Behind the Scenes: Our Leaders on the Inner Workings of Raptor Report

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the Newspaper Club! Well, not really, because you’re on the other side of this fine piece of paper, but just for a second, imagine that you aren’t. Imagine that you’re sitting in room B101 with like-minded introverts who like to debate whether the paper or digital copy of Harry Potter is better. Are you with your people yet? We certainly are.

Rule number one of the Newspaper Club: Have fun! Not only do we share jokes every time we meet (Here’s one just for you: If you’re feeling cold, just stand in a corner. They’re usually around 90 degrees!); we book-chat (which led to our lovely Harry Potter debate… which remains unresolved); we've played Jeopardy; had fun, brainstorming conversations; planned parties; and became nothing short of a well-oiled machine! 

But believe it or not, we don't spend hours debating about books to read and planning parties. The majority of our time is spent meticulously creating each issue of Raptor Report over the course of several months. We begin by brainstorming for our next issue with theme ideas and article plans, which is followed by the writing process. (P.S. If you have any ideas for next year, we'd love to hear from you; email us at raptorreport@bsd7students.org to pitch your ideas).

Once articles and photos are turned in, the Editors begin getting down to business. We work hard to fact check each article, as well as search for any grammatical and spelling errors. Then, the amazing articles are returned to their author to be revised and perfected for a final time. We couldn't be more excited to share articles with you after we're read them all—there are so many gems!

The Newspaper Leadership team (our amazing group of student editors) then get together to organize articles and pick features in preparation for layout week. Everyone in the club has grown so well-accustomed to the creation of layout. After everyone has formatted the page with their article, they are grouped together, final touches are added, and they are sent off to the club's advisor for another round of editing and review, followed by admin review. 

Once all the final edits are made, the layout is sent off to our wonderful community partners at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle for printing. A week later, we get together to celebrate our newest edition and pass out freshly printed copies to the student body.

As you can tell, the process is long and scrupulous; everything we publish is there for a reason. With the help of our wonderfully talented reporters, editors, and advisors—Ms. Warn and Ms. Moore—Raptor Report has grown to be a welcoming community and effective space to share news from the perspective of Gallatin High students. Everything we publish is chosen and crafted purposefully, and every word is selected to invite discussion and thought into the student body. 

This is not goodbye, even though it may be the end of the year. We'll be back, better than ever, and we hope that you all will join us once again next year. If you would like to be a part of our well-oiled machine and join the Newspaper Club next year, please reach out and say hello! Any and all are welcome. 

From all of us on staff, we wish you all a great rest of the year and a wonderful summer!

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The Editorial Staff