Editing & Leadership
Each article that is pushed out to the public involves a team. Although frequently the only name appearing beside an article is the writer, the editors are just as valuable. When I write articles, it is helpful to have another person read over my work and answer questions. As an editor of the Highlander magazine, I now have opportunities to help bring out the best in other writers.
Highlander editing
In 2022 I started training to be an editor of Highlander magazine. This meant I would become accustomed to designing and learning how to make newspaper spreads. I initially trained by converting two of my articles into spreads. I also had the opportunity to edit and create spreads for our sixth issue that year.
​
In my junior year, I designed one spread. This meant a lot of back-and-forth communication between the writer and me to make their message as straightforward as possible. I reviewed numerous designs and spent hours looking for the perfect fonts and formats.
​
I took on more responsibility in my senior year and edited three stories for our first issue. I had five people working to gather media, conduct interviews, and write articles. Coordinating between these people and keeping our group in line to produce the best work possible was crucial to my editing process.
​
In addition, I edited the writing for many feature stories and read each issue sent to print in a circle edit. It can be challenging to edit because I had to ensure I had extensive grammar and AP Style knowledge. I would also place comments on writing flow and push writers to convey their points effectively.
​
Art rubric I used to grade illustrations writers create
Editors use a google form to report back their criticism and updates of their writer's work
Leadership
Journalists often work together as a team; some of the most valuable tips I've learned have come from other students. However, I could also present my tips to the journalism staff about ways to improve our publication or give relevant information.
​
Significant changes were implemented into the Highlander workflow for the 2022-2023 school year. We made these changes to make the Highlander process easier and help push out more unified magazines. As part of the editorial staff I was called upon to give my input on how to run the making of new magazines. One of the main things I did was help make the rubric for next year's writers. I helped decide how many points each contribution in the magazine would be worth to motivate writers to get work done on time.
Leading as an editor also meant critiquing one another's designs before we sent our magazines to print. Having a fellow editor review our work helped generate ideas and create a supportive environment. I would stay through lunches and flex periods to ensure the content we were making was the best it could be.
​
In addition, I gave presentations to the journalism staff to help improve our publication. In the first presentation below, I taught better ways to write about live events such as sports. Over time I learned many valuable tips and tricks that would be useful for the rest of the journalism staff.
​
The second slide shows the spread distribution for previous Highlander issues. I embarked on learning more about this project to ensure that we were producing news fairly and consistently. Many changes in how Highlander spreads are presented will be implemented next year to focus more on consistency and equal coverage ideas.