Editing, Leadership, & Teambuilding
as Coverage Editor
Becoming a leader as coverage editor was one of the most formative experiences I've had in my entire life. It has made me realize the importance of journalism and the importance of guiding others and helping them become the best versions of themselves and themselves as writers. I took a hands-on approach to my new editor position, making sure to form connections with my writers and talk with other staffers to be sure my ideas as coverage editor were also exciting them to write.
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Click on the tab above to see my leadership as a co-editor-in-chief.
Mini-lessons
I made numerous presentations about different struggles I saw my staffers deal with to mitigate these issues.
This was an especially important slideshow presented to the entire staff. We wanted to encourage more web coverage and a better knowledge of the school community, so we reformed the beat system to include required briefs.
Coverage Plans
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1knDybhRnxDmz4gMiu0V_9VKWUEbD--dQJCeff9iXnog/edit?tab=t.0
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GstInQsm08Q5KeMmXywichbQ5nZDzCjVxR0LfClab6c/edit?tab=t.0
Me and my co-coverage editor made coverage plans for website coverage. Here are two coverage plans that were particularly important because they included two important weeks at our school, the Black Student Union spirit week and general spirit week.
Additionally, before each regular print and web cycle, we wrote down ideas from the class-wide brainstorms and chose ideas based on that.
Additionally, I had the idea to create a spreadsheet of school events to encourage people to cover them and possibly receive credit for their briefs.
I also created this picture to make brief writing as easy as possible.
Editing First Draft
My philosophy for editing first drafts was to be as honest as possible and make radical changes early in the cycle so that the article would be prepared for further deadlines. I made sure to either edit in person to encourage a personal connection and a thorough explanation or, if I couldn't edit with the staffer, to write long comments and a positive text message afterward.
As coverage editor, I loved using a groupchat of all writers to communicate upcoming coverage opportunities and deadlines. Staffers seemed to respond in funny ways, but it also really helped them as a reminder to do their work and feel like they were on the same page as the editors.