I wake up everyday with a big smile on my face. The flowers smell intoxicating, the taste of tea is soothing, and the weather is delightful. Although the flowers are dead, the tea is cold, and the weather is rainy, life just seems so much better once you’re an editor on the school newspaper. As Student Life Editor for, The Current, I have had the opportunity to write articles that interest me, start my own monthly column, and help other students improve their writing. Out of all the clubs that I’ve had the pleasure to be apart of, perhaps the most rewarding was being a member of The Current. As I prepare myself to graduate this coming June, I get one more chance to reflect on the day in the life of a Current editor.
The whole newspaper process cannot happen in a day. In order to paint an accurate picture of the awesome life of an editor, I had to recall the two to three weeks it takes to create the paper itself. The first step of the process occurs at the monthly editor meeting. This is when all the editors come together to discuss ideas and stories that we want to include in the upcoming issue. It’s very similar to the Justice League, a united force collaborating together for the good of others. But instead of being a group of superheroes, we are a combination of news, opinion, features, entertainment, student life, sports, layout, and managing editors. Every masterpiece comes from an idea; it is at editor meetings where these ideas are first formed.
The second step necessary toward accomplishing the perfect newspaper comes in the form of staff meetings. Staff meetings are when staff writers fill up a classroom and get to choose what article idea interest them the most. A staff writer is anyone who writes in the current issue of the paper; anyone can be a staff writer if they decide to write. Staff writers can choose from a list of article ideas and/or come up with another article idea on there own. As student life editor, I eagerly welcome those who come up with there own issues to discuss in the paper. After selecting an article to write about, staff writers usually have 4-5 days to write an article. Depending on what section the article was selected from; staff writers will then send their work to their section editor. From here the third step begins, editing.
Editing can either be great or completely suck. Some staff writers will send you very polished, finished pieces; others will just send you their rough draft and expect you to correct it. Although it shouldn’t happen, editors beware; some pieces will force you to devote a lot of time editing them. Nonetheless, editing is an extremely important skill to have and develop. After editing the pieces you have been assigned, all section editors send their articles to the editor in chief. Fortunately enough, this year’s co-editor’s in chief, Sam Rude and Daniel McQuaid, do a great job editing and organizing all the articles for the fourth step, layout.
Layout is what it is. For each editor it is a different experience. For myself personally, layout is an enjoyable terror. The program that Ossining uses to format the newspaper is called InDesign. It took me an extremely long time to figure out how to properly use InDesign. I have spent hours trying to figure out how to format one page; in the same amount of time the other editors can finish the newspapers on their own. Once one gets use to InDesign, it becomes much more manageable. Layout can take anywhere from two- three days, and is a time consuming process. However, it gives the editors a chance to bond and catch up which makes it bearable. After the newspaper is edited, and read over and over again, it can lastly be sent to the printer. When the newspapers come back from the printer, it goes into the enthusiastic hands of the student body at OHS.
Okay, so you caught me. I don’t wake up with a smile on my face everyday. Dead flowers do not smell awesome, cold tea is disgusting, and I do not find rainy weather to be delightful. However, being an editor on the school newspaper for the last two years has made my time at OHS more fun, more meaningful, and simply better. I am so appreciative for the opportunity I’ve had to been the Student Life editor. So no, you wont always have a smile on your face in the morning, but I can almost guarantee you, that you’ll have one after layout is finished.
