So, do you want to start the school newspaper? If you really want to, this is the article for you. Starting the school newspaper can be a great learning experience, and it's an important thing to put on a resume in the future because it demonstrates your leadership skills to the interviewer, plus it could very well lead you to the job you've dreamed of in the future. Participating in the school newspaper will give you a good insight into other people you barely know and, in addition, a chance to learn about things happening in the school that you would never know.
Steps
Step 1. Make sure you commit
Starting the school newspaper can be fun, but it's a huge responsibility. Don't get busy getting started if you don't plan on working on it year-round. If you start the newspaper, you take on the role of responsible editor. The job of a director is to:
- Make sure you have the articles on time (preferably by email).
- Design the outline of the articles.
- Format and proofread articles on your computer to prepare them for printing.
- Write an article. The editor traditionally writes the front page or * sells the newspaper (unless he hires a salesperson).
Step 2. Get permission from the school
Set up a meeting with the principal to discuss the idea of a school newspaper for his or her attention. Remember, if he says no, try to compromise.
Step 3. Build a team starting with a teacher
This is essential to the success of the newspaper. A teacher brings something very important to the group, which is authority. A teacher is mainly there to get everyone to prepare their article on time. With a teacher, insiders simply feel an obligation to prepare their own article. This really makes your job a lot easier. High school students tend to slack off if there is no authority. A teacher not only guarantees this, but verifies that the articles are delivered on time, with a teacher around, the attendants will finish in much less time. The teacher will also be responsible for printing. Once he has the articles, he has to format them on A4 sheets and print the copies. It is a great responsibility for a teacher, so it is advisable to have two teachers to divide the work. If you can't find a teacher for the newspaper, look for other ways to replace him. Two students can prepare a good newspaper for the school. You may need to do an online edition on the school's website. The school library employees will probably be happy to help you. Your main problems could be teachers not allowing you to hold business meetings.
Step 4. Determine how many articles to submit
School newspapers typically have 12 articles, so you should have 11 people willing to make the articles, reserving one for you, and a salesperson, who will be responsible for advertising and selling the newspaper. Some people may work in pairs to make an article, so you need to hire more than 12 people. Try to assign articles to people taking into account their personality and responsibility. If you have more volunteers than you need, talk to your teacher or principal to make a decision together on who will train the staff.
Step 5. Formatting
Arrange a meeting with all the staff during a break or after school. Make sure you all email each other so when people send you their articles, all you have to do is copy and paste, rather than having to retype the entire newspaper. Also, get your teachers' emails so you can send them the final copies for printing.
Step 6. Collect article ideas
Since most school newspapers have 12 articles, consider 12. Some ideas are: games, coloring contest, short story, horoscopes, tips, random facts, sports, poetry or fashion. Once you have these articles planned, open up a word document and get busy with cool headlines and newspaper layout. It is possible to copy something from the internet, but if there is a copyright, be sure to indicate where you got them. Save it to your desktop if needed. Remember that the newspaper will be on A4 size paper.
Step 7. Prepare a calendar for the whole year indicating when to do things for each problem
He recommends that once they have delivered their first article, they get busy starting the next one because anything can happen in life, for example illness, holidays, family affairs, etc. Also ask them to let you know in time if they can't do an article so you can find an alternative solution. Print the calendar and send it to all staff members.
Step 8. Proceeds
Thoroughly analyze in a meeting how the proceeds will be allocated. They could be destined somewhere in your school, a local charity, or even some staff member at the end of the year. Anything goes well to keep them motivated.
Step 9. Think about what is appropriate
Use common sense for what may be suitable for a high school newspaper. Do not print nothing that alludes to weapons, violence, drugs or substantially anything that is illegal or not suitable for the gymnasium.
Step 10. Print
If you have met your schedule, the teacher should be able to print the newspaper, but it needs to be bound. Ask them for 50 print copies and if the paper is popular enough and the copies run out easily, ask for 75 or 100 copies for the next issue. Go to the office, or wherever you can re-print them and get started. This shouldn't take long, maybe 20 minutes to bind all the papers. If the school is large, print multiple copies, or do an online edition.
Step 11. Dissemination
You shouldn't have much to do in this business if you have a good salesperson. Ask him to start breaking the news every day at least one week before sales at your school. Also ask him to put up the posters in the school newspaper. In this way it is safer and there is no need to worry about it. Agree with whoever controls the ads in your school so that the seller is authorized to make the ads.
Step 12. Advertising
To offset printing costs, you may need to sell advertisements. Advertisers love school newspapers because their audience is very defined (students). Get the idea for some potential advertisers, they should sell products and services intended for students, for example Tutors, driving instructors, job advertisements, cinema etc … Do not include too many advertisements (no more than 40%) and distribute them throughout the publication. Consider adding specific sections to attract advertisers for example Movie reviews for cinema advertising, study tips for a tutor ad, etc.
Step 13. Sales
Establish the date, time and place to sell your newspaper. The salesperson will also take care of the sales, so all you have to do is find a way to get them to have the newspapers before putting them up for sale.
Step 14. Letters to the Editor
If you have a column for advice or for letters to the editor, insert a box at the bottom of the page with a space to publish the letters. Decorate it to get more attention, but what you really need to do is indicate that they are for the newspaper. If you don't have any questions or letters, put some on. If you follow all these instructions correctly, you should eventually get a good journal and have fun.
Advice
- Find cool places to post your newspaper ads. Places like drinking fountains, doors, essentially wherever people hang out a lot.
- Organize monthly meetings in your calendar. This will help your staff participate.
- If you have more volunteers than you need, talk to your teacher or principal to make a decision together on who will train the staff.
- If you can't find a teacher for your paper, try holding the meeting in the school library. You can do an electronic edition and collect articles by email.
Warnings
- Don't be that "evil boss" nobody loves. It gets you nowhere.
- Do not charge too much the price of the newspaper. Try it with 50 cents. That seems to be a fair limit to making good sales. If you post online, you don't have to charge anything.
- Don't stray from the calendar! This could lead everything off course and have disastrous consequences for the newspaper.
- Don't make your staff work too much or too little. It can be difficult, but in the end you will have a good idea for how much pressure to put on them.
