Editing, Leading & Team Building
Being part of two programs that have been created or rebuilt since my sophomore year, so many changes have been made to our editing processes and how our leadership works. After three years on the yearbook staff, I have moved from a staff member to the Social Media Editor and to the Editor-In-Chief. As a second year staff member of the Wahawk Insider, I am the Sports and News Editor. My teams mean everything to me, without these people, there is no chance I would be where I am now. I find it to be my responsibility to pass along the knowledge I have obtained from three years on staff to those who come after me.
Photo by Nicole Goodman
Editing
In yearbook, we have seven editors. This makes it easy for pages to be edited on a regular basis. Available to all staff members is a Google Sheet where you can submit your page to be edited and commented on. For each spread, six out of the seven editors review the page before it is sent to our Advisor, this process ensures that there are as few errors as possible in the yearbook.
While we have a thorough spreadsheet, a large part of the editing process is done verbally in class. From staff members letting the editors know they are ready to be checked, to editors communicating with one another on the progress of a page.
When the editing process starts to slow, which it always does, I bring the class together to go over the whole process from start to finish as a reminder for why we have such a thorough process. Reminding the editors of their jobs always helps to get the flow going again, and this also reminds the staff members to have patience and work well with the editing staff.
Click the image to view the editing process presentation.
Our yearbook software, Waslworth, allows for editors to leave comments on spreads to assist staff members with corrections that need to be made. While this is good for revising spreads that are not your own, it is also beneficial for our own spreads.
For the Online Publications class, editing looks a little different. As a second year news team, our current 'editor' was our advisor. Ms. Goodman would print each article we submit and write comments and make corrections for anything that needs to be changed, deleted or added.
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Before my pieces would reach my advisor, I would write and edit my own articles in Google Docs. With their comment feature, I can comment or make notes on things I want to change or additional ideas that I have.
This year, the Wahawk Insider implemented editors for different sections of our publications. I accepted the position of the Sports and News Editor as they are two of my most common categories to write in, and I find the most comfort in them. Although they are new to our classroom, we are all so excited to see what they will bring to the program.
On top of editing my own pieces, I often write corrections and ideas for myself on note cards or my server book at work. Sometimes I find I am the most creative when I am away from my computer. Since I spend about 50% of my life at work, I am often grabbing water or ranches for tables when an idea comes to me.
Journalism takes up such a big part of my life that I am constantly thinking of new articles to write, people to feature and overall ideas for both programs. New TikTok trend? Need to send it to our Social Media Editor and make a plan to do it. Big announcement from the school district? I am already emailing our Superintendent to get a quote. My eyes are constantly seeing the world from a journalist's perspective, and I am always ready for the next idea.
For many high schoolers, we are very well adjusted to MLA formatting as it is how we are required to write essays for class. The transition from MLA to AP, which is used for journalistic writing, is a hard change. To help with this struggle, we provide a small version of the AP style guide which covers the most commonly used parts of the style that students struggle with.
The style guide covers how once a person is named, they are only referred to by their last name for the remainder of the piece. How days are written, Oct. 4, 2005 rather than October 4th, 2005. How numbers after nine use figures rather than words. As well as other commonly mistaken or confused parts.
Leadership
The style guide covers how once a person is named, they are only referred to by their last name for the remainder of the piece. How days are written, Oct. 4, 2005 rather than October 4th, 2005. How numbers after nine use figures rather than words. As well as other commonly mistaken or confused parts. We use this guide to help teach our new journalists the style as they write.
As a third year staff member for our yearbook program, I am one of the most experienced people in the room, meaning many of the first or second year staff members turn to me for advice and help. This also transfers over to my Online Publications class. Even though we are only a second year news team, many of my peers turn to me for story ideas, how to format interviews and general assistance with their articles.
Monday Meetings
Monday Meetings are a time for all members of the staff to sit together and talk about the week ahead. These meetings usually cover events that need to be photographed, stories that need to be written and deadlines that are approaching. As both the yearbook program and Wahawk Insider are student-led, these meetings are often run by myself or other editors.
Program Changes
Photo By Nicole Goodman
Anytime there is something in the yearbook program that needs a change, it falls to me to implement these changes and get the rest of the staff on board. To do this, I have to be 100% knowledgeable on everything going on and prepared for every question that can come my way. To implement changes and decide how they will affect the program, I often have meetings with our advisor before or after school, or during days off to ensure that we are both prepared and on the same page.
Transitioning
My sophomore year, each senior was given the editor title based just on their age rather than knowledge, experience and desire. As we moved into my second and third year in the program, an editorial title became a privilege, not a given role. To be an editor, you must apply for the position and be a returning member of the program. This change benefited the program and the book greatly as we became stronger in every aspect.
Transitioning from a staff member to an editor was a slight change as it meant I was able to help make each staffer's spreads cohesive and as good as they could be. However, the transition from an editor to the Editor-In-Chief, took more work and determination. To go from a staff member to overseeing an entire program allowed me to learn more leadership skills and work on problem solving.
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Yearbook Bootcamp
The first few weeks of each year we call ‘Publication Bootcamp' where we talk about every aspect of the program and prepare students for different experiences they have. While some find bootcamp to be boring, others find it very insightful, helpful and enlightening.
Within photography, we take a lot of pictures that are not the best quality or sometimes not flattering. When talking about photography, we discuss the ethics that come into play as well. A photo may have beautiful quality but capture a student in a way they may dislike. Our typical rule of thumb is 'would I want this published if it was me?' which helps students decide if a photo will make the final cut.
Practice Spreads
To ensure that students are prepared to take on full spread assignments, we have them complete practice spreads. This helps students learn their way around the Walsworth software, helps students piece together a real life spread and assure themselves (and us) that they can use the elements to correctly create a spread.
On top of this, I implemented a spread brainstorm document this year. This is where students share the plan they have for their spread they have been assigned. This also helps students plan their spread and generate ideas to refer back to if they get stuck during the process.
This slide talks about the type of photos we want in the yearbook as well as what we publish online. A big goal of ours is to have as much of the publications be built around photos that members of the staff take, rather than photos we get from parents, students or outside sources. For the 2023-24 school year, we have a photography editor, Lucy Prescott. Lucy is able to help students grow their photography skills and she keeps track of all the events we need to cover.
After deciding on our theme for the 2023-24 school year, This Is Us, we were torn on different theme elements and colors. To help decide, we split into two groups that each created mock spreads with different elements and color palettes. My group took on the pastel colors with lots of color blocking as well as images with a black and white background. Although not every aspect of our idea is what went into the book, we compromised with the black and white backgrounds and color blocking. Having examples of spreads at the beginning of the year like this was very helpful to first-year members. For some of them, this was the first time they had ever seen a yearbook spread.
Editorial Meetings and Staff
With three yearbook editors my sophomore year, it was easy for us to meet and discuss changes and different topics within the program. Moving to seven editors made things a little bit more difficult. However, with only four online editors for the Wahawk Insider, it is easy for us to have bi-weekly editorial meetings.
Click image for Doc
Click image for Doc
1/22/24 Wahawk Insider editor meeting.
8/24/23 Wahawk yearbook editor meeting.
With a much larger yearbook editorial staff, and entirely new editorial staff for the Wahawk Insider, we have very specific roles, and have access to Google Docs that describe each role. This helps keep each editor confident in their position and is helpful for those who are unsure of which editor to talk to. The expanded editorial board has helped take pressure off of editors but has also allowed younger staff members to experience leadership positions. This increase has helped both publication programs grow to be more student-oriented and has increased the responsibility for students which is the positive impact that we want the programs to have.
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This growth has been one of my favorites. From numerous yearbook editors with no specific roles my sophomore year, to three editors with broad roles my junior year, and finally seven specific editorial roles my senior year. This is one of the biggest ways our program has grown and impacted the students within it.
Click image for Doc
Click image for Doc
Communication
Communication is key! That is such a common phrase, but we try to implement as much communication as possible within the programs. This keeps things moving smoothly, helps editors and staff understand each other and oftentimes helps us avoid conflict or drama. On top of benefiting the program's flow, communication is also the best way for staff and editors to bond. Connecting with one another and getting to know each other makes us work together better and improves news team morale. Not only have we become close in the classroom, but we often find ourselves talking outside of the newsroom, creating inside jokes and connecting deeply with one another. We have created our own family.
Finances
Keeping the class updated with the finances of our program is a way that we stay transparent with everyone. Yearbook aims to bring a lot of real-life situations into the classroom, finances being one of them. Not only does this teach us about budgeting and fundraising, but it acts as encouragement for us to keep pushing for more sales in order to not just meet the contract price, but go above that and bring more money into our account.
One HUGE change in our program for the 2023-24 school year was a 50-page increase, something many schools never attempt in one single year. With this increase, we were very honest with the class that our contract price would also increase, and we needed to work hard to make sure we sold enough books to meet our contract goal.
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Other Programs
While they are typically our athletic rivals, The West and East journalism programs get along well. After seeing the Wahawk yearbook win 13 awards at the IHSPA conference, the East High yearbook program became determined to build themselves up to do the same. The West and East High programs joined together for a day of sharing knowledge and helping each other out. Though we were viewed as a more developed program, we were still able to learn a lot from the other school.
Following the announcement that I had won Iowa's High School Journalist of the Year, the East high staff decided that it was time for them to start a newspaper publication as well. As the staff gets going on creating their own program, the West High staff will be there to help in every way that we can.
Photo By Nicole Goodman
Team Building
When working with groups such as a news team or yearbook staff, it is so important that we work together well. As a three-year member of the yearbook, I learned from experience that a team who doesn't work well together creates a book that reflects that. As the years have gone, I have put my best effort into creating a team that connects with one another. This can take shape in many ways. For yearbook, we have bonding nights where the staff can focus on things other than yearbook, or destress days in class to take a break from the deadlines. Being given the responsibility of creating an entire book can be scary and stressful, so it is important to me that we enjoy the class as well. With groups as small as ours, it is important to us that we bond and work together constantly. One thing that I have learned in my time as a leader, is that with small and tight-knit groups, one problem can unravel the whole team.
Yearbook Bonding Night
We had the idea towards the end of my sophomore year as the seniors were getting ready to graduate and we wanted to do something as a group one last time. We came together for a 'presentation night' where we made fun slideshows about each other and got to do something as a group without having to worry about finishing the book or meeting deadlines. This carried on and our most recent bonding night was in November of '23, where we did more presentations, made friendship bracelets and got to know one another a lot better to kick off the new year with new people.
Photo By Nicole Goodman
Bell Ceremony
For each published story, the Wahawk Insider staff rings the bell that hangs on the wall of room 309 as a new tradition. Our classroom motto is that 'every publication deserves a celebration.' The bell ceremony brings everyone in the class together. While we often find our own separate corners of the room during class, we all crowd around the bell to celebrate publishing a piece.
Spread Assignments
To announce our first round of spreads for the 'This Is Us' yearbook, the editors and I worked together to create the 'Yearbook Grammys.' Each staff member was able to apply for spreads they are interested in by sharing their ideas for the topic. As the Editor-In-Chief, I played a big part in making the final decisions for who got assigned each spread. To have fun with this announcement, I bought small trophies and candy for each staff member and the editors put on a show to announce the 'Nominees' and winners for each spread. This was such a fun start to our year as a group and it got everyone excited!
After the successes of the Yearbook Grammys, I decided to make each spread announcement as exciting and interactive as possible. Spreads can be stressful and scary, especially for first-year staff members, and to make them fun and thrilling takes the anxiety away from the staff.
Photo By Nicole Goodman
Awards
To celebrate every small victory and highlight that our staff members are being successful, we try to award students for their hard work and dedication.
A major way that we have implemented awarding staff members this year has been staff member of the month which we began in September. Not only does this shine a light on exceptional staff members, but it also allows students to nominate their peers.
Elmhurst Workshop
In July of 2023, five of the yearbook editors traveled to Elmhurst, Illinois for a yearbook workshop hosted by Walsworth. Not only was this trip a way for the editorial staff to bond, but it also played as a key component in the decision for our 2023-24 theme including the development of aspects such as colors, elements, features and how the theme connected to our school and this school year specifically.
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Celebration Days
Both yearbook and online publications can be stressful classes. With deadlines and serious jobs to do, there is not always a lot of time for us to relax and have 'free' class periods. To help with the stress, we try to have days at least once a month where we can relax, have fun and remember why we joined the publication. For yearbook, this could look like days where we make slime or days to celebrate staff birthdays. This part of yearbook has always been one of my favorites. We can often get so caught up in creating the book that we forget to enjoy each other and realize how lucky we are to have a group as caring as this one.
