SCHOOL PAPER

Guides in Crafting the School Paper

Staff management for school newspapers

Typical roles in a newspaper team: 1.Reporters (news, sports, photo, opinion, tech) – responsible for staying up to date with the latest and upcoming events happening in school. They should also stay informed on politics, sports, technology or culture according to the department they are in. 2.Editor / Department editors – editors plan and cover articles, proofread and edit reporter submissions. Department editors are responsible for all the articles that belong in their section and they work closely with the editors and reporters that are in their sections. They should be more experienced than editors, so the department editor role shouldn’t be assigned to a junior student 3.Designers + Art director – The design/ art team is in charge of the visual aspect of the newspaper, including layouts, illustrations and everything that is related with the visual aspects. The art director oversees the entire design process, so he works closely with the designers

Typical roles in a newspaper team: Photo reporters + photo editor – in smaller teams the role of the photo editor is not necessarily required, because his responsibilities can be covered by the art director. Production manager – responsible of setting the production schedule and making sure the all departments are meeting deadlines for copy, design, editing, proofreading and so on. He communicates directly with the printing house and with the technical department. Technical staff – the technical department publishes the newspaper on the website. The online version of your newspaper can be an identical copy of the printed one, or you can decide to publish the articles on your website in a different format. Business / Advertising– if you run ads in your school paper, you will need someone to mediate your relationship with advertisers and establish new business connections to grow the advertiser network.

Types of articles

School newspapers and regular newspapers are structured in a similar manner, even though the topics are tailored to the audience. School news News articles should cover various events, policies and other school news that are interesting for students. These news don’t have to be limited to your high school or college. You can write about national and even worldwide news, but only if they provide useful information. For example, a worldwide student art competition could be the subject of a newspaper article. National laws and legislation regarding schools and education should also be covered in news articles, because they concern all students and will impact their lives. School news should be presented in an objective manner, presenting facts, not rumors or assumptions. They should be based on research and present different points of views.

Feature story (over 1000 words) Each newspaper edition is likely to have a feature story. It’s the longest article in the paper, and the most in-depth. Feature stories revolve around facts, but they take a story to the next level by presenting context, quotes, reasons why it happened, ramifications of the story and implications. The article shouldn’t involve personal bias. It should be based on an elaborate investigation made by the journalist, interviewing multiple accounts. However, the feature isn’t limited to facts, it gives the journalist a little room for interpretation and embedding his opinion in the piece, in a subtle way. The topic varies. It could be some big news, an in-depth analysis of a social school phenomenon, a new policy or something else. Editorial (under 500 words) Unlike the previous 2 types of articles, the editorial is an opinion piece. Still, the writer shouldn’t express his own views, but the opinion of the entire editorial staff. For that reason, the editorial is usually not signed. It’s a piece of commentary that appears to be written by an entire team. That’s why the writer/ editor shouldn’t talk about himself using the singular form of the first person: I, me, myself. The editorial should be entertaining or argumentative. In order to achieve that you can start by making a claim that could be controversial, then proceed by explaining your reasons and clarifying your claim. This flow will keep readers engaged. Some of them will agree with your point of view. Others won’t, but that’s alright. The purpose is to challenge readers. Topics: school rules, policies, teaching methods, advice, announcements, school news

Columns Just like editorials, columns are opinion-based articles. The content and topics are very much like an editorial. But the main difference between an editorial piece and a column is the signature. The editorial goes unsigned because it represents the collective views of editorial staff, but the columnist will publish his piece under his name. That’s why columnists can write about their opinions using the singular form of the first person. Sometimes an editor will publish a series of articles on the same topic/ similar topics, through several issues. Reviews All of the big newspapers publish reviews because they help the general public make decisions. There’s no reason why school newspaper shouldn’t publish review articles on various topics: school textbooks, movies, books, or even classes. Start by writing a short description of the thing that you are reviewing. Then add details about your personal experience. Include details about pros, cons, value for the money, performance mentions of other reviews, comparison to similar products. Try to be as objective and unbiased as possible. Don’t forget to write a conclusion in which you summarize the review and give a verdict: whether you would recommend the product or not.

Promotional pieces Companies pay money to have advertorials inserted in newspapers. The school context is different, but you will still need to include some promotional articles every once in a while. It may be for the school’s art or sports club, for a conference organized by the school or for a different event. Your article should offer useful details about the event/ club that is promoted and it should also present the benefits it offers for students in order to encourage them to participate / join a program / buy a ticket. Educational articles This category includes tutorials and how-to articles with useful tips. Topics vary, but they should be school related, at least slightly. Here are a few examples: how to deal with stress, mnemonic learning techniques, tips for integrated digital learning, utilizing school resources, etc. These types of articles will help students deal with certain issues that almost everybody encounters. Cartoons If you have a talented illustrator in your crew, you should make the most of his skills. Assign a space in your newspaper’s layout specifically for the cartoon. The topic should be something school related, something that students can relate to. The cartoon will put a smile on the reader’s face.

News writing

Newspaper design

School newspaper templates

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