RADIO * TELEVISION * FILM * RECORDING * NEWSPAPER * INTERNET
 

SCHOOL NEWSPAPER & WEB TEAM

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 

Shortcut to this page:  www.mphsknights.com/greenflash

 

News and Ethics in the Digital Age (Microsoft Lesson Plan)

 

7 Hints to Improve Any Newspaper Story

 
Citation Poster Journalism Poster

 
Subject Area: Language Arts, Computers

 
Grade Level: 9th - 12th Grades

 
Software Programs: MS Word, Publisher, Image Composer, FrontPage

 

Equipment Needed:

  • Computer for each group of students
  • Digital camera and/or scanner
  • Time Required: Minimum of one hour after school each week

 

Tasks:

  • NEWSPAPER:  Research and write articles for the Green Flash, the official newspaper of Mount Pleasant High School.  Design a layout for the newspaper articles, and add headlines, pictures, clip art, and borders.  Take pictures for newspaper.  Assist in the WMPH-FM radio newsroom.
  • WEB TEAM:  Assemble information, articles and pictures for the school web site at http://www.mphsknights.com.  Primarily publish for the online web page of the School News.  Assist in maintaining the WMPH-FM website.
  • RADIO STATION:  Assist in the WMPH 91.7 FM school radio station news department.  Gather press releases, news stories and community events.  Record and edit newscast daily for radio broadcast. 

 

Publication: 

  • The newspaper will be published monthly.  It will be mailed to each home of each student attending Mount Pleasant High School.  Additional copies will be available in the school office.
  • The web site publication will be weekly.

 

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

  • Learn to manipulate text boxes in a drawing program.
  • Insert pictures and clip art into a drawing program.
  • Use the tools to draw borders.
  • Design an attractive layout.
 

Lesson Plans for School Newspaper:

Request that teachers in your school send you articles for your newspaper. (Give them a deadline!)
OR have your students write articles for the newspaper.
Make sure Microsoft FrontPage is loaded on computers.

 

The teacher:

  • Distributes articles to students to type.
  • Demonstrates how to use the digital camera.
  • move and resize articles.
  • justify the articles.
  • insert the pictures.
  • add a title for the newspaper.
 

The students:

  • Type articles and save them to a disk or the network.
  • Take pictures to go with articles, using the digital camera.
  • begin working on rearranging and re-sizing the articles.
  • insert desired pictures.
  • add a title for the newspaper at the top of page 1.
  • justify articles.
  • add and center headlines.
 

The editor:

  • chooses the best layout
  • hands out the ‘winning’ newspaper for students to proof
  • prints the final copy
 

School Newspaper Checklist:
My partner and I have…
___ Created a title for the newspaper.
___ Added the date to the title.
___ Placed the articles where we want them to be.
___ Justified all articles.
___ Added headlines to each article.
___ Changed the font and size of each headline.
___ Centered the headlines.
___ Added pictures.
___ Added clip art.
___ Added borders.
___ Proofread for errors.
___ Run a spell check.

 

Online Resources:

I Love To Write Day – November 15, 2007
http://www.ilovetowriteday.org

Delaware Press Association
http://www.delawarepressassociation.org   
High School Journalism
http://www.highschooljournalism.org  

National Association of Newspaper Editors
http://www.asne.org

Society of Professional Journalists
http://www.spj.org

Education Writers Association
http://www.ewa.org

Journalism Network
http://ihigh.com/journalism

The Writing Company
http://www.writingco.com

Associated Press
http://www.ap.org
http://www.apbroadcast.com

Newspapers in Education Online
http://nieonline.com

 
Student Journalist Program
WDEL (1150 AM) has a monthly Student Journalist Program.  Each one hour show airs live from the WDEL/WSTW studios.  A student from the school newspaper is selected per month to appear on the program.  For a complete listing, Click HERE.
 
Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
 

BROADCAST LEARNING CENTER
Newspaper & Web Team Positions
 
Advertising
Newspapers are the single-largest advertising medium, selling more ads than television, radio, Internet sites or other sources. Newspaper advertising comes in many shapes and sizes -- display ads, classifieds and preprinted inserts, to name a few -- and serves customers of all sizes. The advertising staff develops, presents, sells and carries out ad campaigns to help the newspaper's customers reach their target audiences.

Successful advertising sales people are creative, energetic and self-starters. They also are flexible and have strong communication and computer skills. Positions in newspaper advertising include account manager and sales representative for retail, classified and national advertising, graphics artist, copywriter, telemarketer and customer service representative, among others.
 
Circulation
Circulation involves much more than delivering the newspaper. In many ways, it's more of a marketing function than a distribution function. Circulation's primary responsibilities are to increase the newspaper's reach and to ensure top-notch customer service. Circulation professionals must figure out how many papers to print, where to place them and how to promote them to attract the most readers.

Successful circulation people are customer-oriented and enjoy the challenges of a job that changes daily. They have strong leadership and communication skills, along with the ability to think strategically and analytically. They are team players with good interpersonal skills. Positions typical in newspaper circulation departments include district manager, home-delivery manager, single-copy manager, and sales and marketing manager, among others.
 
Finance
The business staff at a newspaper is responsible for a wide range of tasks, including advertising and circulation billing, invoice payments, inventory tracking and preparation of financial reports, including yearly operating and capital budgets. More important, the business office helps set the course for the newspaper: The information gathered and analyzed there is crucial in determining which products and services the newspaper offers, and at what price.

Successful finance people have a fundamental knowledge of business and a sound grasp of accounting principles. They also are proficient with personal computes and common business software. Positions in newspaper finance include accounts payable and accounts receivable clerk, accounting supervisor or manager, credit manager, staff accountant and assistant controller, among others.
 
Human Resources
Human resources staffers help recruit talented people for positions with the company. They also work to assure that employees, once on board, are trained and developed to their full potential. Administering competitive benefits and work/life programs to help employees balance their busy work and personal responsibilities also falls under the human resources umbrella.

Successful human resources people have strong interpersonal and communication skills. They are good problem-solvers who can juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. Positions in newspaper human resources include recruiters, benefits administrators and compensation managers, among others.
 
Information Technology
Today's newspapers are fully wired, using the latest technology to gather information, process it and deliver it to our customers in a variety of formats -- in print and electronically. The IT department manages the company’s computer-based technology. Green Flash newspapers use multiple-server, multiple-segment, local area networks as the infrastructure to support publishing, advertising, circulation, marketing and accounting activities.

Successful IT people have a solid background in management information systems and the ability to integrate people, systems and processes. They are problem-solvers, analytical thinkers and good communicators who also are customer-oriented. IT positions include general technology management, project management and implementation, network operations, business application design, computing platform research and integration, and desktop computer training and support, among others.
 
Market Development
Finding creative ways for their products to stand out in the increasingly competitive media marketplace is the daily challenge of newspaper marketers. Marketers research who their newspapers’ readers and advertisers are and how to best serve them; who the competition is for those readers and advertisers; and how the newspaper can build new business.

Successful market development people are analytical thinkers and good communicators who can use the market research they gather to assist in advertising, circulation and news efforts. They have strong writing, presentation and computer skills. Positions in newspaper market development include research analyst, marketing coordinator and promotions manager, among others.
 
News
Talented and creative journalists make Green Flash newspapers relevant, timely and appealing to a broad cross-section of readers. In addition to covering the day-to-day local, national and world news, Green Flash newspapers work closely with their communities on special projects that pinpoint problems and find solutions. Public-service journalism is a hallmark of Green Flash newspapers.

Successful news people are smart, curious and passionate. They have good communication skills and thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment. Positions in the newspaper newsroom include editors, graphics artists, page designers, copy editors, reporters, photographers, editorial cartoonists, librarians and systems editors, among others.

Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms
The news media are under greater scrutiny than ever. In an initiative to build credibility with readers, Gannett’s Newspaper Division has adopted Principles of Ethical Conduct for Newsrooms that commit each Green Flash journalist to the industry’s highest professional standards.
 
The Green Flash is committed to:
  • Seeking and reporting the truth in a truthful way;
  • Serving the school and public interest;
  • Exercising fair play;
  • Maintaining independence;
  • Acting with integrity.
 
Online
Newspapers are building on their historical newsgathering role to create a variety of online products that bring updated news and information to customers throughout the day. Each Green Flash newspaper tailors online products to fit its market’s specific needs.

Successful online people are flexible, energetic and enthusiastic about looking for new ways to package and present information. They are quick thinkers who can adapt to change and meet deadlines. Positions in newspaper online services include sales account executive, content producer, project manager, online services manager, production coordinator and web designer, among others.
 
Production
Putting ink on paper is just a small part of what production people do. In fact, much of the work comes before and after the presses roll. The production department makes sure the paper looks good with crisp text, sharp images and vibrant color, and later ensures that newspaper bundles get to delivery vehicles on time. Production staffers also prepare operational budgets; investigate new technology; calibrate cameras and scanners to process photos and graphics; build pages; process press plates; and ensure a safe, clean working environment for all newspaper employees.

Successful production people have a good aptitude for technology and operations. They also are team players able to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines. Positions in newspaper production include production coordinator, special-project manager, distribution manager, pre-press manager, systems manager and production manager, among others.
 
 

See also:  High School Journalism, Education Writers Associations
and Writing Company
 
 
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