Leading my team to success
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Two years ago, I walked in nervously to the newsroom for the first day of bootcamp with my hands behind my back and not knowing what to expect. Never in a million years did I think then that I would grow so much as a student journalist and have the privilege to lead such an amazing team that works together to publish every day online. As much as I try to lead, I also try to listen to my team, get their input, and make sure we're all on the same track. If we all want to be successful as a team and keep winning the awards we have won in the past, then it's my job as Editor-in-Chief to keep us all on track and I have several ways I do that, tailored to each member.
My 3 do's as a leader
- Engage face-to-face
I have learned that talking to someone face-to-face about an editing or deadline issue helps them solve it faster as they absorb the information better. Not only that, it holds both of us accountable -- it is understood that both of us acknowledged the problem and are trying to fix it to increase the quality of our paper.
2. Celebrate wins
2. Celebrate wins
A good workplace thrives on motivation and mutual respect for each other's work, which is why I help foster it through immediately celebrating our shared and individual accomplishments. In class, we have this tradition where a staffer who publishes for the first time will get a round of applause in class. While it may look cringy, it shows that we care.
3. Communicate through troubles
3. Communicate through troubles
I make sure that no staffer suffers through their problem alone. I remember last with my first article, I was completely overwhelmed and didn't even know where to start. When I was too scared to reach out for help, my article wasn't as well-written as it coulod have been, but when I reached out, I learned so many more useful tips. This year, with more new teammates, I have let them know it's okay to communicate there troubles by writing it on the whiteboard, saying it outloud during class presentations, and coming up to my teammates to talk one-on-one.
Training before the flight
In our newspaper, I consider any activity that is done as an entire class to be team-building -- we're building our journalism skills as a team while also learning about teamwork. Sometimes, they lean on the fun side, other times, they're more introspective.
Holiday parties
Holiday parties
We have our annual Christmas party, and then this year we tried to use every holiday as a place to just let go, have fun, and eat good food. The photo above depicts our Valentine's Day party.
In-class thinking activities
In-class thinking activities
These activities sharpen journalism skills and allow us to set our visions for our upcoming projects. For example in the photo above, all the staffers, including me, presented our journalistic goals for 2026.
Summer Bootcamp
Our bootcamp is perhaps the biggest team-building and learning experience that the newspaper does. This year, it required extensive planning in order to accomodate everyone's schedules and recruit new staffers.
The editorial team communicated consistently during the summer to make this happen. The screenshot above shows the behind-the scenes of the logistics.
Of course, we needed flyers to advertise this event to every grade level in our school. Since we we lost a lot of staff to college, we needed to amp up our recruiting and this flyer did that -- it's clean and concise.
IMG_6260.movThroughout the three days of bootcamp, we had many fun team-building exercises along with informative presentations. In the video above, we were all trying to put together a puzzle, but there was a deeper meaning here -- it was to show that in order to achieve something, there must be all hands on deck working to accomplish that goal. In order to publish everyday, the team is all hands on deck from communicating who is publishing when to editing each other's work.
Year-round resources
The learning doesn't just stop at bootcamp. I curated a journalism resource document for staff members to refresh or learn skills, including, different types of articles or writing captions. Additionally, I am especially passionate about reaching out sources in a professional manner, which is why I created a slideshow on solely how to write an email -- it may be a small part of the story process, but it helps set the right first impression.
A flock of eagles flies strongest when they communicate
Our paper soars with consistent communication through 4 main modes: Google Chat, The Whiteboard, The Newspaper Tracker, and Monday Editorial & Pitch Meetings.
Click through the slideshow!
Google Chat
Google Chat
Our primary mode of communication outside the classroom is Google Chat. We use it to celebrate teammates, remind of important deadlines, and edit each other's work. We also have a separate chat for the editorial team in case we have to communicate outside of class on a planning or editorial matter.
Click through the slideshow! *I apologize for the quality, I only had access to my Chrombook camera at those times*
The Whiteboard
The Whiteboard
The Whiteboard is a place that is in view from anywhere in the classroom, and it is where I plan for a month at a time to get a ahead and on track. Every start of class, I'll stand near the Whiteboard with a marker in my hand, and go around asking each staffer what they're working on so I can add it. It seems to be working because there is little confusion on who is doing what assignment or when a deadline is. It's all in plain view.
The Newspaper Tracker
The Newspaper Tracker
For a more organized method that staffers can see outside of class, we created the Newspaper Tracker as a new addition to the existing communication we do. This allowed us to keep track of each article written in each step of the process, allowing us to earn our first badges. Additionally, it's a place where staffers can write their ideas and pitches.
Click through the slideshow! Above are some of the agenda messages I have sent
Monday Editorial & Pitch Meetings
Monday Editorial & Pitch Meetings
Every Monday with no exception, our editorial team has a meeting where we decide the coming week's priorities and talk about progress with goals we made last week. This is our time to hold ourselves accountable before we hold the rest of the team accountable. I send the agenda before these meetings every week through our Google Chat. And then, since newspaper is first period, we immediately switch gears to guiding out team based on what was discussed in our meeting. To make sure our goals align with the rest of the team's, as apart of our pitch meeting, I go to each person individually and ask what their assignment is for the week, and if they don't have one, I ask them to look at the Newspaper Tracker or I'll personally assign them something based on their interests and capabilities. I find that doing the pitch meeting in-person rather than a Google Form helps keep everyone more on track and held accountable, and each member of the team is aware of what the rest of the class is doing.
Every great soar is built in revision
I try my best to edit every article that publishes. My editing process tackles AP style mistakes, sentence structure, tone, bias, and more. I refined it as I completed my internship for Community Impact Newspaper, which taught me the following phrase: "How can I make this sentence more concise?" In addition, I always make it a point to talk with the writer directly so we're both learning from the edits.
I read through the entire article before editing.
I skim through to look for any AP style mistakes.
I'll do one final read to check for sentence structure, bias, article structure, and how the format looks on the viewer's side.
The most important thing to do is add in what the writer did right! This promotes motivation and allows them to see their progress!
Editing examples from my teammates' writing
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