A week ago, we shared with you about the recent success we had with the two newspaper competitions we competed in.
After receiving 18 awards, we not only completed our 2016 goal, which was to return the Northwestern News back to an award-winning newspaper, but we surpassed it. So now that the awards have been earned, we ask ourselves, “What’s next for us?”
This semester has been one of transition here on the Northwestern News staff, as the older staff members have worked with the new members to help settle them into their new roles, as well as themselves preparing for life after graduation.
Four of the 10 staff members will be departing from the Northwestern News in May as they are set to graduate, leaving four crucial staff positions open, so again we ask, “What’s next for us?”
We have aimed to continue our efforts of producing competition worthy material each week this semester, and for the most part, we feel like we have succeeded in that.
We have also let the newer members on staff integrate their fresh new ideas as far as content and design techniques are concerned. But, even with those good things going on here at the Northwestern News, we still ask ourselves, “What’s next for us?”
As this semester winds down, we turn our focus from asking the question of what’s next for us, to start trying to answering the question. We will start looking at what’s really next for the Northwestern News after the four depart in May.
What’s next for us is that after the older ones at the Northwestern News depart in May, and leave their mark on the newspaper, it’s the next generation of college student’s turn to take over, and start to leave their own mark on the Northwestern News.
What’s next for the Northwestern News is that this fall, a new group of staff members will take over, and start integrating new ideas on the newspaper. They will work to make it their own, just like the older ones on staff managed to do.
Before this semester fully draws to a close however, the older ones must continue to show the younger staff members how to manage all that goes on with the weekly duties in producing the newspaper.
Whether it is how to determine story assignment ideas, or how to stick to the style sheet with laying out the pages, it’s up to the older staff members to teach the younger members how to accomplish these weekly duties so that they can improve upon them when it’s their turn to lead.
So with all that being said, what’s next for us at the Northwestern News is a lot of the same thing until this fall when the new staff takes over and starts making the newspaper into something new.
The older staff will continue to work with the newer staff members, and as a whole, we will continue our efforts in producing an award-winning quality of newspaper each of the remaining weeks.