Editing, Leadership and Team Building
Editing
Story tracker
In order to help writers, artists, photographers and editors keep track of assignments and deadlines, I created a story tracker spreadsheet. It contains information about a story such as headline, deck, writers, angle, graphics/photo assignments, and deadlines. The spreadsheet also includes, on separate sheets, important resources/links as well as a staff directory with everyone's contact information.
^ Story tracker
Constructive feedback
When editing, my mindset is this: I am trying to help this writer help their reader. With this mindset, editing is not about playing the gotcha game. I seek to give only constructive feedback. Often, this means suggesting alternatives when I comment on a phrasing. It also means being friendly and approachable (for example, encouraging writers to see me if they want to discuss a suggestion I have). Finally, it means paying a compliment or two so the writer has some sort of affirmation about what they are doing well.
^ Sample of feedback given to a writer. (I edit online; this is a pen-and-paper representation of actual edits made.)
Layout edits
Copy isn't the only thing I edit; I also review and change layouts. This means double-checking every submitted layout for proper typefaces, font sizes, graphic and photo attributions, and so much more. I also make sure each layout conforms to design principles.
As an editor, I try to help realize a writer's vision rather than replacing it with my own. I also aim to work collaboratively with writers, letting them know of the changes I am making and giving them a chance to review their final layout.
Before
After
Leadership
Service leadership
As a leader, I view myself as serving my staff rather than vice versa. During class time, I seek to check in with writers and other editors, asking how I can help and offering advice when I can. When I need to do a task for myself, I do it out of class. While in class, my purpose is to serve the staff.
Staff recruitment
The rising Editor in Chief is historically responsible for staff recruitment on Arlingtonian. To recruit new staffers, I set up a table during scheduling week encouraging students to enroll in journalism (we offered candy as an incentive). I also designed posters for drawing and photography classes and spoke with the Journalism II class.
I ultimately built a staff of 38 capable and curious student journalists. Most of the staff were new to Arlingtonian, including the entire business team, two-thirds of the writers, three-quarters of the photographers, and all but one of the graphic artists.
^ Arlingtonian recruitment table staffed by writer Safia Malhotra and me. Our expected table was not available, so we had to be flexible using a smaller cart.
Training and education
The influx of new staff members meant that there was a need for more training. Throughout the year, I have held a variety of workshops for staff members to improve their skills. A sample training I led is viewable on the Design category page. Training also took place at Camp Arlingtonian, which you can read about toward the bottom of this page.
Feedback = improvement
In order to be an effective leader, I am constantly seeking feedback from staff members. This can mean asking a writer how they think the year is going before going over their work. Or, I might bring over a photographer to ask what they think about a layout I'm working on.
Feedback also comes from more formal avenues. In October, after the release of our second issue, I wanted to hear from staff members. I wanted to know what they thought was going well, and what still needed work.
The feedback I received was strikingly consistent. Staff members praised the sense of culture, saying that there was a cohesive sense of community. However, they identified communication as an area in need of improvement — communication among different parts of staff, communication between in-class and out-of-class staff members, and communication from leadership.
As soon as I saw the survey results, I met with my editors and together we brainstormed a slew of measures we could implement to promote communication. I put those measures onto a presentation and spoke before the staff to announce the changes we were making. I plan to hold a follow-up survey in the near future to evaluate whether staff members have registered an improvement.
Beyond this, we also reflect as a staff after each issue. I screenshare, and together we go through page by page to evaluate the strong points and the weak points. I aim to lead a friendly and collaborative dialogue on how the publication can be made even better with the help of each staff member.
Open communication
My primary method of communication is our staff Slack, where I send out announcements. I also occasionally post from the Arlingtonian Instagram "close friends" list. This means that a message from me will appear in Arlingtonian staff member's feeds, but will not be viewable by the general public. Additionally, I go over deadlines and other information in class. Finally, I maintain a staff calendar which everyone has access to and which contains important deadlines.
^ Slide displaying upcoming deadlines
Staff empowerment
I believe that people do their best work when they have a sense of ownership over what they do. That's why I seek to empower staff members through democratic decisionmaking, giving them the ability to define their own Arlingtonian experience.
One way I hope to empower staff members is by allowing writers to choose their own assignments. In many newsrooms, the editor starts the cycle by assigning each writer a piece. In Arlingtonian, on the other hand, we start each cycle with a collaborative brainstorm, with each staff member pitching in their ideas and building off of what others have said. By the end of the class period, we have a lengthy Google Doc containing dozens of ideas for features, op-eds, videos, and more. From there, staff members select their own pieces to write based on their knowledge and interests.
Naturally, I aim to guide them in this process, based on what I know about their journalistic abilities as well as the needs of the publication. Granting so much autonomy to writers has its pros and cons, but I have found that in the end it encourages writers to take their work more seriously.
Another way I seek to accomplish staff empowerment is through democratic decisionmaking. For example, in December we held a "referendum" on whether to continue to use Slack as our communication method, or to switch to GroupMe as some staff members had suggested. I invited the staff to share their views, putting together pros and cons before inviting the entire staff to vote. The staff decisively opted to stick with GroupMe, but in the process of debating and discussing a switch we came to make changes to our communication practices in general.
Of course, I don't put everything up for a vote — Arlingtonian is not a democracy. There are situations that are too sensitive, too complicated, or too trivial, for a staff-wide vote. But when the circumstances are right, I find that allowing the staff to choose is the right choice.
Through both self-selected assignments and democratic decisionmaking, I aim to empower our staff, giving them more ownership over the work they do.
^ First page of the four-page issue 5 brainstorm doc. The entire newsroom come up with these ideas in class, and writers decide for themselves which stories to write for the issue.
^ Screenshot of the Slack vs. GroupMe referendum.
Recognition
As Managing Editor, I was taught a philosophy that stays with me to this day as Editor in Chief: "praise in public, criticize in private." I seek to provide opportunities for recognition for all our staff, if even for a small thing they did to help the publication.
I also encourage staff members to submit work in contests like those offered by the Ohio Scholastic Media Association.
^ Slides from a presentation I created explaining how to enter OSMA contests.
Speakers
Arlingtonian journalists are constant learners. Every cycle, they choose a new topic to tackle, which can entail conducting background research while seeking every perspective, interviewing experts and laypeople alike.
But we also learn from other journalists. As Managing Editor, I reached out to a former Arlingtonian copy editor who today works at the New York Times. She agreed to Zoom in to the newsroom, and the Arlingtonian staff had the opportunity to ask her questions about her career. This year, we had a journalist from the LA Times come to visit who had a connection with a teacher in the building.
Leveraging connections like these, Arlingtonian staff have been able to hear from individuals whose work we find inspiring.
Team Building
“
James creates a staff culture that not only brings every branch of staff together socially, but also promotes a collaborative work culture. He ensures that the notion of positive teamwork is transparent, a priority, and constructive.
— Gracie Helfrich, Arlingtonian Multimedia Editor
As I entered the position of Editor in Chief, one of my first priorities was improving staff culture. I wanted Arlingtonian to be not just a newsmagazine but also a community of student journalists. I wanted staff members to know that they would be supported in the four walls of the newsroom. To that end, I have implemented a host of policies with the goal of boosting our sense of team community.
Going to Camp
On Arlingtonian, team building starts early, with Camp Arlingtonian, a yearly weeklong staff onboarding experience the week before school starts in August.
My sophomore year, the camp had been online due to COVID. My junior year, the camp took place in varied locations throughout Upper Arlington (the basement of the library, a middle school, etc.) due to construction going on at our high school. Thus, in many ways I was operating from a "blank slate" when planning the experience.
Off the bat, I started with a rebranding (I changed the name from Arlingtonian Camp to Camp Arlingtonian). I then got to work creating slideshows, training materials, and icebreakers.
When the week came, staff members came to the school to participate in get-to-know-you activities, trainings, workshops, and more — all while putting together the first issue. Over soft ukulele music I streamed from my phone, we chatted, learned, and shared in laughter. We ended the week with a classic summer camp experience: enjoying s'mores outside the school.
^ Arlingtonian staff members cook s'mores at camp.
^ I started each day at Arlingtonian Camp with an icebreaker. This helped our staff get to know each other.
^ Camp Arlingtonian welcome screen.
^ Graphic artists get ready for the year at Camp Arlingtonian.
Fun Friday and staff events
Every Friday, our staff enjoys Fun Friday. This can mean playing a game or simply checking in with each other.
Additionally, I have organized staff holiday parties on Thanksgiving and Halloween in order to give the staff a chance to relax and enjoy some food. We invited the staff of Kickin It Live, the UAHS broadcast group, to our Halloween party.
Finally, we have held staff events such as a Secret Santa and an after-school full-staff Graeter's meet-up.
Alumni day
In December, I organized an alumni breakfast, during which Arlingtonian alumni came to visit, catch up, and reflect on their time on Arlingtonian. We had a half dozen or more alumni show up; it was great to hear about their time on staff and in college or beyond, and to share with them what we're up to.
