Advisory Board Members | April 4, 2008 | Dec. 6, 2007 | Feb. 19, 2007 |
Notes Nov. 15, 2006 | Notes March 13, 2006 | Task Force Recommendations | Past editorsMelody Guyton, copy editor, the Durham Herald-Sun, mguyton@heraldsun.com
Dan Holly, Raleigh News & Observer, dholly@newsobserver.com
Fred Hord, director of the African American Culture Center at N.C. State and professor of Africana Studies, fred_hord@ncsu.edu
Tracey Ray, director of the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs and director of the Office of African-American Student Affairs at NCSU, tracey_ray@ncsu.edu
Dick J. Reavis assistant professor teaching journalism in the English department at NCSU, djreavis@chass.ncsu.edu
TOPNotes from the Advisory Board
PRESENT: Melody Guyton, Dan Holly, Dick Reavis, Al McArthur, Kishea Phillips, Bradley Wilson
Melody started by stressing that people need to look over headlines and captions during production even more so than copy. Get more eyes on headlines and captions. For some readers that may be all they read. She suggested being more careful with placement of rule lines, using rules to spearate and to keep related items together, but not to separate related items.
Bradley reminded the staff that there is an online guide to caption writing and a local stylebook to follow after discussion of style.
Leads have to draw reader in. A look at story on SAAC, Dan said, read like "Take a seat it's gonna be a long story." Try to draw readers in. Determine what's the most important thing they get out of the stories. Do you talk out stories? That is a really good way to bring out these aspects. Reporters need confidence. He also said that managing create people is different. No two people are alike. You can't tell them what to do, you can only convince them that what they want to d is what you want them to do. Ask questions. Get the reporter to start formulating in his or her own mind what the story is about.
In discussion of the online site that hasn't been updated since February, Al said that the Webmaster just stopped coming. He said they were now trying to find an extra person. People don't expect to wait for news. They want it now. They read online differently. Dan said that at the N&O, they try to put short and to-the-point materials online as soon as possible. Put the facts online. Fast. Then, in the next day's paper, put the context, the history, the color. People expect immediacy. Everything is instantly available. Use Web site for storytelling devices, ongoing development of story. Get photos online. Just put them online.
The group also discussed the cartoon and how it adds life to an otherwise gray page. Al said it was solely the work of the cartoonist without much staff discussion. It's a contained story each week. That brought out a discussion of staff editorial, not another column, but a leadership piece written on behalf of the entire editorial Board. Dan said the editorial should not be bland. Spark controversy. Don't be predictable. The Nubian Message has opportunities that other papers might not have. Editorial might give the paper more life, more personality.
You could have a little more fun. You have a different audience.
Advisory Board members stressed having three sources at least and pushing quotes over everything. Quotes add life to the story.
Don't overlook important things. Referring to a story on p. 2 of March 19, 2008 issue, "Ella Baker Speaking Tour," Dick pointed out that Ira Grupper was white, but that wasn't mentioned in story. Her race, he said, was relevant. It showed that white civil workers had input too. Mention race when it's relevant to the story. It's very touchy.
Dan suggested that the staff develop some standing features to fill pages. Plan for open spaces. Create a feature such as "scenes from around campus." Have people send in photos. Quote of the week. Overheard. Don't let the paper look so haphazard.
Lack of copyediting spoils the page. It may be that copy editing is even more critical in a student newspaper. Students can hurt each other when pages don't get edited well. Sometimes students can't use clips because the pages contain copyediting errors that would reflect badly on them, even if the errors aren't in their stories.
Reporting should be emphasis of training. You can't write a story without good reporting. Emphasize that journalism is harder than it looks. People need to know how the world works. They need to read and to learn to write the English language.
Retention. Why do people leave? Maybe they forgot why we do what we do. Graduation. Other responsibilities. Dan suggested using doughnuts to motivate staff. Schedule events for fun only. Get together just to talk about story ideas.
PRESENT: Dick Reavis, Fred Hord, Dan Holly, Melody Guyton, Al McArthur, Bradley Wilson
Al McArthur, editor, started off by talking about his transition to editor. He said he felt the creditbility of the paper is up, readershiop is up and the paper is coming out consistently. He said the staff has done a great job meeting deadlines this year. He said one of the staff's weaknesses was not having broad enough talent to cover campus. Focus has been on content, then, of course, copy editing.
Dan said the staff has done a great job. You've done aworked really hard on design. "You've really gotten your act together. When I got on this Board, I was certainly thinking, 'Why does this publication exist?'" You've found your identity, your vitality. Good consistent organization in the paper. It feels like something I would pick up and enjoy reading. Need to work on promos. Can't see photos. Maybe use cut-outs. Peak people's interest.
Fred said the copy editing is better. He pointed out one piece ("The State of Denial," p. 3, issue 6) that "looked like it was a bad first draft." Still a lot of comma problems. Not a lot of subject/verb agreement issues. Seems to be more with certain writers than overall.
Al said the copy editing has improved for the last two or three issues.
Dan said that his paper has different levels of editing. The assistant editors, for example, read it for fairness and balance. The copy editors read it for grammar, style, does it make sense, etc.
Melody said the copy editors pick it apart.
Fred suggested also looking at coherence, which Dan said might be equivalent to the focus of the story.
Dan asked how come the columnists don't have photos. Al said it was just something they hadn't gotten around to. Dan said the readers connect moe when they can see the person. Bradley said this might break up the grayness of the page. Melody said mugs would also help the reader know this is subjective rather than objective content. Separate news from editorial. Bradley said that if we could get folks to come in, we could do these photos all in the studio.
Dan suggested the staff look at using more alternative story forms (bulleted list, Q&A, timelines, bio boxes, maps, quote collections, by the numbers, etc.). We can't just offer big blocks of gray text any more. As an example, he cited the Obama story, a great opportunity for alternative copy, including quotes from attendees, maybe a bio box of Obama, stats, etc. Make it more lively.
Dick suggested things are definitely better this year. First, it's come out on time. Content is better. Still seeing copy editing errors. "I get the impression this is amateur writing, not by people who consider themselves journalists." Staff seems to be producing a church newsletter. You need to put it out like journalists, not like club members.
Fred reminded staff members that he loaned them a collection of books on the evolution of the Black Press. Very message oriented. Give out the message the black community needs to hear.
Dick said this might sometimes mean there isn't much difference between fact and opinion. Might blur the lines with commentary. But use journalistic writing, journalistic form. Sure you have the attitude that you need to get the paper out and you need to cooperate as a cohesive staff, but you also need to get it out as if you are journalists.
Dan said the way you write a story is important. They don't fall that far short. Sometimes stories don't include quotes. Include quotes. Get details. Too often, they tell instead of showing. Show, don't tell. Let facts tell the story.
Dick said this was a way of writing called newspeak.
Melody suggested that the staff sometimes take a step back and look at what the news really is. Why are you writing this story?
Disk said that the staff really needs to develop some people on staff who will be come journalists. It's better than a year ago. Al said there were probably three people on staff going in to journalism out of 30 or so regular contributors, but about half would go into journalism, marketing or public relations of some form.
Melody said she had a lot of nit-picky things. Get better at hooking the reader. Use break-out boxes. Get something to draw the reader in. Use subheads in the text. Stylize bylines. Have some diversity in fonts. Put a little headline on promos. The more people who get involved, including designers, the more ideas you'll get. She also noted some inconsistencies in style even with "African-American" in the nameplate vs. staff box. Pay special attention to headlines and cutlines. Definitely have plenty of people looking over headlines and cutlines. More people read them than copy.
Dan said it's good to have an attitude, a perspective that is not general. People are busy. No body has time to read a paper unless it's interesting. Hook them. Present it in a way that grabs them.
We finished about 8:15 p.m.
PRESENT: Dan Ternes, Dick Reavis, Odessa Montgomery, Fred Hord, Keitris Weathersbe, Bradley Wilson
Dick started off with a brief discussion about the paper weight. No one else noticed a difference, but Bradley said he would check with printer. There should have been no change.
Then there was a brief discussion about photos and how some seemed stretched out of proportion and how we needed to provide the staff training in color correction. (NOTE: There is a step-by-step guide to color correction (CLICK HERE) as part of our photography manual.)
Dan said the paper was doing a good job of fulfilling the mission and of giving readers something they're not getting elsewhere. He noted that on page 1 of Feb. 7 issue, the best photo was an action shot, and speaker shot should have been just a head shot (one column or half-column) with a pull quote and a smaller caption.
Think more in general about how you're using the page. Are we using our space as effectively as we could. The more professional the look the more reaction you're going to get.
Fix byline style.
Bradley encouraged the staff to make sure that all pages and spreads have a center of visual interest to pull the reader in.
Dan said there needed to be consistency in column heads on opinion column heads. He noted the celebrate 50 years graphic in the staff box. That needs to be explained so it's clear that it's not the Nubian Message celebrating 50 years but also continuing the message of the 50-year celebration. Always need to be looking at least a month in advance. He said he'd like to see some stories about what life was like on this campus for an African-American 50 years ago. (Great feature story idea.)
Fred said a grad student in the Culture Center was working on a project about 1951-1959 and the desegregation of NCSU and ways administration tried to circumvent it. (Could Nubian Message have scoop when this is released?)
Odessa said the 50th anniversary even was a year-long event and there were plenty more opportunities for coverage.
Fred said that even the Culture Center events were connected to the general theme.
Bradley said he'd like to hear more behind-the-scenes coverage, not "game" coverage of athletics events and speeches.
Dan said there were a few stories he didn't get a whole lot out of such as p5, Jan. 24, 2007 sports story. It ended up as a column but started as a story. He said he'd go with the column since probably people who cared about the game knew the outcome but not the analysis. He suggested keeping stories separate from columns. Sometimes it's OK to assume people have read the big story. They know the basic news.
Fred asked how much the staff thought the paper should be subjective vs. objective.
Keitris said the staff feels that most of the paper should be editorial, "news with a view."
Dick said the tradition of the black press has been that there isn't so much of a separation. The perception is that the "white press" has maintained objectivity. It hasn't.
Fred asked how long the paper has been divided into the current sections.
Keitris said she thought it was since the paper was founded. Bradley said at least four years.
Keitris said there as been a problem labeling news. What we're getting is not really news.
Dan defined news as what people don't know. He pointed a recent article in the News & Observer about a rezoning request that happened around 2002 but there was a recent complaint and the N&O hadn't reported on it back then. It was news.
Odessa pointed out that the Nubian Message isn't a daily paper so the staff doesn't have to deal with the issues of being a daily. They have a freedom to report without the time constraints.
Dan said that he knows people read the paper for "news." "Duh." Find some other element of the story that isn't known or find news that's not being reported elsewhere. I would like to know what's going on around campus. Not so much opinion. I definitely wouldn't get away from news too much. Differentiate news from opinion.
Fred and Odessa said they knew of a possibly irregular publication of an African-American publication at UNC-Chapel Hill, "The Black Ink." Bradley said he would check into that.
Dan questioned Fred Hatchett's role on staff. He writes what he wants to write and doesn't care what people think. He needs a little bit of accountability. You can't write a column in which you omit the basic facts. Put the facts in the column if they're not reported elsewhere. Make his column a little more professional. Bradley said Fred is a contributing columnist and is not a student.
Keitris asked where she could draw the line. Can I change his opinion as the editor?
Dan said no you can't. But that the editor has every responsiblity to hold columnists accountable for their content.
Bradley told Ketris that it was her job to challenge the facts and ensure that the foundation of the column is based on solid, factual material.
Dan said "This is precious space. He has a responsibility to work hard. He can have any opinion he wants. He should document facts and stimulate thought." He also said he sometimes enjoyed reading Fred's columns.
Fred said he might know of an NCSU tie to presidential candidate Barak Obama. Keitris' staff could pursue this as a story idea. Then he asked how staff members feel about use of the English language this year vs. last year. Are there fewer grammatical errors?
Dick said his position in life is as a journalism teacher. He pointed out that he has only had a few (He recalled three.) of the Nubian Message staff members in class. In the past year he said he's seen the Technician make a giant improvement in copy editing — "night to day." My impression of the Nubian Message is that there was no one copyediting it. We've got a common language. It's as much my business as yours. Ask copy editors how mistakes got through. He marked up some papers and gave them to Keitris.
Keitris said there were two copy editors reading stories.
Dick said his job was to help students get jobs. If there is a copy-editing error in a story, that story is no good as a clip. Writing may be more important than content at least for resume purposes.
Odessa said she went to the Web site and really liked it. In the print editions she said there were a lot of head shots. Diversity of photos is really important. Some pages are really gray. Use cartoons, illustrations. (Bradley added, alternative copy such as timelines, bio boxes, Q&As, bulleted lists, infographics. etc.) She said that what she didn't see where articles on the big issues on campus and about how those issues impact students. She encouraged the staff to take general issues and look at what those issues mena to readers.
Odessa also encouraged the staff to publicize online and in the paper where the paper is distributed. She said she thought the paper was hard to find.
Fred asked what was the top distribution point in Witherspoon. Keitris said it was outside the paper's office. Bradley said they'd tried the table outside the Culture Center and that didn't work. Also tried the table downstairs. What seemed to be most effective was the counter inside the front door of the Culture Center. Bradley also said that distribution boxes don't seem to work, but passing out the paper does.
Dick suggested that the staff develop a list of malcontent faculty and talk to them to get story ideas.
Dan also suggested a student survey as a forum to get more people in the paper. Run survey results and mug shots wiht best quotes. Take on a big story. Such things drum up interest.
Odessa said the chancellor has an African-American advisory council that meets one or two times a semester. This group of off-campus individuals discusses retention, events, money, etc. She said she would check to see if the Nubian Message could be distributed to this group.
Odessa said she also had a hard time when looking at the paper knowing that it was affiliated with NCSU in any way. Bradley pointed out that the name of the University and city should be in the nameplate as should volume number. Similar information should also be in the masthead. Bradley also said he would check to see what historical taglines were below nameplate.
[They were, in order of publication:
North Carolina State University’s First African-American Newspaper
Serving North Carolina State’s African-American students since 1992
The African American Voice of North Carolina State University
Sentinel of NC State’s African American Community since 1992
Sentinel of the African-American Community]Fred closed by commending Keitris for being so professional and open. And Bradley concurred pointing out an ethical issue that the staff faced when a student who happened to be in the Student Senate got promoted and became news editor. Holding both positions was a violation of the NCSU Student Media Code of Ethics. He resigned from the Senate. Both students handled this in a very professional manner.
PRESENT: Dan Holly, editor, North Raleigh News; Dick Reavis, assistant professor, NCSU, Tracey Ray, director, NCSU Multicultural Affairs; Keitris Weathersbe, editor; Bradley Wilson, coordinator of Student Media advising; Sequoia Ireland, photo editor
Dan by asking a question about how frequently the Nubian Message comes out and why it comes out weekly. Tracey said the publication was monthly during its first year of publication when students paid for it out of their pockets. Once it came under the auspices of NCSU Student Media, it came out every other week. Tracey didn't remember why it went to weekly about five years ago but suspected it had to do with coming out regularly so the students could "depend" on it.
He asked if frequency of production led to production problems, i.e. if the publication came out less frequently would they have more time to polish? Keitris said she is doing all the production and the publication had been weekly since she'd been on staff so, she didn't know what a difference any other schedule would make.
In referring to Oct. 4 issue, Dan said dominant piece of art makes page 1 look cleaner. Clean look, not so much gray space, no more than two stories per page. Maybe have some templates to speed up production. Need to put some emphasis on training production staffers. He said it really made a difference when he looked at a well-designed front.
Tracey said she was most concerned about factual information that wasn't correct. (Were corrections published?) For example, she pointed to the Aug. 30, 2006 issue that said this year had the largest African-American freshmen class. "That's a lie." The African-American population didn't increase 28 percent. Story does not cite source. Another story had the wrong percentage of African-Americans on campus (Sept. 27). Another story said there were 42 registered minority organizations. "There are way more than that." Need to make sure to attribute sources.
From Bradley: Visit http://www.ncsu.edu/sorc/ for info on registered student organizations. The University's Planning and Analysis Web site has more information than you'd ever want on University demographics. http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/
The opinion section: People need to feel connected to the paper. Would like to see letters to the editor. Maybe have a topic of debate. Fosters buy-in to the paper.
Tracey said she heard some really positive feedback that some articles were well written.
Dan Holly said he would encourage the staff to think really hard about the paper's identity and what it is offering readers. For example, story on sanitation workers. "This is fantastic." Sororities. Good. But stories on flu season and minimizing stress. What is the mission of those stories? What can you offer readers that they're not going to get elsewhere. Readers need to think of this as a "must read."
Tracey said we need to grab them and keep them. Front page needs to grab them. Selection of coverage needs to keep them interested.
Back to the sanitation workers story, Dan said the paper wrote about what people were talking about and what interests them.
Take global events and localize them. Cover campus but also what students think about, for example, potential candidates for president. Anything people talk about is news. Think out of the box but don't forget your readers and your mission.
Dick asked how many people were on staff. Keitris said 28. He said the copy editing was much better. He said the Nubian Message has a philosophically different vision than other media: youth as part of a culture. "You see a bigger world than the one bounded by this campus." It's most akin to church newsletters and community newsletters. The Technician promotes NCSU as a fun place for students. It's more like a chamber of commerce or public relations publication. The Technician is recently stumbling towards news. Still not doing the big stories it ought to do. Student loans. BIG story. Some competition between the Technician and the Nubian Message would make you both better. Devote one person to an issue, maybe student loans.
He asked how many Nubian Message staffers plan to go into journalism. Keitris said she was the only one.
He encouraged the staff to do analytic news. You realize there's more than youth culture. Tackle student debt.
Dick noted that just coming out regularly boosts the readership of the paper. Tracey said at the last AASAC meeting, one member congratulated Keitris. Tracey said that Keitris' peers recognize the accomplishment of coming out on time.
Dick said he had the impression that black students on campus talk about what the Nubian Message has in it. He said students don't talk about what the Technician says.
Tracey said she plans to build credit into her AFS346 course for working for the Nubian Message. Dick said he have 1/4 point for every story published up to a maximum of 10 pts. He said this often rewards the editors of the paper for the time they spend in the office.
Dan asked Keitris how they plan for the upcoming issue. Keitris said they have a Friday meeting to plan not for the next paper but for the one after that. He encouraged the staff to separate "planning" from "production." Have some brainstorming time. Let it be stream of consciousness. Encourage out-of-the-box thinking. NOT "what are we going to put in the next issue."
Dick asked if the Nubian Message becomes a cult. Keitris said the staff does do sushi night and pizza once a month.
Tracey said use of the e-mail distribution lists in her office is at an all-time high. Encouraged staff to think about having a two-week calendar in the paper.
Dan said the paper should be more in touch with people's lives. Solicit story ideas.
Tracey asked about the Web site. Keitris said Brittany Davis was the new Webmaster. And that stories are available on the Web.
Tracey said she strongly recommended a retreat for incoming and outgoing staff members. Work on ideas over the summer.
Bradley said he really wanted this group to get together twice in the spring. Keitris and her staff will serve through the end of the academic year but the hiring of new editors will take place in March. There will be plenty of time for a transition.
PRESENT: Fred Hatchett, Dan Holly, Fred Hord, Dick Reavis, Keitris Weathersbe, Bradley Wilson
The discussion began with some discussion of the format of the publication and whether it is best served by being a weekly newspaper tabloid.
Holly : Publication like this serve a need. Think about coming out less often. I see stuff in here I don't see in the Technician . You need a little more time to develop. For example, he cited the Q&A on the front page of the March 1 issue.
Reavis : Today's issue had two news stories on page 1 that were as least as well written as the Technician. When I looked at the Nubian Message several weeks ago, threw was no news. The big weakness was news. Today it seemed corrected. I think the problem of the Technician is that people are working there to build their resumes, not because their heart's in reporting. They're not going to do anything investigative such as looking into student loans. I don't see what we can give students to give them heart.
Weathersbe : They know how to write a story, but not how to report.
Reavis : What can I do to help? Once it's published, I'll mark it up. I think it's done some good. I also give students in my classes, one-half point every time something is published in the Technician , the Nubian Message or other media. This gives students the opportunity to get some journalism education without going into the classroom. I only have one black student in my classes this semester.
Hord : I'm here because I think the Nubian Message is important for the campus community. I'm not a journalist. My strength is in the mechanics of the language. I believe in the paper. It's very important for this campus. It's a tricky language. Interested in the "elders" mentioned in the staff box. John Clark is a radical nationalist. You point to some national figures who have been very clear about what their lives are about. Somebody made some decisions at some point to include these people. How does the Nubian Message see itself? Is it an op/ed organ? A mix? What is the consensus among the staff members?
Hatchett : I know I have my own beliefs. Fair is fair. If you're going to report a news story, you need legitimate sources to back it up. Don't just print a knee-jerk reaction. Wait and do a little bit of research. Go to five or six sources. Go get both sides, all sides. If they're saying something in conflict, report on that. Truth in reporting is critical. Nine out of 10 writers will write from their point of view. Don't leave out what should be in there.
Reavis : There's no longer a nationalist consensus in the black students.
Hord : I'm OK with doing something outside the conventional journalism. Less than objective. Objectivity is more of a myth than anything. What do you say you are?
Weathersbe : A newspaper. News/features.
Holly : Ask yourself in context of what role it fills for readers. Ex: State of the Union story.
Reavis : The Nubian Message did it better than the Technician .
Holly : Identify crisis. Older readers keep up. Blogging. Web site. What can you give readers that they aren't getting elsewhere. You can give readers news with attitude as long as that attitude is up front and consistent. News with a black attitude. It's not clear to me that that's what you're trying to do.
Weathersbe : Kind of hard to achieve with a news story.
Holly : State of the Union. Ask readers: "What did the president leave out?" Give NC State news that they're not going to read in the N&O or the Technician . You're representing what the students want because they're not getting it in the Technician , what they can't get elsewhere. Reflect attitudes of reader. Get facts right.
Hatchett : Even editorials have to have facts. It's the truth, but it's your opinion of the facts.
Holly : We won't sometimes write about the most obvious things even though everybody's taking about those things in Raleigh. Ex: Coretta King. Talk to students about how they feel about the MLK legacy. You bring those ideas alive. Always look for what you can give your readers that they can't get anywhere else. I kinda feel like you're trying to be like the Technician . You can still be yourself. "The Technician is for the white community. The Nubian Message is for the black community." You can't think this way.
Reavis : Cover on-campus stuff. You'll have to decide that. Go back to what your readers want. I bang on the Technician all the time. Ex: student indebtedness. It is your selection of what is news that isn't objective.
Hord : What's the strategy for working on mechanics, for minimizing typos and general mechanical flaws?
Weathersbe : Training of writers and editors.
Hord : Focus on syntax, clarity.
Hatchett : Ex: Impreachment at NC State (Whil Piavis, student body president issue); relate that story to society as a whole.
Hord : Are you getting feedback on the Web site?
Weathersbe : Yes
Holly : Look at design. I can see a lot of no nos. That goes a long way toward your look and feel.
Hatchett : Hispanics are coming in. We want people to think about what they're reading.
Final piece of advice:
Hatchett : Get more interaction in paper and on Web site. Provide more information through links. Get more than what article says.
Reavis : News needs the greatest improvement. Need to touch people's hearts. Need 2-3 weeks to do each story.
Hord : Focus on mechanics and style.
Holly : Planning always helps you. The more you plan, the better an issue is going to be. Fairly simple redesigns to packaging. Label opinion. Organize.
Nubian Message Task Force
Task Force Members
Patrick Cleary, chair; elected Student Media Board representative
Travis Birdsell, representative, Student Government
Rebecca Heslin, editor, Technician; appointed Student Media Board representative
Shannadora Hollis, representative, African American Student Advisory Council
Ervin Johnson, representative, Society of African American Culture
José Picart, vice provost, Office for Diversity and African American Affairs
Tracey Ray, director, Department of Multicultural Student AffairsDefinitions
Short-term to spring 2006
Near-term to fall of 2007
Long-term to fall 2010Driving Factors
• The Nubian Message should be an equal member of the N.C. State Student Media
• Goals be minimum achievable goals for the publication
• In no way should these recommendations either dictate content or set particular directions for the paper.Timeline for 2005/2006
Oct. 20, 2005 Board hires editor
Jan. 18, 2006 Next edition of The Nubian Message published
March 2006 Board hires editor for 2006-2007FINANCIAL
External Support
• The minimum goal for the spring semester is to have $1,000 in advertisements.
• In the near-term, the goal is to have 12.5 percent of the paper (approximately one page of an eight-page paper) in paid advertisements.
• In five years, the paper will have approximately 25 percent of space in paid advertisementsUse of Extra Monies
• Short-term: increase page count as content permits or use color pictures
• Near-term: use advertising revenues for increased training and staff support
• Long-term: adjust for reduced student fee monies and extra monies go to improve the publicationSTAFF
Recruitment
Short-term: The editor will be given lists of people who attended the boot camp for writers; interest surveys will be sent to other media groups to make them aware of the need for reporters/photographers; and the editor will contact former staff members of The Nubian Message.
Near/Long-term: The editor will ask every AASAC organization if any member is interested for support. The editor or other staff members will ask faculty members in English and Africana studies to recommend good writers/columnists to the editor at the beginning of each semester. Student Media will propose to Craig Brookins in Africana studies that credit be given in appropriate courses for work published in The Nubian Message. Staff members will use New Student Orientation, African-American Symposium, and the University’s Open House to promote The Nubian Message and all of Student Media to recruit enthusiastic talentDevelopment/Retention
Short-term: Staff members will use professional journalism classes (“boot camps”) to begin to develop the journalism standards of the writers.
Near-term:
• The editor will be encouraged to attend LeaderShape each spring, and section editors will be encouraged to attend LDS sessions during the year.
• Section editors and prospective section editors will be encouraged to enroll in journalism classes, a list of which is available online at http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/english/jourmin.htm.
• The editor will develop a well-defined and written hiring process for staff members. This process, including the submission of the individual’s qualifications and goals, and other material, will be consistent for all staff members. The process will be defined as part of the staff manual.
Long-term: The Nubian Message staff will be encouraged to conduct joint training with other NCSU Student Media outlets, including the Technician, when possible.Organization
Short-term: With the assistance of the Student Media coordinator and samples he has available, as well as other resources, the editor and staff will write job descriptions by Nov. 18 to be included in the staff manual.
Near-term: The editor will conduct a transition period with the new editor, based around the production of the last edition of each semester along with the transmission of the training/staff manuals.ADMINISTRATION
Governance
The Nubian Message falls under the N.C. State Student Media, as indicated in the Student Media Statutes of N.C. State University. http://www.ncsu.edu/sma/policies/statutes.html.Advising
Near-term: In addition to the Student Media structure, the staff should utilize other campus resources and and other interested alumni, journalists and friends of the publication to help with issues related to personnel, story ideas, and other concerns. The staff should also develop a list of resources both internal and external to Student Media.
Short-term:
• Identify faculty and staff members who will serve as mentors to the editor and section editors, and use this as a part of the advising process
• The Nubian Message would benefit from the appointment of an adviser dedicated to this specific medium. Whether this adviser is a hired position or a volunteer position or another type of position such as an instructor given this duty as part of their assigned duties has yet to be determined. The individual needs to be someone with journalism experience and will work within the Student Media hierarchy.
Long-term: Develop a five-member advisory council of both faculty and professional journalists that will meet with the editorial board twice per semester in the fall and spring semesters to discuss standards, mission and areas for improvement. This council will meet beginning in the spring of 2006. The editor will report to the Student Media Board the names of the individuals on the council at the first Board meeting in 2006.Standards
Near-term:
• Staff members who fail to turn in articles, photos or pages by the assigned deadline will receive a financial penalty as determined by the editor.
• Penalty for not coming out according to published schedule (i.e. still publishing, but not on day indicated): deduction of editorial board’s salary by 10 percent per issue. No penalty will be assessed for first issue that is still published, but not on time (i.e. 90 percent compliance.)
• Penalty for not coming out at all (i.e. missing an issue): deduction of editorial board’s salary by 25 percent per issue missed.
• The current production schedule has The Nubian Message coming out on Jan. 18, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 8, Feb. 15, Feb. 22, March 1, March 15, March 22, March 29, April 5, April 12 and April 19.
Short-term: The new editor (in conjunction with outgoing editor) will produce a best of The Nubian Message on or before June 1.
Long-term: The publication schedule will be re-examined for the 2006-2007 school year, along with all the goals for all the media, to evaluate optimal readership, advertising, and publication quality. The Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics will be included in the staff manual as industry standards.Web Presence:
Near-term. All spring issues of The Nubian Message will be available online at least in PDF format.
Long-term: All archives will be available online.First issue • Nov. 30, 1992
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