What I wish I’d known as a student editor

Last month, I had the opportunity to talk to St. Louis University and Northwest Missouri State University student journalists about social media and multimedia reporting. In 1999, I was the editor of The Northwest Missourian, the weekly student paper at Northwest Missouri State University. My college newspaper adviser, Laura Widmer, recently asked “What do you wish you’d known as a student editor that you know now?” I had an answer, but the question stayed with me; these are the things I wish I’d known.

Budget meetings should be short. All decisions made by the editor are final.

There’s a difference between “editor” and “reporter.” Editors do more than read and edit stories — they also assign stories, help budget pages and make sure deadlines are met.

Pages can (and should) be designed before the stories and photos are in.

“Evergreen” stories are important.

There’s such a thing as news feature and sports feature stories.

All photographers should turn in wild art photos. Even if they don’t run in the paper, they’re good practice for student photographers. Many times a photo can tell a story better than words. Many times, a photographer will stumble upon something that the staff would not have otherwise known about.

Photographers should shoot horizontal and vertical photos. In the real world, you’re going to get assignments that require you to shoot a specific shape, whether you like it or not.

Crime stories are important. So are quirky feel-good stories.

It’s not enough to tell people something they already know.

Briefs and digest items are great for important but not-quite-a-full-story items.

You can reverse-publish stories from the web. (Although you’ll likely find you don’t need the same story for a daily website vs. a weekly paper.)

Newsrooms are remarkably paperless in their copy-flow system. You have to be comfortable editing on a computer.

Every paper should have a set style for graphics. And should not deviate from it.

Every paper should have a set design style, color palette, editorial-specific fonts (3 at the very most — no matter what happens) and templates. That does not mean every page will look exactly the same.

Photos or graphics behind text is never a good idea.

Very few feature stories actually need a full page. (And a one-story feature page or section short-changes your readers.)

Coaching and mentoring are important. Not just on stories, but professional development. You’ll never hear those fantastic off-the-wall ideas of people are not comfortable sharing them.

Cookies are the ultimate ice-breaker, and a great way to welcome someone new.

Deadlines must be met. If they’re not, the story/photo/graphic does not run.

Brainstorming is important. Don’t limit yourself or your staff to one section. Sports people have great ideas for news stories, and vice-versa.

Dry erase boards are a newsroom must-have. They’re great for budgeting, brainstorming and sketching.

Features stories and pages can be done in advance. There are very few on-deadline feature pages.

Know your strengths as a journalist and a publication. And cover them. And learn to fill in those weaknesses.

It’s possible to design 50 pages in one night, and meet deadline. Not that anyone wants that to be a regular occurrence.

Everyone jokes that you won’t get rich as a journalist. But seriously, there will be times when you wonder how you’ll pay rent.

A sense of humor will get you through a lot.