I am starting a student newspaper, could anyone give me some advice.?

Question

I recently received cart blanche from my University’s administration to start a newspaper for the business school of my institution.
As such I am currently going about the process of finding a qualified and willing editorial and journalist staff.
I am also concerned in about the tools and supplies I will need order to create a layout and design the paper.
Since I have never done this type of thing before, I would really appreciate advice from people who have knowledge of what tools are needed to create a successful college newspaper.

Answer 1

Get a faculty advisor. Write about things pertaining to your area of study. Always fact check. You can find a layout and design that suits your needs in template form on the net or check with the Columbia School of Journalism. Pick a layout that is clear and reflects business. The longest column should not be any more than 4 inches if you are writing parallel columns (no more than 4 across) or six inches it if wraps to another page...too much ink in one place makes people turn off.
Use an inverted pyramid style with the most important facts on top and the least at the bottom (and you can edit from the bottom for space that way).
Use pictures, drawings and graphics to open your page up.
A picture and cutline can be used as a story by itself if it conveys a story.
The computer is your primary tool and when you have laid out the paper and checked it, you can download your layout and give it to a printer.

Answer 2

First, find a faculty adviser. You'll want someone who can give you time and provide help, not just someone on the faculty looking to get in the administration's good graces.

Once you've got that, try to find the writers. Ask professors to announce you're looking for writers in their classes. Contact student organizations and their leaders, they'll likely be the people with the most involvement in the school anyway and will either be able to give you good leads or provide you with plenty of content. Just make sure you don't turn into a PR outlet for them.

While you may not get a lot of consistent writers, you'll probably be able to find people willing to do a story here and there, which will help a lot. If your university is giving you a budget to pay them, $10-$20 per story would be decent for a college paper. That is probably out of the question right away, but you could do it in the future if you plan on selling ads.

Speaking of ads, you'll need to contact local businesses about advertising if you plan on doing that to subsidize the costs. Find ones that have been charitable to the school before and talk to those in the immediate area. The coffee shop across the street from the business school will be a lot more likely to advertise in it than someone across town.

As far as designing the paper, you'll need a decent computer and I'd recommend either Quark or InDesign. You can find newsletter and newspaper templates easily enough for those programs, and if you find someone with even a little experience in those programs, you can make it look however you'd like. Try to find someone doing a graphic design degree, or maybe someone in the university's journalism program looking for some extra experience laying out pages. Also, get access to a camera. The main story on each page should have some kind of art with it, whether it's a graphic or a photo of the subject. You can use Photoshop to doll up the photos.

Contact a local print shop and tell them what you're trying to do. If you're doing enough copies and they realize you're a non-profit, they may give you a discount. Ask them about printing options. Most college papers are tabloid size (11.5 x 17), and you can discuss color options with them once you have a rough page count and paper size in mind.

Here's what I'd do first, though. Figure out if you have access to the computer programs via the library or computer lab. If not, get the costs. Talk with the adviser about the size of the paper. Once you have a rough idea, contact the print shop. Then present your financier with you expected budget.

Then get to work making sure you have both interesting content and an accessible paper. Make sure it's some place that everyone can find one, and don't forget to make sure it has something interesting enough to make them want the next one, too.

Answer 3

How do you plan to pay for printing and materials? Do you plan on selling advertising? Is your paper going to be free to readers? Where will you have it printed, you need to get a printer set up before you go any further, know the costs, and figure out how you are going to pay for it.

If you are going to sell ad space you need a sales team and perhaps this could be handled by volunteers from a marketing program

Answer 4

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