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- 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
- Show don’t tell
- Let the new reporter show you what kind of experience they have: give them a story idea or let them take one of their own and have them go interview sources for the story. Before writing, go through their interview together and provide constructive criticism
- Then, have them try writing the story with no help. Do the same process, sit down and edit with them and have them rewrite or fix things then submit it for the final edit to be published
- Have them sit in on one of your interviews and discuss why you asked the questions you did after the interview
- Share with them your process of writing a lede/coming up with interview questions/submitting photo or graphic requests
- Edits, edits, edits
- Sit down and edit each of their stories with them for the first few weeks/months if needed.
- I learned the most freshman year when my editor sat me down and helped me realize what was good and what could’ve used improvement
- Don’t just tell them what they did wrong, try and guide them into figuring it out themselves
- Go through alternative ledes or angles to the story: how would you have written the story?
- Assign them other articles to read from publications like Washington Post, NYT, Sports Illustrated to better understand journalistic structure/different forms of ledes/story structures – visual learning is key
- Develop friendships/connections
- Make them feel comfortable at the DI
- Host virtual (for now) hangouts/happy hours/game nights (whatever is fun)
- Talk to them about their lives/school not just edits and stories all the time
- I like the idea of showing trainees what to do, deleting the progress, then having them give it a go
- I feel like I know my way around Indesign/Illustrator pretty well, so I honestly love answering questions whenever people have them, so while people are trying their hand at these things, they can ask me questions along the way.
- Files of instructions about what to do in certain circumstances like for example:
- Sometimes text wrapping is weird on the computers in the office, they’re always marked to be ignored in text options. This could be a tip that’s included in said file.
- I feel like we haven’t had a true style guide for the layout in a while, it’s all sort of been passed down from design editor to design editor. I think something like this could be really helpful for new hires, especially for when me or my design editor aren’t in the office to help with something. It would be nice for them to have something to consult.
- I start the new hires out with simpler pages like A2 or A4/A5, as they usually don’t have too many stories. Then I have them work their way up to pages like B1/B2 or even A1/A3. It takes time for them to feel confident putting together those puzzles, but it’s so rewarding once they do.
- Keep in contact with new hires and keep the momentum up. I have quite a few new designers (many of whom are off campus and are just doing graphics for the time being) who are eager to help, which is really nice. I have 2 new ones coming into the office to train this upcoming Sunday (wooo!!!), so I think we can really foster a good learning environment for them.
- I could create little cheat sheets to hang up around the office with tips for the layout.
- Figure out some fun ways to become a team, especially when things are pretty hectic
- Zoom hangouts
- Design challenges with small prizes