Editing, Leadership, and Team Building
Leadership
Working with my co-EIC, Elitsa, I help lead our editor and after-school club meetings, presenting slideshows and seeking improvements to our publication. This year we have about 2 club meetings a month, 1 editors meeting, and 1 executive editor meeting for more visionary tasks. Being thrust into editor positions and becoming EIC my junior year when scheduling issues prevented a senior editing from continuing was formative to my growth and confidence as a leader. Although I often found myself wondering if I was even qualified, I learned to enjoy stepping into roles where I was able to share my ideas for coverage and help younger journalists step into theirs. Knowing that, for many first-year journalism students, it can be overwhelming to step into this world of spreadsheets and articles and interviews and editing (like it was for me), a lot of this involves providing guidance and making myself approachable.
A presentation adapted by Elitsa and I to present at club meetings and introduce basic writing & interviewing techniques.
A few of my fellow executive editors and I worked on this slideshow to summarize and set goals for our publication following our recent JEA convention in Philadelphia. We rewrote our mission statement, created a DEI statement, and brought up policies to amend, discuss, and create. Swipe through to take a look!
A link to an editing checklist resource we went over and solidified as a staff last year. Beyond internalizing this as editors, the goal is to guides staff into asking these types of questions themselves before submitting for edits.
Our advisor, along with myself and some fellow editors, worked on this document last year to clearly outline the responsibilities of an editor. Knowing that being an editor is a true commitment, both in terms of time and mentally, we felt it was important to articulate this for future editors.
TEAM BUILDING!
A picture of me & senior editor Saanvi after asking (begging) more than a dozen local businesses to buy ads for our print newspaper!
Sandwiched between gaining communication skills and learning to be a leader, many of the senior editors when I first joined cited "lifelong friends" as a benefit of the class. In all honesty, amid COVID during my freshman year and an air of unfamiliarity in the classroom, it seemed slightly hard to believe. However, after four years of journalism, I can admit with confidence that they were absolutely right. So much of the staff have become my closest friends and they always inspire me to be better, whether it be through their writing or amazing personalities.
With the time commitment that comes with journalism, it is so important to the improvement of the publication that we are able to bond both as editors and friends, maintaining a balance that keeps us excited about the paper. Whether it be official plans like "Friendsgiving" and Yankee swaps during Christmas or spontaneous bonding as we hand our print editions and collect donations at graduation, friendship is the foundation of the Ghostwriter family we have created.
Me and Elitsa. People joke that we're attached at the hip - between our shared love for journalism and having 5/7 classes together, they aren't entirely wrong. Dynamic duo. And the best co-EIC I could have ever asked for!
The JEA Fall Conventions are some of our absolute favorite moments together as a staff. One of my proudest team-building efforts was during our Boston 2023 convention when Saanvi and I realized that we hadn't spent as much time as a full staff in a while. We came up with the idea of creating a scavenger hunt for that night and it was an absolute hit. It became a tradition that we continued at this year's convention as well and a great (and VERY competitive) team-building excercise. It was also a great way to make new connections with student journalists from other schools.
Our Editing Holy Trinity : Slack, Sno, & the Spreadsheet
1.) Spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is a giant document, and it's our way of keeping track of article ideas, writers, and deadlines. We regularly update it as it is our main method of staying organized and keeping tabs on what is being written. It's the most-visited item in my google drive, a testament to how much we love it.
Below is the main tab.
We have a separate tab to track school committee (and other town committee) meetings. As coverage of town policies is, in my opinion, one of our most impactful sections, we make sure to highlight high-priority meetings and ensure we can cover as much as possible. This was especially essential to organize last year as we covered the town's budget deficit - a developing topic with dozens of angles and areas of impact.
Last year's town news tab at the height of budget talks
Titled the "Club Hub", we created the above section this year to keep track of club meetings and consolidate some article ideas specifically for club members. As our journalism program is geared more towards members of the class, we try to ensure that club members are also given equal opportunities to contribute.
2.) SNO.
We use SNO Sites as our main platform for the website and editing process. All articles go through 3 rounds of edits: first from a section editor, then from a managing editor, and finally from an EIC.
Editing
Over the past four years, I've edited between 200-300 articles. While grammar, syntax, and the AP guidebook are crucial, I've learned that being an effective editor also requires a more nuanced look. For many stories, the structure and order of the content, along with the quality of the content itself is usually the first layer I check. This often traces back to a writer's interviewing process and the depth of sources they reached out to, for example. However, over the last two years, as EIC, there have been fewer major changes I suggest because they are addressed within the first two stages of edits. Even still, one of the most challenging parts of final edits is determining whether a writer needs to revise some of these basic elements, especially when it isn't always possible to "re-interview" or "re-angle" at that stage. I consider whether the piece is relevant to our audience and localized and whether the perspectives displayed thoroughly tell the story. Above all, my ultimate rule of thumb before publishing any article is to consider whether I can be confident it upholds the quality and integrity of our publication as a whole.
Above is an article (linked here) breaking down the details of what an override is. I urged him to be more specific with the descriptions and how they applied to Westford. When I encourage research, I also like to provide links to offer a start.
This was a time where I had to go back to the basics in final edits as I realized the writer was not able to talk to any sources. While the topic was a good one, the story was not localized to Westford or Westford Academy, so I encouraged him to seek specific information from people like the deans or even teachers. I also offered an alternative way to angle/structure the story and we talked in-person afterwards as well. Although it may be annoying at times, Elitsa and I have worked on being sticklers to making sure all articles are well researched, and sometimes this involves asking people to go out and conduct more interviews.
These edits were from my sophomore year, when I was a features editor. When newer staff approach articles, I try to give advice on some of the basics, like our format for quotations and grafs, and linking any relevant resources. I'm ultimately proud of the end result for this one because it was her first article and ended up being really well written and organized by the end, especially as her first peice.
3.) Slack
Slack is our main platform of communication, from asking for edits to brainstorming article ideas and timely coverage. I try to be as active as possible, especially because I often get messages from younger staff or club members asking for advice or when they face challenges.
This is an example of a heavy editing day. While I keep the positive feedback generic on slack, I try to be more specific in the article itself, highlighting aspects that are done well. This is especially important because it provides motivation and helps make sure I am not overwhelming them with edits only. I still remember the comments and positive reinforcement senior editors had given me when I was a freshman, and I hope to continue the trend.
Some more staff pics!
Our team after the 2024 NESPA conference at BU!
A picture from when three younger editors, Grace, Sara, and Aarshia, and I spent half a day creating this poster for a freshman club fair!
The (second to) last day of school with journalism squad!
A picture of our amazing senors from last year with a poster made by Srivas as their official Ghostwriter goodbye :(