My High School newspaper is DYING. Help?

Question

I left my Journalism class sometime last year mainly because I felt like the newspaper wasn't for me. Well, I have returned as a Copy Editor this Monday and all that I can say is...wow! The paper is literally dying. We only have three Editors (and they don't even do their job), we do not have a lot of staff, and...bah. It is just horrible. I returned because it would look good on my transcripts that I worked for the school's newspaper, but the paper is dying! Is there a way for me to take over and bring life to this paper?

Did I mention that the writing is horrible and the layout is just....tacky. We do not have a lot of money either.

Answer 1

Looks like a complete make over is necessary. What about your teacher or supervisor? If the writing is bad, check with the head of the English department for help. If you have a local weekly newpaper, go to the editor and tell him/her about your problem, there could be a story in there for them..."School Newspaper Dying, CPR Needed". Three editors? What about writing staff? New recruits needed. Good luck, you can make it happen.

Answer 2

I think the first thing I notice is that you are not doing the job because you love it - which is the thing that makes a paper workable. If you just want it on your resume, then why do you care if the paper's any good or not? It's very possible the other members of the team feel exactly the same way you do with regard to doing it because it would "look good" on a resume.

The only thing that will bring this paper back to life is to be staffed with people who actually care about it.

The first responder had some good idea. It seems you need some leadership at the top, first of all. Get with the advisor and tell them exactly what your concerns are.

During morning announcements, offer "open auditions" for anyone who wants to write for the paper. Any topic. Any concern. Any event. Maybe even make it a contest. Contact a local arcade/skating rink/other place your schoolmates enjoy hanging out and see if they'll donate a gift certificate or two for the winner/s.

Put up flyers in every classroom encouraging students to submit articles. Ask your advisor to bring this up at a staff meeting to see if the teachers will give extra credit to all students who submit an article and give a copy to the teacher.

Run similar contests for submitted photographs. Maybe have a special edition that's largely based on the visual media. I'm sure someone would be interested in shooting a basketball or football game - maybe run a half page photo of a winning shot or touchdown, or a close up of the quarterback after a loss.

Papers don't run on people who are good at their job - which you may very well be. They only work when the people involved really give a hoot about what they're doing. Hopefully if you can get some initial interest going by offering some incentives, like I've listed above, then you can find the people with the talent, and beyond that you'll need to really look at people who love what they're doing.

I'm an amateur photographer who will go pro when my kids are a bit older - and a pretty good one. Technically, I know several photogs who are better than I am, but they don't really *love* photography. It's good money for them. But we could take the same picture and I'd bet money mine would be more appealing overall. Why? Because photos, like articles, can be edited and fine tuned - but the initial thing - the photo or the article - if it's lacking in passion, all the editing in the world won't make it great.

Answer 3

Try to get the help of a English faculty member. I'm sure someone in the English department would like to work on the school newspaper. Of course, there most likely won't be any extra pay for the teacher, so be nice when asking and say this would only take a few hours a week of the teacher's time.