Through my years of doing high school journalism, I have been on multiple parts of our publication’s editing chain. So, I’ve learned plenty about all aspects of editing articles. Above all else, editing is a huge part of journalism. Being a part of the journalism staff means being a part of a team and editing values all kinds of teamwork and cooperation.
Importance of having an editing chain
wlhsNOW has always had an editing chain. It’s a structured process of elevating an article so that it reaches its potential. I’ve helped move along this process since the end of my sophomore year, and I’ve participated in multiple stages of our editing chain. For our publication, we have section editors and these editors are usually the first ones to edit that article in their respective section. After that, depending on the situation, an article gets one or two more content edits, which are done by regular editors (not section editors, copy editor, and depending on the cycle, not the web/print EIC). In order to determine if the article needs another round of edits, we make sure to communicate with each other to make sure if that’s the right course of action. After content edits are done, the copy editor makes AP Style edits. Lastly, the print/web EIC looks over the article for the final time and makes final edits. Once those edits are completed, that article is approved to go up on the web or to go in the newsmagazine. At our publication, we have print and web cycles and EIC’s for those cycles. So, if it’s a web cycle, the web EIC gives the approval.
I think it’s extremely important to have an editing chain. I find that it is easier to communicate with people when editing articles, because the editing chain is universal for our publication. It’s very easy to refer to it if there is any trouble in communication. Everyone on our staff knows about the editing chain. With that in mind, it really helps being on the same page with all staff-mates. Even the Trello is modeled after the editing chain (scroll below). I find it so important to have an editing chain and I have so much perspective with it. I have been in a lot of different kinds of editor positions.
2021-2022. As a sophomore, I was the Sports Editor. I was a section editor for the publication and I learned so many basic editing techniques. This includes improving my ability to give constructive criticism without sounding too harsh, getting a good eye for good content, and learning AP Style. During the time, I felt dedicated to this job because I was often doing first-round edits.
2022-2023. I was the Photography Editor as a junior. I wasn’t a section editor, this time I was a regular editor. During this time, I had a lot of freedom on editing choices and I learned how to edit a variety of articles. Before, I was editing mainly sports but I learned how to edit different things like reviews, and arts and entertainment.
2023-2024. Now, I’m the Web Editor-in-Chief. I quickly learned how to delegate and let people know what things need to be edited. Since I was the one planning our content schedule, I was very aware of what needed to be edited in whatever amount of time. So, I eventually learned how to communicate these details to others because I was the last round for web cycles.
How I approach editing articles
I’ve edited a ton of articles through my sophomore, junior and senior years. I’ve learned a ton on how I approach editing articles, including making specific constructive criticism while not coming off too harsh. Not making it harsh I find is probably the hardest part because every person reacts to something differently than the other. So, I’ve learned that knowing who’s article I’m editing is extremely important because I want to be a good teammate and make sure they feel good after giving criticism. I find that with some people, making sure your constructive criticism doesn’t come off too harsh goes a long way in being a teammate. However, some people don’t care about the extra cushion with constructive criticism so with those people, I feel free to just give my thoughts directly. In fact, these people usually want straight constructive criticism, so I make sure to do so. I have found that little things like this go a long way towards being a respected leader.
I also have a process when editing articles so the receiver gets concise advice from me. I usually edit articles that are in the beginning of the editing chain during print cycles. During web cycles, I’m usually the last one to look at the article, therefore I determine whether or not the article is ready to be published. For me, it doesn’t matter what step of the editing chain I’m on, I always have a strategy for editing articles.
- General edits. When editing, I survey the content to make sure it’s reaching its potential. Often, I make suggestions for changes of the lede. I also like to see the quotes and see if the writer should get another interview because sometimes I can tell that there could be more digging to do based on the quotes. Making general edits like these are essential to helping elevate an article and that’s why I do it every single time.
- Copy edits. Making copy edits are also very crucial, so crucial that our staff has always had a copy editor. I have never been a copy editor and most copy edits are done by that editor, but I still find it important to have a good understanding of AP Style. The copy editor isn’t always perfect so it’s a good idea to closely look at the copy too. I also tend to make a lot of sentence structure edits because I find sentences that could be more efficient therefore easier to read. All in all, copy edits is something I always practice.
- Using suggestions. When editing articles in Google Docs, I always edit in the “suggesting mode”. I always want to make sure that the writer has a chance to take in my opinion and make decisions for themselves. Obviously, I’m not always correct with my editing and usually, editing has a lot to do with judgment. So, I always give the writer a chance to take my suggestions however they want.
- Leaving a nice message. Once I’m done editing my article, I leave a nice comment on what I liked about the article and a couple of overall suggestions. This mainly helps build rapport, but it also is a nice conclusion after all the edits.
Using Trello
After using a shared Google Drive folder to access articles and to signify how much edits a given article has, our staff moved to an organizational app called Trello during my senior year. I figured Trello was the right choice because it has many organizational features including color tags, columns, attachment options, and much more. The Editorial Board, which I’m a part of, decided to still use the Google Drive folder so all articles are shared with us so that each article is accessible. However, all articles are accessed from Trello cards.
To see which stage an article is at in the editing chain, the viewer has to look at the column that the card is in. Trello has helped us make things much more simpler in our publication. Before, it too took a bit more effort to move documents along the editing chain, therefore making it more difficult for habits to stick. With Trello, everything is right in front of me so people are more inclined to move things along and assist communication. We also like to put different features on the cards, like what story’s category it is and sometimes we use the comments section on each card to tell the article author who edited the article specifically. Above all else, Trello has made communication and efficiency much better and I’m almost disappointed that we didn’t turn to Trello sooner.
How I approach editing newsmagazine spreads
During print cycles, it is also my job to edit spreads so each spread can reach its potential. Since I am not the Print Editor-in-Chief, I am not the one approving the spreads. Instead, I usually like to be the first one to edit spreads because I have a lot of experience with newsmagazine spreads so I wanted to make sure to use my expertise that I have. When editing these spreads, I have strategies on doing so. Here they are.
- Style guide edits. Our Amplifier magazine has a style guide and I am aware of that guide when editing spreads. Since I have a lot of experience, I’m usually able to recall the style guide through memory. So, when I see something off like a font or leading and whatnot, I let the spread designer know to check the style guide. I don’t tell them them the style guide detail on the paper itself because it gives the spread designer the opportunity to look at the style guide and perhaps notice other things that me and them may have missed.
- Don’t use markers. Markers can be a bit too thick to read and really, my point with this point is to make sure the writing is at least legible. My handwriting is not the prettiest, but by using the pencil, I give myself a better chance that someone can read my edits. I even should have used a pen here.
- Give compliments. People will naturally be more inclined to receive constructive criticism if I bring to light the things they did well. Details like this also help boost team chemistry and trust since I would trust them to do the right thing if they take my constructive criticism seriously.
- Talking in-person. Sometimes, marking up a spread and just handing the edited spread to the person isn’t enough when marking up. When there are complicated things to explain or very specific things to point out, I feel obligated to tell the spread designer to tell my thoughts so they can understand my edits and how they can improve their design. Communication like this is essential because being direct gets rid of hypotheticals, and sometimes those hypotheticals and assumptions lead to mess-ups in communication. There is nothing more direct than talking in-person, something that is easy to move away from when we have phones by us 24/7.
Using a web ladder
To communicate a publishing schedule, I use a web ladder that is accessible to everyone on staff. My goal with the ladder is to communicate my thoughts on the publishing with everyone on staff. However, the web ladder is mainly a tool for me so I know who to prioritize and also just to organize my thoughts. Things can get cluttered and messy in journalism because there is just so much going on, but organizational tools like a web ladder helps clear a lot of the messiness up.
On the ladder itself, I use color highlighters to communicate how far along the story is to get to the green, which means the story is published. We use Trello to communicate where the story is at through the editing process so I find that there is no need to specify where an article is at in the editing process. Instead, for articles that are still in the editing process, I just highlight them blue for “in editing process (CHECK TRELLO)”.
The main superpower of the web ladder is prioritization. Sometimes, I might not be able to comprehend what exactly needs to be prioritized because there is usually a lot on my mind, like the average high schooler. However, organizing the stories through timeliness and when exactly things need to be published helps me find direction in who to talk to and who to work with first. If I’m busy, I also tell others who should be paid more attention to for a given time period. Using the web ladder has helped me get more used to balancing priorities, utilizing organizational skills, and my overall communication.
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