The Linchpen

Incoming sports editor Matthew Bunch and I met today with Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman, who teaches a 500-level sports reporting class in the spring. Matt and I took the class last spring and tossed around ideas with Michelle about how we could integrate the coursework with the newspaper.

Michelle was very receptive and had great ideas. Here are some of the plans we discussed:

-UM sports blogs, live blogging during the games

-A multimedia project (video package or audio slideshow)

-Dedicated page on TheMiamiHurricane.com for each sport

Please feel free to discuss these ideas or add any of your own by hitting the comment button below.

Most of the editors – both incoming and outgoing – attended our final staff meeting of the semester this afternoon. With a little 80′s music in the background, we noshed on cake and chatted.

Once everyone finished their delectable dessert, I gave a short speech and presented Bari (outgoing EDGE) and Stacey (outgoing sports) with plaques honoring their time as editors at The Miami Hurricane.

We then discussed a number of ideas I had compiled and e-mailed last night. The ideas came from the Florida Society of Newspaper Editor online and multimedia sessions I sat in on Saturday, Friday’s meeting with Randy Stano and other ideas that had been accumulating in my head.

Everyone will be brainstorming ideas during break and contemplating ways to continue improving the print and online editions. We will surely come back stronger than ever.

PS. We finally hung up this year’s covers in the design office. Thanks to incoming editors Matt Bunch (sports) and Dan Buyanovsky (EDGE) for their assistance.

Here is the spring 2008 editorial staff (new editors are in bold, new positions are noted with an asterisk):

Editor-in-Chief
Greg Linch

Art Director
Jamie Straz

News Editor
Karyn Meshbane

Assistant News Editor
Chelsea Isaacs

Sports Editor
Matthew Bunch

Assistant Sports Editor
Pravin Patel

EDGE Editor
Dan Buyanovsky

Opinion Editor
Nayda Verier-Taylor

Photo Editor
Marissa Gutherz

Multimedia Editor*
Ryan Ondriezek

Assistant Multimedia Editor*
Matt Wallach

Webmaster
Brian Schlansky

Copy Chief
Rafael Sangiovanni

It’s been quite a busy week, and we only had one issue! Here’s a quick look at what’s been going on and what’s coming up…

Wednesday: Last deadline day of the semester

Thursday: Last issue of the semester comes out; Web meeting with adviser, professors and select staffers

Friday: Staff lunch with the Ibis yearbook; design and content meeting with visual journalism professor and Ibis yearbook adviser Randy Stano

Saturday: Day off? Nope. Karyn, Matt, Will and I will be helping out at a Florida Society of Newspaper Editors event happening at the School of Communication.

Sunday: The staff say farewell to outgoing editors Stacey Arnold and Bari Lieberman, introduction of incoming editors and a discussion of deas for next semester

Tuesday: Incoming Sports Editor Matthew Bunch and I meet with Michelle Kaufman, an adjunct professor and Miami Herald sports writer who teaches CNJ 523 Sports Reporting in the spring.