It's Not the Size that Matters

You've got a big campus and a plethora of story ideas, but few writers and little time. How do you get the job done? Here are some tips:

1. Assessment.

The newspaper business is a service business, and our readers come first. But how can you give them what they want if you don't know what they want? Sure a comprehensive readership study may be beyond your budget, but assessment can be done:

a.) Try one-page questionnaires at info desks in your union or dorms, or drop them in student group mailboxes.

b.) Short, simple surveys can be published in your paper as cut-and-return advertisements.

c.) Listen. What are your fellow students talking about at the lunch table? What are the hot button topics on your opinion pages?

2. Prioritize.

Realize that you won't be able to assign a writer to every event and/or department on campus. Sigh.
Make a list of the top five interests of the students (your readers - remember assessment). Consider putting more emphasis on those academic areas and activities that generally define the school and population. As mentioned, what topics generate letters to the editor?
Gear your coverage toward the priorities. If baseball is what fills the seats, don't use a writer's precious time to cover golf. Report the other sports as sports agate or briefs.

3. Be Creative.

Think out of the box! Do you really need a features section filled with CD and movie reviews (yawn)? What about a "Your Money" page focusing on college students as consumers?
Packaging. Not many things will present wider coverage and more information on a specific issue like packaging your stories - not to mention make it look like you know what you are doing. Make a hot issue a whole staff piece. If the story is about parking, do a sidebar on what other schools are charging, include a guest commentary from the police chief, add an info graphic on the best and little-known places to park, and ask production to put it all together (maybe a tread mark across the length of the page). Get the idea? Get excited and have fun.

4. Vanishing resources? Use your resources (staffers) efficiently.

Do you have a talented writer doing music reviews? Reassign her to a priority story or beat. Use commentary, columns and reviews as rewards.
Use event calendars to preview upcoming lectures, concerts and activities, freeing up your reporters for more complex stories.
News and feature briefs can be easy ways to give wider coverage with out getting writer's cramp. You could even try distributing forms - fill in the blanks - to student organizations to get the info. This basic lead writing can also be good practice for new writers.
Let pictures tell the story. For events that are visual, use a photo to relay the news. Many stories can be told succinctly with a stand-alone photo with an extended cutline. Photographers should be responsible for gathering enough information to write two or three sentences - again, this frees up writers. And hey, readers like a good photo.
Use your news judgment. Eliminate the junk - not every event or incident is a story. But make sure your reporters are savvy enough to look for trends and patterns amid the routine stuff.
Use team coverage on investigative stories or complex financial articles. Establish a "structure" for the story, i.e. main bar, two sidebars, chart and photo - then divide the work appropriately.
Do editors write stories? They should - it keeps 'em in touch. Just don't hog the good stuff.
Remember that motivation is a resource too. Whatever you use to motivate your staff is really not as important as how it is applied. For example, if you are one of the few papers that pay writers, don't pay by the inch - pay by the story. Why? Because students tend to write too long as it is, and modern readers glance and scan more than they read. Plus, you are rewarding a writer of a movie review more than the writer of a short, tight, well researched story. You as managers must find what motivates your staff - and use it fairly.

4. Turn writers into reporters.

Establish a beat system so that each staffer has an area of the campus - or an issue - to cover. Allow your priorities to dictate beat coverage. Beats can also be a management/motivational tool; popular beats to reward a writer, easy beats for newbies.
And remember that the beat system gives writers more responsibility. Ownership in the paper by staff makes for less turnover.
Are you an editor or section editor that has to do EVERYTHING? Are you a savior (if one of your staff drops the ball, you pick it up)? Keep in mind that staffers may not take their responsibilities seriously if they know you will always get the job done. You may have to grit your teeth and allow others to fail once or twice in order to get your staff to take ownership. This is called freedom to fail. It's good to be the king - but it's tough, too.

5. Make routine tasks easy. And the easy things easier.

Editors are more than journalists - you are also managers. Be problem solvers. Review your internal processes. Too many steps? Is your organization top-heavy? Short chains make for strong chains.
Do you have to hunt for phone numbers or turn the office upside down for a correct titles ? Organize! Time is precious - you and your staff should be focusing on the job, not looking for a pencil.
Use wire or other press services. Don't be a snob - your readers appreciate a good story, even if it doesn't always have a campus byline. Better yet, take a wire story and localize it. Again, great "cut-your-teeth" training for entry-level writers.
Are you glorified typists? Use disk submission or e-mail submissions to free staff from the tedious.
Learn to use formula formats for simple stories (meetings, etc.)
Budget stand-alone photos.
Drop back punt. Before (or after) your publication schedule, hold a retreat. Explore ways to make the process smoother - because once you are into your publication cycle, you won't have the time.
Watch out for the 2 a.m. Brain Crash. This malady is when your section editor calls in sick, the story you were counting on isn't in and your production staff turns to you at two in the morning and asks, "Now what?" Learn to think on your feet.
Ed's Axiom: When given a problem, the later it is on production night, the simpler the solution should be.

6. Make the information come to you.

During the first weeks of school, send "fill-in-the-blank" forms to all student groups requesting information on upcoming activities and events.
Keep press release forms in high traffic areas.
Recruit volunteer stringers within groups and academic areas to provide info and stories. Copy will most likely need to be edited; still this frees up your staff for priority stories.
Become friends with your school's News & Information bureau or University Relations office. Are you on their mailing list.
Ad a "Tips Line" filler ad in your paper and link in your web site.

7. Plan ahead. And then plan ahead.

Set goals at the beginning of the semester - the more concrete and specific, the better.
Hold brainstorming sessions with staffers. Good stories can be generated by everyone - editors, photographers and designers.
At your editorial board meetings, you should be critiquing your last issue as well as planning your next issue. But don't stop there - plan an issue several weeks away. This makes for less deadline problems and better issues - which can be a plus at contest times. By the way, you are holding meetings, aren't you?

8. Things we didn't mention.

Recruitment. After all, this session is about wider coverage with a SMALL staff. But recruiting should be everyone's job. New writers may walk in your door, but they will disappear if you can't give them the attention, training and support they need.
Journalism or communication classes as staff for academic credit. These classes can be excellent and dependable resources. Be careful not to endanger your status as a public forum in the process, however.
Communication. E-mail and phone trees are great, but nothing beats face-to-face meetings. If you aren't holding regular meetings, your staff may not feel like a team nor take ownership. We know you are busy with classes, home and work - but meeting as a group is essential to the life of the group.

Ed Bonza

College Media Advisers, Inc.

CMA Presentation, November 2000

ebonza@kennesaw.edu

Updated 11-3-00

This page is part of the web site at http://ksumail.kennesaw.edu/~ebonza/