Editing, team building and leadership
When I joined the Bark, my school newspaper, I was under a wild delusion that it was a group of people working independently but sharing a space. I was very, very wrong.
Since joining staff, I have done mostly copy editing with a little bit of section work sprinkled in.
News Editor
The first bit of editing I did was during cub Bark. I was a news editor, which was the first bit of exposure I ever really had to editing and frankly, direct collaboration. Though at the time news wasn't the most thrilling section to lead, I had a very positive experience. I did the photo survey, edited articles, helped brainstorm news leads and sources, laid out pages and managed all of the different new stories.
Heady Copy Editor
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At first, the role was mostly editing, managing the regular copy editors and trying to gauge what organizational systems were working the best. Initially, it was really detail-oriented editing, photo editing and consistent correspondence with the copy editors, Jace and reporters.
Ultimately, though, the role evolved into hands-on leadership. I got so many texts-- all the time-- about how to do, or execute, all kinds of things. So, in some ways the role was a lot of editing, but it was also a lot of leadership-- a lot of helping people through AP style, inDesign and Wordpress.
Team building
Team building is an elusive concept, but I think that opens up for the variety in ways in which people can contribute to 'team building'. Mundane as it may sound, my baking is at the heart of my approach to team building.
I go out of my way to bake for Bark on a consistent basis. One random Thursday I brought in some blondies, and suddenly I had all of these requests to continue to bake things. Since, I've brought in cookies of all different textures and cakes of all different flavors.
There is no current data on whether baked goods have a direct correlation to the productivity of a newsroom. But, I would argue, that the atmosphere that bakes goods creates is unparalleled.
When I gave my first presentation as head copy with Charlotte, I felt like I came across as scary and unapproachable. But, once I started baking, people started really coming to me for help. Baking, weirdly, has been this way for me to show my fellow Barkies that I care and that I'm a team player, and the result of that has been an increase in their willingness to ask me for help and trust me.
Teams have different cultures, dynamics and values-- food has definitely been an integral part of Bark's. And, strangely, contributing to that food culture, established trust and kinship between my peers and myself.
Editing
I approach editing in a couple of ways.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: what do I think of immediately when I read this? What does the message/purpose appear to be after an initial read?
-This approach is important because a lot of people who read news often skim or don't spend a substantial amount of time trying to really understand what the author is saying. Hence, initial editor readings and questions are important because they can simulate how a prospective reader will react to a piece.
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WHY AM I READING THIS ARTICLE?: It can be timeliness, geographical relevancy, or a nuanced perspective-- but there has to be a specific reason why I am reading this article, on this date, in the Redwood Bark. Articles, regardless of the section, should establish their own significance and prove to their readers why they should spend their time reading the Bark instead of another news outlet.
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COPY EDITS: Does it meet the grammatical and stylistic criteria of the Redwood Bark. Does a piece adhere to AP style, etc.
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Literary Editor
Initiating a section was more work (and more reward) than I ever could have possibly fathomed as I was preparing to spearhead the integration of a literary magazine inside of our non-fiction only newspaper.
At first, all of my energy was spent towards advocating for this section, arguing for the prospective value it would bring, and text-warring with the Sports' editors and editors-in-chief for print space.
Secondarily, my energy was spent towards advertising. Because my section emphasizes outsourcing submissions, I spent ample time advertising for people to actually submit stuff.
Once submissions began to pick up, I mostly focused on print layouts, digital layouts, photo/video/prose editing.
Leadership
Presentations and lessons I have ran in our Advanced Journalism class.
Editing
