Editor term comes to an end

It's over. One year. Fifty issues. Many, many great memories.

Monday's issue was my last as editor in chief of The Miami Hurricane. We made great strides forward this year in print and online, and I can't wait until our new Web site debuts in August (yes, I still need to do an update post on this).

I'd like to thank all of this year's editors for their hard work and wish those who are graduating the best of luck.

For the continuing and new editors, keep on rockin' the news -- you guys are going to do great things. Here's the new staff list:

Editor in Chief
Matthew Bunch (moving up from sports editor and blogmaster)

Visuals Editor
Shayna Blumenthal

News Editor
Chelsea Kate Isaacs (promoted from assistant news)

Assistant News Editors
Erika Capek (promoted from staff news writer)
Edward Fishman (promoted from contributing news writer)

Opinion Editor
Joshua Newman (new)

EDGE Editor
Dan Buyanovsky (continuing in position)

Sports Editor
Pravin Patel (promoted from assistant sports editor)

Assistant Sports Editor
Christina Di Nicola (promoted from senior sports writer)

Photography Editor
Chelsea Matiash (promoted from assistant photo editor)

Assistant Photo Editor
Steve Root (promoted from staff photographer)

Webmaster
Brian Schlansky (continuing)

Multimedia Editor
Ryan Ondriezek (continuing)

Assistant Multimedia Editor
TBD

Copy Desk Chief
Nate Harris (promoted from copy editor)

I'm still undecided on what my role with the paper will be next year, but I plan to do something with online and multimedia. For one, Brian Schlansky and I will be working on the new site during the summer and beyond.

Now, back to working on a final project and (trying) to study for my two finals.

"The Paper" used to be my paper

I learned last school year that MTV would be doing a multi-part "documentary" about my high school newspaper, The Circuit. I was skeptical of how the network that brought you "My Super Sweet 16" would cover a journalism class/newspaper and I'll let you be the judge of that.

Here is the trailer for "The Paper"

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

The show premiered Monday night after being released Thursday for free on iTunes.

I've met most of the kids featured and I didn't notice any such rancor when I visited, but obviously there's a wee bit of tension -- or more than a wee bit. Nevertheless, they've put out some great issues this year, so I can report [spoiler warning?] that the newsroom does not burn down.

As a "reality show," it is of course not actual reality because people are always going to play to the camera, particularly when two of the featured staffers have been in drama club. Try to guess which ones by commenting below.

I'll be visiting again sometime during the week of April 28 and perhaps I will do an interview with the featured players and Mrs. Weiss, the most awesome high school newspaper adviser ever.

Stay tuned for that, and the rest of the series -- Mondays at 10:30 p.m. on MTV.

Side note: The Miami Hurricane was approached last year by a group that wanted to a reality show about us called "The Chronicles." We got a good laugh from the mock-up flyer/poster, which hangs in my office, because of how hyped the concept was.

We thought it would be a pretty boring show since there was no office drama and declined.

Weigh in: Did you watch "The Paper?" What did you think?

Related links

MTV’s ‘The Paper’: Where Teens, Journalism and Coolness Meet - Mallary Tenore

Meet some teenagers who are passionate about journalism - Romanesko

MTV's New Show Called "The Paper" - premieres on April 14 - Wired Journalists

MTV to air series on high school newspaper - Student Newspaper Survival Blog

MTV on High School 'Paper' Trail - Editor & Publisher

Nevada Sagebrush uses Twitter to liveblog editor selection meeting

The Nevada Sagebrush (University of Nevada Reno) liveblogged its editor selection meeting Saturday afternoon using Twitter.

The tweets were very comprehensive and, needless to say, flooded my Twhirl window for the duration of the meeting, but it was all good fun.

Thanks to Chelsea Otakan for directing followers of her Twitter account to the Sagebrush's.

In an interesting twist, I recognized in an early tweet that one my fellow Miami Herald summer 2008 interns is on staff at the Sagebrush. It's a small world after all.

Weigh in: Does your news organization use Twitter?

Shameless plug: The Miami Hurricane's page.

(Since you're in the neighborhood, check out mine too.)

College Content Management social network

Last Saturday night I created a social networking site using Ning called College Content Management.

I've seen the power of Wired Journalists and NextNewsroom during the past few months and those served as my inspiration.

The idea floated around my head for a few weeks, but it was not realized until after I talked with Megan Taylor, online managing editor at The Alligator and Kevin Koehler, contributing editor (basically the online editor) at the Old Gold & Black at the NextNewsroom conference last week.

We talked extensively about each of our content management systems:

• The Miami Hurricane moving from College Publisher to WordPress
• The Alligator using Town News
• The Old Gold & Black using Expression Engine

It became clear to me that there's a desire among Web editors to share ideas, and gripe about their CMSes and, the day before I flew back home, the group was born.

The slogan: Because we all have to deal with a CMS.

The description: Do you have a Web site for your student media organization? "Yes." Mine does too. We should work together.

So, come one, come all student journalists, editors, advisers and anyone else who uses or manages a university/college news site.

And be sure to spread the word. I plan to start searching the Web for online editors' e-mail addresses to invite them, but any help would be much appreciated.

LIVESTREAM: NextNewsroom conference - Restructuring newsroom management

Facilitated by Bryan Murley of CICM.



Chris Carroll, student communications, Vanderbilt University

Discussing Inside Vandy

• They don't have a journalism program, so they didn't have to deal with traditional structures.
• "There is no Web editor. It's everyone's responsibility to produce for the Web."
• "We sort of dismantled some of that traditional structure."

Murley, CICM

• Reverse publication - post story online first
  
• "It seems antiquated" to break something in print
• There are very few Web editors who become editor in chief, and that should change
  

Brad Arendt, general manager, The Arbiter, Boise State

• Their six-step process: Story, path, deadline, communicate, edit, execute
• Try to have a collaborative thought process in management
  
• "The story is the key"

Dan Morris, adviser, The Arbiter, Boise State

• They have had editors in chief who have been the photo editor, assistant opinion editor, opinion writer who worked on local TV station, etc. That's made changing structure a little bit easier.
  

Greg Linch, editor in chief, The Miami Hurricane

• I was just yapping about what we do. Blah, blah, blah...
  

Megan Taylor, managing editor for online, The Independent Florida Alligator

• They instated a requirement for staffers to produce multimedia
  
• Because they are independent, their funds are limited and that's why her staff is two people
• Everyone is still print biased
  

John North, The Knoxville News Sentinel

• We crow when we can beat TV with posting online

Shannon Morgan, editor in chief, The Arbiter, Boise State

• We're trying to get people to tell stories in more than on way
  
• 80-100 people
• My problem now is trying to figure out how to restructure the staff

Kevin Koehler, contributing editor (online editor), Old Gold and Black, Wake Forest

• Making the transition to Web, it's hard to get people think of doing things and doing them well
• People want to do it, there's interest and people are excited, but they have to learn how it's done
• They don't have a journalism major or any new media courses
• "It's too big of a hump on their on a pressing deadline"

Arendt, The Arbiter

• We tried embedding a multimedia person in the section, but it failed because they were left out or ignored
• It's important to look at your deadlines for your output
• They expect 2-3 paragraph piece recapping a game after it ends, then they follow up
• If you run efficiently, I think students
  
• But the kicker is, "How do you do it?"
  

In my mind I'm going to Carolina

And so the music-themed posts continue tonight...

I'll be traveling to Columbia, S.C. for the SPJ region three conference in a few hours. This will be my third regional conference in as many years, at which I represent the University of Miami campus chapter and The Miami Hurricane.

Region three includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Are you going? Let me know in a comment or via e-mail, greglinch[at]gmail.com.

Also, I'll be at Duke next week for the Next Newsroom conference. Drop me a line if you'll be there.

I love being a student and being able to travel to these conferences for free!

Stay tuned: I'll have my laptop there to liveblog and post general thoughts during both conferences. I will also have my video and still cameras.

Also, be sure to look for my Twitter updates during the conference -- and in general.

Weigh in: Would a tripod count against me as one of my two carry-on items? D'oh!

First map mashup for TheMiamiHurricane.com

It's not a technological marvel by any means, but it's an important first step to having interactive maps on TheMiamiHurricane.com - and later on the future site (expect an update post on that Thursday night, most likely).

As you can see, I used Google Maps.


View Larger Map

Why now to start?
As we were sending the paper to the printer, I was copyediting and came across a story in news about the Red Road Commons. I was disappointed to see there was no map requested (we need to do more print maps as well), so I felt inspired to just make a map for online.

Looking forward
We will definitely include more maps in the future. I also plan to expand this map by adding all of the on-campus dormitories and eventually popular off-campus.

One thing I need to play with and figure out: how to make smaller the windows that appear when you click the placemarkers.

Hurricane copy chief is Herald's newest online producer

Rafael Sangiovanni began writing and designing for The Miami Hurricane his freshmen year. Raph, as he is known, wrote for EDGE, the arts and entertainment section, through spring 2007.

He moved up to chief copy editor in fall 2007, his current position at The Hurricane, and was recently hired part-time as an online producer for The Miami Herald's Web site.

Here are a couple posts Raph wrote on Wired Journalists:

• One 'Wired' Journalist: anticipating the new experience
  
• I got to post my first story today: reflecting on his first few days
  

Here is a video of Raph talking about his experience so far:

w00t, w00t: Visuals editor Will Wooten starts redesign blog

Let the Web design blogging begin!

Will Wooten, visuals editor at The Miami Hurricane, has started a blog about online journalism, specifically the redesign of The Hurricane's Web site.

Will is overseeing the aesthetic side of the project and will be posting updates and information about the redesign process. The blog will also act as a means for gathering feedback and discussing the new site.

And what is the name of this forum?

"Will's Blog."

Why such a simple name?

"The reason is, it is what it is. I don't want anything creative."

What about the design and color scheme?

"The serious bloggers are going to be using a reader anyway."

Unrelated, my favorite quote from Will came as he was updating his resume last semester. As he was finishing, he realized something:

"I forget to put that I was Time Magazine's person of the year in 2006 on my resume."

Montclair newspaper funding restored

An AP story (via Editor & Publisher) from this morning reported: Funding restored to N.J. college paper.

Here's an except:

Montclair State University's student government decided Wednesday to temporarily restore funding to the school's weekly student newspaper, after its decision to freeze the paper's funding a week ago was criticized as an attempt to stifle freedom of the press.

After more than five hours of deliberation, the Student Government Association legislature voted 12-0, with seven abstentions, to restore funding for printing and office supplies to The Montclarion for 30 days, during which time student government and newspaper leaders are expected to try to resolve their differences.

Here's a news story from The Montclarion: Montclarion Budget Unfrozen for One Month and here's my original post on the news: Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA.

Monclair State newspaper funding cut by SGA

The Student Government Association at Montclair State University in New Jersey has cut the paper's funding. As a result, they are no longer able to publish:

Montclarion Presses Stopped by Student Government

Here is the paper's editorial.

The New York Times picked up the story yesterday:

Student Dispute Threatens Montclair State’s Paper

Here are the first three paragraphs of the Times' article, which give a good overview:

In a rancorous dispute that has pitted student journalists against student government, the editors of Montclair State University’s weekly newspaper were forced to stop publishing last week after the student body president froze the paper’s financing.

The editors of the paper, The Montclarion, claim that the president, Ron Chicken, improperly used his authority, cutting off the newspaper’s funds to silence criticism of the student government.

The student body president, however, told the Montclarion’s editors that they had violated the by-laws of the student government association by hiring their own lawyer.

The Society of Professional Journalists (full disclosure: I'm a member) posted on its site a letter to the Montclarion editor, excerpts of which were just to members sent via e-mail:

Letter of support to Montclarion editors and staff

Weigh in: What are your thoughts on the situation? Has this happened/could this happen at your university?