ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PUBLICATION STAFF

By: MAY NECTAR CYRILL LOJA-TABARES Director, Public Relations and Information Sultan Kudarat State University, EJC Montilla,Tacurong City

Staff and Policies

Organizing the staff There are no hard and fast rules

on how to organize the staff and to pick the editors.

Each school should therefore work out a system best suited to its particular set-up.

Common nagging questions:How are the editors and the staff members chosen?

How long should they serve? How big should the staff be? Should they be paid? To whom are they responsible?

1.One with a degree in journalism- bachelor, master or specialization.2. One with a degree in English-bachelor,

master or specialization.3. One with experience in newspaper work.4. One with more than ordinary experience in journalism or school paper work.5. One who teaches social studies.

First, there should be a moderator or an adviser who must possess the following qualifications in the order of their importance:

The principal or the head of the school, with the recommendation of the adviser may designate the members of the staff or may pick them through a competitive examination.

Indeed, the candidates should possess writing ability, leadership, ad previous experiences in school publication in that order. Whatever the criteria are in choosing the staff, the method should be systematic, objective, and fair.

But whether the editors and staff members are chosen through recommendation or competitive examination, the following pointers are recommended.

1. The candidates should at least have one year residence.2. The candidate should not be in the probation list.

3. He must not have any disciplinary case against him, because there is a likely chance for him to drop or to be suspended.

4. The chief, associate, and managing editors should not hold other major positions in school organizations, especially in the student council or student government. The press is supposed to be objective and non-partisan.

The most democratic way to select the staff is through a competitive examination followed by an interview.

However, there are certain drawbacks. If there are no qualified teachers who will evaluate the entries in the competitive examination, the test will not be worthwhile.

If a big number of students try for the competition, the evaluation will take a long time.

Another question is : In what phases of journalism would the test be? Newswriting, editorial writing, layouting, or actual press work? If the test is in editorial writing only, isn’t that just one phase of the work?

Because of these drawbacks, the adviser resorts to designation. The drawback here is favoritism.

Despite the result of the examinations, the adviser should not stop there. He should also look for people who didn’t take the examinations but have writing skills. He should ask them to join the staff. But he should refrain from taking students into the staff who have more activities in their hands than they can handle. He should be aware of students who only love to see their names in the masthead or editorial box.

The choice of editors should be based on who obtains the highest average in the examinations and who possesses the most in personal qualities or traits like leadership, managerial skills, sound judgment, and flexibility.

The adviser should file and publish in the bulletin board the results of the examinations and the comments of the judges. Over-ambitious students are prone to accuse, saying that they have been cheated.

How large should the staff be?

A manageable staff should not be more than ten, as follows: (1) editor in chief; (2) associate editor; (3) managing editor; (4) feature editor; (5) literary editor; (6) sports editor; and (7) reporters (one for each class-senior, sophomore, freshman).

There are other members of the staff who may simply be appointed; the typists, the layout artist, the staff artist, the photographer, and the circulation manager.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Publication Staff

Editor in Chief Supervises the editorial staff of

the paper. Writes the editorials of the organ

after consultation with the members of the editorial staff.

Editor in Chief

Edits all articles preparatory to submission of the same to the adviser for final editing and approval for publication.

Supervises the preparation of the layout and dummying of the paper and paging of the same in cooperation with the managing editor and layout artist.

Editor in Chief

Causes the accomplishment of all assignments properly and on time.

Acts as liaison officer between the editorial staff and the adviser.

Calls meetings of the staff in consultation with the adviser.

Managing Editor

Brings articles to the press for typesetting.

Checks articles for typographical errors. Prepares the layout of the paper and

paging of the same in consultation with the editor in chief.

Proofreads galley proofs before these are finally approved by the chief editor, then by the adviser for printing.

Associate Editor

Edits the articles in cooperation with the editor in chief.

Writes editorials of the organ when requested.

Prepares assignments of section editors in consultation with the editor in chief.

Cooperates in the preparation of the layout of the paper and paging of the same with the editor in chief and managing editor.

Section Editors

News Editor Assigns reporters to cover events relevant

to the school activities. Writes news articles on assignment from

the editor in chief or through his own initiative in consultation with the latter.

Edits all news articles received preparatory to submission of the same to the editor in chief then to the adviser of the English section.

Section Editors

Filipino Editor Writes the editorial of the Filipino section. Edits all articles preparatory to submission

of the same to the Filipino adviser, for final editing and for publication.

Causes the submission of all Filipino articles properly and on time.

Acts as liaison officer between the Filipino staff and the editor in chief.

Layout Section Editors

Layout Artist Assigns or causes the assignment of the

school’s official photographer to take pictures on school’s activities for the month.

Prepares pictorial articles of the organ in consultation with the managing editor and editor in chief.

Writes the captions of pictures utilized by the paper in cooperation with the editor in chief.

Section Editors

Layout Artist Takes charge of the design of the magazine

cover. Labels or properly identifies all pictures made

available for publication. It is suggested that he writes ( in pencil) at the back of every picture the event to which a particular picture refers.

Helps in the preparation of the layout of pictorial stories.

Makes illustrations for feature articles.

Section Editors

Feature EditorGives out assignments to feature writers.

Receives and edits feature articles preparatory to submission of the same to the editor in chief.

Writes regular articles or column.

Section Editors

Exchange Editor and Circulation Manager Makes up a list of school papers sent by

other schools. Mails copies of his own paper to these

schools. Files their papers on a bulletin board or

display them on a newspaper rack. Keeps files of school information, such as

lass lists and lists of homeroom advisers, faculty, and staff members.

Section Editors

Reporter Secures the cold and raw facts of

an assigned event and writes an article out of the same.

Receives assignments from the section editors and board of editors and accomplishes the same properly and on time.

POLICIES

Policies

A well-edited paper needs definite policies which may pertain to what it may print or to what the staff may conduct. Such policies may be posted on the bulletin board in the staff room or printed and distributed to the staff.

Policies

A brief statement of the paper’s platform or policies is sometimes printed under the masthead, as in the following examples:

To support all school projects and to give only constructive criticism of some projects.

To maintain a high standard of sportsmanship by avoiding personal enmity and jealousy both within the school and in inter-school relation.

Policies

To refrain from publishing articles that convey wrong impressions against the school.

To avoid unkind personal jokes, criticisms, and caricatures.

References

Ceciliano, Jose Cruz, Campus Journalism

and School Paper Advising, REX

BOOK STORE, 2010. Merriam-Webster’s Advanced

Learners Dictionary Wikipedia Online Dictionary