The beginning of a new semester in high school publications requires continued thinking smart outside the box, planning and a pledge to work toward a fair and impartial communication to readers in a modern, well-designed format.  

See  Comfort the Afflicted and afflict the comfortable

  • News — Your primary readership may be interested in topics which have an impact in their lives —riding buses, cafeteria price increases, scholarship deadlines. Often we give them "fluff" and call it news. Your school contains many experts. Look for those people.  Your publication is the primary medium to cover these things for your readers.
  • Features — Hope you've moved away from writing about "popular" students just because they are "popular."  Look for the unusual, the quirky, the little-known, the heroes, the colorful, the talented — stories that evoke "Gee, I didn't know that."  Ask in classes about people, places and things that interest readers. 
  • Sports — Look for behind-the-scenes stories. How did the teams prepare to improve the season record, what about stadium concession changes or interesting folks working there. Individuals in sports — skaters, dancers, marathon runner, weight lifters, boxers, and the like — will take the pressure off having to cover all team sports equally. You can try to do that, but it's a tough task.  
  • Opinion — Offer readers important, helpful information — the importance of applying for scholarships early, praise (if merited) for changes that benefit students, support for bond elections and constructive criticism where it is merited, such as parking problems, traffic or safety problems or other campus topics. Click Here for reviewing tips.  See Rotten Tomatoes  See Filmcritics.com
  •  Columns — Please, only the "best" writers should step up to the plate. This may prove difficult because few want to be rejected. Maybe conduct a contest to select the "best." Let the staff vote, perhaps, to remove any hint of favoritism. Know that not all editors consider writing in this style to be their forté so they shouldn't feel this as an ego-buster.  Let them do what they do best.
  • Design — Will your publication need a tweak or two? Look at the best-designed newspapers which may provide ways to tweak the design.  See Design
  • Editing — Behind every great reporter or designer is a great copy editor, someone once said. This is true.  These are the people who find the creepy little errors, make a story read more coherently, move the lead from the bottom to the top and help reporters improve their work. Finally, they write the scintillating headlines that will attract readers.   
  • Photos —  See Photo Tips, you photo people, for how to capture the pictorial essence of your school. Avoid cliché stuff like groups, grip-and-grin shots, snapshots in which people are making funny faces. Photos should tell a story and capture the emotional impact of the moment. See National Press Photographers Association
  • Art —  See Illustrator Tips for suggestions on the types of art to use in your publication. Often, an illustration allows the designer to embellish reality more than a photo would allow, and designers can combine type with illustrations more easily. Look around campus for artists with a sense of humor and an interest in current events. 

Look to the right in Etcetera for help in many areas. Teachers, help yourself to handouts. Good luck!

Click here to read the wartime columns of Ernie Pyle from Indiana University in Bloomington. Take time to read or listen to the most moving stories to come from WWII.  You'll be better for it.