Author: Salem Isaf

11/6 Critique

Posted on by Salem Isaf
  • For starters, I really like the cover of the salary guide, and the rest of it was pretty interesting as well. I don’t know if we usually use covers like that for this edition, but it seems right on par with what we’ve been talking about the last few weeks
  • Thursday’s paper had a good cover page from my perspective. The stories seemed interesting, or at least comparatively to the articles within the paper. I also think the pictures have improved, and they aren’t blown up to take up a huge amount of the page.
  • The main article on the cover of Monday’s paper is good, and the update on our region is a little less exciting but I think it’s necessary. I’m a little bored by the students experiencing burnout, because all I’ve heard since school started is burnout, so I’m not sure if that’s great news right now. I also liked the picture for the main article, but I guess there’s not really action happening in it
  • the layout of 3A for Monday looks a little weird to me with the two pics at the very top and then all text the rest of the page, but I don’t really know anything about layout so I don’t know if that’s a fair critique
  • I like the layout and cutouts on 1B for sports in Monday’s paper. More interesting to look at and read through
  • I think the features article on the age of politics skewing representation might have been nice for the cover in Monday’s paper. The graphs look good and I found the article more interesting than students experiencing burnout, but I guess there was already a graph on the cover
  • Our online felt like it kind of just operated as normal, so we probably could have done more with updates for elections.
  • The video we posted for election day was pretty good and I liked the incorporation of interviews into the video, another instance of the voice of the interviewee playing nicely. Not a huge fan of the football video we posted because the narrator just has a really low energy and it sounds like he’s whispering
  • Probably could have posted a lot more about the election on social media, like some live updates and things like that

Improving Engagement

Posted on by Salem Isaf
  • More pointed social media
    • To me our social media presence seems neutered in a way. Trying very hard to be hyper professional but in a boring way
    • Try to have more of an edge, though in what way I’m not sure
  • Improve video
    • These also tend to be edited in what’s trying to be hyper professional but often seem kind of boring
    • This seems harder since there are less in person events to video, and I don’t want to see zoom recordings ever
  • Including sound bites from interviews on the website
    • Just like Professor Meyer suggested, and this should be easier than normal because interviews over zoom can be a lot easier to record than in person with background noise
  • Meme Edition
    • Agree with Cassidy on a Comedic Edition
    • I was a big fan of the Black Sheep and they went under, maybe we could have a regular section in our paper that is satirical in some way. it could be something interesting to push in our social media as well

Training New Staff

Posted on by Salem Isaf
  • Think Visually
    • Sometimes stories can be developed greatly with the use of photos. Be thinking about them early and often
    • Communicate more with photographers from the beginning of stories. Instead of filling out a form and hoping the picture is taken, have a conversation with the photographer
    • In what ways could an infographic add to your story? How can you best display the information compared to a graphic
    • Develop relationships with people in visuals. Learn what they think about the stories you are writing and vice versa to get a better grasp on how you each want the final product to turn out
  • Separate Daytime and Weekly Stories
    • These two responsibilities should not be worked on in the same way. They should be written differently as well
    • We need more communication between editors here and reporters on shift. Maybe more assignment based than letting them get to pick what they work on
    • Daytime is communal, and must be talked about between reporters for the best stories. Interview times must be shared with the whole group
    • Don’t worry about writing very short pieces. The goal here is to get the information out in a timely manner, and not add unnecessary detail. If it is necessary, we can add it later in a full story
  • Time for edits
    • Deadlines might need to be shorter for certain stories to allow editors to make real changes in the work of the reporter. Allows editors to ask for extra interviews and information, rather than checking mostly for grammar
    • I’d like a closer relationship between editor and reporter when working on a story. Editor should be more involved with the day to day of stories