Leaders task calendars/Newsletter team manager
From The Collaboratory
Contents |
Leaders Workshop through first week of classes/J-term
- Consult with OCM (director, student director and manager) and LCM (group leaders), if possible, to generate list of article topics for fall newsletter. Also ask them who would be best to interview for each article and their contact information.
- Review current documentation for publications team leader and update wiki as needed
- Organize a meeting with Melissa Hepfer at the Messiah College Office of Marketing and Public Relations to initiate the newsletter project. (See details in Collaboratory Newsletter event planning guide)
- Come up with a working plan for weekly meetings based on MC Pubs deadline schedule, which you’ll receive after the meeting with them
- Recruit new members! Attend the opportunities fair at the Union, the ice cream social, and the Collaboratory pizza party to encourage interested students to join the publications team. Also visit the intro English class, newswriting, magazine writing, and any Nance McCown PR class to give a brief presentation on what the publications team does and how students can become involved. Be sure to distribute flyers with your contact info and pass out samples of the newsletter.
- Pray for your future team
September
1st Meeting 9/8/08
- Meet new members (Start getting to know them personally in addition to ascertaining their experience, abilities, and aspirations)
- Explain role of the newsletter team in the staff group and in the Collaboratory as a whole
- Set expectations
- Expected to attend all meetings to stay informed about the organization we’re representing through our writing
- Expected to meet deadlines and maintain high-quality work because we’re helping to support something much larger than ourselves
- Be honest about the time commitment involved
- Give overview of newsletter content
- Features
- Nature of writing style
- Show and distribute past issue as an example
- Explain the process
- Interviews, rough drafts, editing, content to MC Pubs, proofs
- Mention any other projects for the semester
- Answer any questions team members might have
- After the meeting, send an email thanking them for coming to the meeting, provide them with a link to the wiki, and encourage them to come next week
Second Meeting 9/15/08
- Share the newsletter schedule and deadlines with the team
- Assign newsletter articles—provide each writer with a copy of what the article should cover and interviewee contact information
- Mention these important items:
- Interviewing
- Generating list of questions
- Setting up interview—in email, be sure to include a date you would like to hear back from them if they’re willing to meet with you, and follow up if you haven’t heard by that date
- Importance of meeting deadlines
- Introduce and distribute copy of styleguide
- Everyone must ask interviewees to send you several pictures that relate to the article and explanations of where they are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing in each one.
- Give a brief tour of the wiki and point out the location of information pertinent to their articles
- Interviewing
Third Meeting 9/22/08
- Check up on members’ progress. Everyone should have scheduled their interviews, done some wiki research and written interview questions (at minimum).
- Address any problems with articles, contacts, etc.
- Can discuss more about writing style and go over styleguide again.
- Keep meeting short so they have time to work on their own.
- Let Collaboratory photographer (Scott Markley?) know about any photos you need taken.
Fourth Meeting 9/29/08
- Rough drafts of articles due
- Review editing procedures – look for style errors, addition or subtraction of necessary/unnecessary information, structure
- Have everyone trade papers with another team member for peer editing
- Have team members email you a copy of their article so you can review it on your own and make more in-depth edits/suggestions for them
- Have team members email you pictures that go with their articles, if applicable
- Encourage team members to think of headlines for the articles
- If they don’t come up with one, it’s ultimately your responsibility as team leader
- Headlines should contain a subject and a verb especially in the subheadline, if not in the main headline
October
Fifth Meeting 10/6/08
- Continue editing workshop. If team members didn’t have complete drafts before, it’s crucial they do by this meeting
- Send drafts to Deborah for her to review and edit
- Refine writing style, improve readability
- Continue working on compiling pictures
- Edit director’s letter
Sixth Meeting 10/13/08
- Almost final drafts due—send articles to interviewees and group advisers, as well as the OCM for final edits and confirmation of clarity and content
- Email team members within the week if any changes need to be made
- Edit director’s letter
Seventh Meeting 10/20/08
- Final drafts, with headlines, due
- Compilation of photos finished
- Create word document with all articles, headlines, photos, captions, and instructions for layout to send to Melissa Hepfer at MC Pubs
- Make sure you have everyone's final drafts and photos several days before content is due to MC Pubs so you have time to do any final edits and compile everything
Eighth Meeting 10/27/08
- Might have to arrange different meeting time to review first proof
Deborah should see a copy of all three proofs
November
If any other publications projects arise, we can work on them at Monday meetings throughout November and December. Otherwise, we will meet briefly at other TBA times during the week to review proofs because they most likely will not coincide with normal meeting times.
December
The Fall newsletter goes to press. Celebrate the completion of the newsletter!
January
- Meet with Collaboratory leaders (Director, Manager, Student Director, Staff Manager) to discuss articles for the Spring newsletters.
- Meet with MC Publications contact in order to plan out publication process of Spring newsletter.
- Refer to Leader's Workshop for more info
February
1st Meeting
- Writing Workshop
- Explain the Collaboratory and your team's role in it.
- Explain good journalism practices (i.e. good interviewing techniques, writing style, etc.)
- (Mandatory) Assign articles for Spring newsletter.
2nd Meeting
- Meet with writers and discuss any problems with articles.
3rd Meeting
- Edit articles
- Begin compiling pictures
4th Meeting
- Continue compilation letter
- Finish compiling pictures
March
- Text Due to publications
- Refer to November
April
- Spring newsletter goes to press
