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Editors remember a year in student journalism
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Being the news editor
at The Appalachian is, to say the least, an experience.
It actually comes down to trial by fire, but
the results are worth it.
And these results are about more than just personal
change or even the success of the paper.
They are about the accomplishments of the people
who take on an organization like The Appalachian, willing to persevere
and to learn in the face of challenge. |
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When people think about
journalism, they normally think about the reporter out covering
his or her beat, interviewing sources and writing a story.
Sure, that’s a major part in the process
of creating a newspaper, but the writers, to use an extremely cliched
phrase, are just the tip of the iceberg.
The reporter’s job is only the first step
in the process for the story to reach you, the reader.
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Bethel Barefoot
Associate Editor
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James Nix
Associate Editor |
This newspaper is not for the weak-minded
or the faint of heart; it is for those made of an incredibly tough
material, able to withstand stress and difficulty and the often
insane expectations of the associate editors and editor-in-chief.
There have been many writers on staff this year.
If you are one of these people, no matter how long your stay, take
pride in the role you played in this organization.
Every one of these students has contributed positively
in one form or another to The Appalachian, be it the actual product
or simply the growth of the staff.
And our staff has grown. It is not just a bunch
of people who all work for the newspaper; it is a body, a team,
and yes, as much as they hate this analogy, a family.
They are friends, knowing each other personally,
and they don’t mind being together. Thankfully, they aren’t
dating each other. The year has been a much smoother ride because
of it.
But the bonds are there, helped along by some
staff dinners, which always prove interesting.
Our staff is and has always been, well, diverse.
Get these people together over some food and you never know what
might happen.
Add some chocolate cake and who knows what all
could go on.
Really, here at The Appalachian we love the business
of creating a newspaper. We have some fun ourselves, but mostly
because of our journalistic natures, we’re interested in what
other people are doing.
So more than anything else, we work.
And we work hard. Especially our writers (sorry
production kids, I’m biased).
We stay busy in a fast-paced kind of way, and
thus coming onto staff as a writer often means taking a lot of initiative
to learn and to get the job done.
Working independently and responsibly, they meet
deadlines (for the most part) and they attend meetings that, admittedly,
can either be pretty boring or pretty scary (well, we tried).
Overall, they simply get it done. And they get
it done well.
The change I’ve witnessed in our writers,
who start with no experience and end with the talent and skills
to be excellent journalists, has been amazing.
There have been none this change has not applied
to, and in these transformations do I find the real success of our
newspaper.
And not only do our writers succeed as journalists,
they also succeed as students.
Contrary to popular belief, school does come
first.
And the proof is in the puddin,’ due to
a cumulative GPA of 3.04.
Staff members balance the heavy load of school,
The Appalachian and life in general, and still keep their sanity.
(Well, most of them.)
Very simply, these are some of the most talented
and dedicated people I have ever met, and it has been one of the
greatest experiences of my life to work with them.
This experience extends as well to production
editor James Nix and our fearless leader, editor-in-chief Adam Bennett.
It all started in D.C. at a little place called
Cosi and has progressed into a great working relationship as well
as a great friendship. Thanks, boys.
Well, I’m out the door.
2003-2004 news editor Carrie Baker, they’re
all yours. I’m confident you will excel in ways I never could
with this position, and under the leadership of James, the paper
will reach a height it has never seen before.
Good luck, and don’t forget to have a squagel
for Adam and me. Just take it easy on the cream cheese, and everything
will be okay. |
As the production editor for The Appalachian
this year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a very talented
group of people who shape the reporter’s raw and sometimes
ugly story for publication (sorry writers, although I started as
one of you, I’m still biased).
Working with me this year have been three distinct
departments that have put their heart into this paper.
All three departments have done an outstanding
job this year working along side the stress of classes and life.
Believe it or not, we do put academics first at The Appalachian.
Academics are not the only thing coinciding with
the collegiate newspaper life. Our chief photographer got married
this year. Now only if his wife would stop calling to ask when he’s
coming home.
Most people don’t realize the amount of
work that goes into putting this newspaper out after the writers
do their job.
After deadline, when the writers are supposed
to have finished their job, the copy editors take over.
I’ve had the fortune of working with a lively
bunch of copy editors this year who have worked hard to catch the
mistakes writers make and get the stories ready for print.
It has been hard at times for the copy editors,
and I’m grateful to them for sticking with it through thick
and thin.
To be honest, I’m not too sure what else
to say about the copy editors and not have them edit it out while
reading over this.
Once the copy editors finish polishing the stories,
it’s up to the graphic designers to take over and design the
product you read twice a week.
Our team of graphic designers has been great
and has worked hard to learn our style and design a quality newspaper.
From the weekly production days to the numerous
special sections we’ve put out this year, the graphic designers
have put in long hours securing the quality of The Appalachian.
It’s been a pleasure working a long side our team of designers
and I appreciate the job they’ve done.
I can’t forget the photographers and all
they bring to this paper.
Under the leadership of an extremely talented
photographer, the photography department has improved immensely
over the past year and I believe it will continue to improve next
year.
It’s been a remarkable year here at The
Appalachian and I’ll look back on it with fond memories after
my time at Appalachian State has passed.
From those early morning squagels at Cosi in
Washington, D.C. last summer, I’ve been fortunate to work along
side our news editor Bethel Barefoot and editor-in-chief Adam Bennett.
I’m still not sure if we really knew what
we were getting into last summer, but we’ve come a long way.
Now I look forward to the future. I believe the
past two years have set the groundwork for this publication and
it will continue to grow as one of the top collegiate publications
in the nation.
I have nothing but confidence the success of
the production department will carry on into next year under the
leadership of the new production editor, Jessica Hines. And I’m
sure the writers will do all right with the new news editor, Carrie
Baker.
As editor-in-chief for 2003-2004, I can only
hope to continue the tradition of excellence established by Adam
and his predecessor John T. Bennett (they’re not related). |
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