and teams. The new new sports coverage, though, is ESPN.com. Multimedia presentations, up to the minute scores, complex analysis. And it's not just ESPN. If the local news media (TV, radio, newspaper, etc.) covers anything about your school, they cover football season.
Heck, your school probably has people covering sporting events -- the Athletic Department may have its own photographers and writers, as well as Alumni Relations. How can an itty bitty campus paper compete?
You can't cop out and you can't limit coverage to just one or two sports -- Title IX issues can crop up pretty fast that way. You're going to have to use your imagination.
Start with the fact that, as a fellow student, you may have easier access to an athlete. You can handle any kind of 'off the field' story in a way that other media has no hope of doing. As students, they're even eligible to write for your student paper. You'll never see the star volleyball player reading off the morning news on the local affiliate, but why can't she write a column about the team's current rankings?
Heck, your school probably has people covering sporting events -- the Athletic Department may have its own photographers and writers, as well as Alumni Relations. How can an itty bitty campus paper compete?
You can't cop out and you can't limit coverage to just one or two sports -- Title IX issues can crop up pretty fast that way. You're going to have to use your imagination.
Start with the fact that, as a fellow student, you may have easier access to an athlete. You can handle any kind of 'off the field' story in a way that other media has no hope of doing. As students, they're even eligible to write for your student paper. You'll never see the star volleyball player reading off the morning news on the local affiliate, but why can't she write a column about the team's current rankings?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Link: Who's running your education?
Of all you nice journalism and mass communications students through out the U.S., two-thirds of you are female. With the exception of a bare handful, you're under the age of 25.
But your departments are headed up by white (90%) males (64%) over the age of 55? This information comes from a survey conducted by Thomas Kunkel, dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, reported on here.
Do you think this is a bad thing?
In its context, I don't necessarily think we should be throwing up our hands and prophesying doom -- yet. The good news is that over 60% of these guys have at least 5 years of practical experience, an unheard of number in other liberal arts majors.
But your departments are headed up by white (90%) males (64%) over the age of 55? This information comes from a survey conducted by Thomas Kunkel, dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, reported on here.
Do you think this is a bad thing?
In its context, I don't necessarily think we should be throwing up our hands and prophesying doom -- yet. The good news is that over 60% of these guys have at least 5 years of practical experience, an unheard of number in other liberal arts majors.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Link: New Media Meets Campus Media
Inside Higher Ed asked a good question yesterday: what skills should college journalists develop to have a successful career later on?
A knowledge of AP style won't get you by anymore. Any good journalist needs to be able to set up a basic website, shoot stills and video or craft multimedia presentations. Maybe all of the above. Are you getting that kind of training at your school?
"...even the smallest commercial newspapers, with 10,000 readers or fewer, are looking for reporting candidates with experience writing for the Web and uploading stories to the Internet, according to a survey of newspaper managing editors conducted by Wendelken and Toni B. Mehling of James Madison University."
A knowledge of AP style won't get you by anymore. Any good journalist needs to be able to set up a basic website, shoot stills and video or craft multimedia presentations. Maybe all of the above. Are you getting that kind of training at your school?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Why don't you have a career section?
Name me one newspaper with job listings that has never included an article about career advice. That's right. You can't. I understand that most small papers don't have room for a full career section, but why not a column or occasional feature?
It doesn't make sense, then, that college, or even high school, newspapers offer absolutely no job advice. After all, aren't you in school to be better equipped to make money?
We're talking about a super easy subject, too. Colleges have career centers, full of very helpful people. Ask for interviews. Ask for press releases. Ask for help. You'll get more material than you can use in a year.*
Trying to develop a little more interaction with your readers? Let people send in job questions. I'll bet you that you can get someone in your local career counseling office to write the column -- odds are good that you can get it for free, too.
Trying to up your ad sales? Offer to sell job listings near your career column for a premium rate.
Trying to find content that you can delay in case of big stories? Develop a couple of employment features that can be left on the back burner until you need them. The great thing about career stories is that they're a constant. Someone's always looking for a job.
Sample story ideas:
It doesn't make sense, then, that college, or even high school, newspapers offer absolutely no job advice. After all, aren't you in school to be better equipped to make money?
We're talking about a super easy subject, too. Colleges have career centers, full of very helpful people. Ask for interviews. Ask for press releases. Ask for help. You'll get more material than you can use in a year.*
Trying to develop a little more interaction with your readers? Let people send in job questions. I'll bet you that you can get someone in your local career counseling office to write the column -- odds are good that you can get it for free, too.
Trying to up your ad sales? Offer to sell job listings near your career column for a premium rate.
Trying to find content that you can delay in case of big stories? Develop a couple of employment features that can be left on the back burner until you need them. The great thing about career stories is that they're a constant. Someone's always looking for a job.
Sample story ideas:
- 10 tips for a tip-top resume
- Finding a summer internship -- that pays!
- The extracurriculars recruiters look for
- On-campus resources for your next job hunt
Definition: Convergence journalism
Convergence journalism:
A form of journalism in which various forms of media (writing, video, photos, and more) are combined to create a larger journalistic project. The web is an ideal platform for convergence journalism, as evidenced by the move towards multimedia presentations at papers like The Washington Post.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Where are you getting your news from?
I read the news every day. By the news, I don’t mean just skimming a local paper. I get headlines every day from three major newspapers delivered by RSS feeds. I get e-mail newsletters on every imaginable subject. I read blogs and websites.
It takes me at least an hour to get up to date. I’m an extremist, although I’m willing to claim it’s very worthwhile. However, I’m not evangelical to expect all of this from you.
On the other hand, I can’t see why any newspaper editor or reporter doesn’t take the time to check out a couple of specific pieces of information every morning.
Google Alerts: Why not let Google tell you whenever somebody writes something about your school? I actually got clued into a story on campus before the administration knew about it because of Google. Put your school’s name in quotes, as well as important figures on campus – you’ll always be surprised what turns up on figures in administration.
Your alumni magazine: I’ve seen alumni magazines swipe stories from the student paper more than once. It’s once a month and at a lot of schools you can get it online.
Your local daily: Given that I think you should read a copy cover to cover, I understand most people have no inclination. But take the time to run over the local headlines online, at least. You never know what kinds of stories will pop up in your neighborhood, and most locals will still keep you up to date on national news.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Call me a nerd, but seriously – I have gotten some amazing leads out of this magazine.
I’ve got a huge long list of further recommendations, but I won’t make you suffer. Think about it, though – what’s your best source for news about your school?
It takes me at least an hour to get up to date. I’m an extremist, although I’m willing to claim it’s very worthwhile. However, I’m not evangelical to expect all of this from you.
On the other hand, I can’t see why any newspaper editor or reporter doesn’t take the time to check out a couple of specific pieces of information every morning.
Google Alerts: Why not let Google tell you whenever somebody writes something about your school? I actually got clued into a story on campus before the administration knew about it because of Google. Put your school’s name in quotes, as well as important figures on campus – you’ll always be surprised what turns up on figures in administration.
Your alumni magazine: I’ve seen alumni magazines swipe stories from the student paper more than once. It’s once a month and at a lot of schools you can get it online.
Your local daily: Given that I think you should read a copy cover to cover, I understand most people have no inclination. But take the time to run over the local headlines online, at least. You never know what kinds of stories will pop up in your neighborhood, and most locals will still keep you up to date on national news.
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Call me a nerd, but seriously – I have gotten some amazing leads out of this magazine.
I’ve got a huge long list of further recommendations, but I won’t make you suffer. Think about it, though – what’s your best source for news about your school?
Thursday, August 2, 2007
The Ongoing Student Loan Crisis
Yesterday's NY Times ran an article about the continuing issues with student loan providers. The Government Accountability Office's recent report on the Department of Education's failure to prevent wrongdoing by lenders.
This is a story on the national news that directly affects college students. But how many college students even know that this is an issue? Certainly most college newspapers aren't covering it.
It's not an issue of lack of information -- it's covered in national newspapers. It seems more likely to be a question that student editors don't know how to cover the issue. Most of them can't afford to send a reporter on down to D.C. for a couple of interviews at the GAO.
But why not call the GAO's public relations office and ask them to email a copy of their press releases? After all, I can't imagine there is a college student with absolutely no access to a cell phone with free long distance and email -- even a friend's.
This is a story on the national news that directly affects college students. But how many college students even know that this is an issue? Certainly most college newspapers aren't covering it.
It's not an issue of lack of information -- it's covered in national newspapers. It seems more likely to be a question that student editors don't know how to cover the issue. Most of them can't afford to send a reporter on down to D.C. for a couple of interviews at the GAO.
But why not call the GAO's public relations office and ask them to email a copy of their press releases? After all, I can't imagine there is a college student with absolutely no access to a cell phone with free long distance and email -- even a friend's.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sale of Dow Jones Finalized
Today, the sale of Dow Jones & Company to News Corp. was finalized.
Why the heck should college students care?
Let's set aside all discussion of post-college life and any vague hope you may have of getting a job in a good newsroom. There's plenty of other meat on this particular bone.
Right now, a lot of questions are being asked about whether newspapers can exist outside of media conglomerates. The party line claims that this is not an issue for college newspapers, but there are a few papers that have been bought up.
Student papers are extra tasty for media conglomerates:
Why the heck should college students care?
Let's set aside all discussion of post-college life and any vague hope you may have of getting a job in a good newsroom. There's plenty of other meat on this particular bone.
Right now, a lot of questions are being asked about whether newspapers can exist outside of media conglomerates. The party line claims that this is not an issue for college newspapers, but there are a few papers that have been bought up.
Student papers are extra tasty for media conglomerates:
- There's a guaranteed audience, with a very specific demographic. It's very easy to sell advertising for such a specific market.
- There's a cheap staff that won't need relocating, training, raises, etc. They're even excited about the opportunity. And after graduation, they can be funneled into other media properties for relatively low costs.
- It looks good that a media conglomerate has an interest in up-and-coming journalists.
P.S. The Wall Street Journal has also been a bastion of good journalism in the past -- will Rupert Murdoch keep up the high standards? Today, journalists aspire to the WSJ's standards. Will they still be setting benchmarks for the rest of us? Or will they fall in line with Murdoch's conservative slant?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
I need wire!
With the upcoming demise of asap (the AP's wire service for it's youth markets), it seems that we need to take a step back and think about exactly what college journalists need from a wire service.
At the ideal college paper, students create all the content for one of those worthwhile learning experiences that we hear all about. This means that theoretically, a college newspaper should have no need for a wire service.
But theory isn't practice. A college newspaper doesn't have the staff or budget to cover national issues, even if they are hugely relevant to campus life. There are plenty of topics that make the idea of a wire service useful. And if we circle back around to that whole learning experience idea: if you're planning to go into journalism as a career, you're going to need a concept of how a wire service works.
An added bonus is the idea that a newspaper might be able to at least earn back their wire expenditures with the value of their own material.
In the end, the real question is how to keep a college wire service functioning.
At the ideal college paper, students create all the content for one of those worthwhile learning experiences that we hear all about. This means that theoretically, a college newspaper should have no need for a wire service.
But theory isn't practice. A college newspaper doesn't have the staff or budget to cover national issues, even if they are hugely relevant to campus life. There are plenty of topics that make the idea of a wire service useful. And if we circle back around to that whole learning experience idea: if you're planning to go into journalism as a career, you're going to need a concept of how a wire service works.
An added bonus is the idea that a newspaper might be able to at least earn back their wire expenditures with the value of their own material.
In the end, the real question is how to keep a college wire service functioning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)