Manifesto for Editor

Somehow I've ended up as Editor for WINOL this year. I like to think this manifesto helped me get this position and, to stop me becoming a politician, I thought I would post it up here to help me stick to my promises. So, here it is:

Hannah Hayesmore: Editing WINOL’s Future

Winchester News Online (WINOL) is the top single-university student journalism site in the UK and as such deserves an editor that will not only get the job done and keep WINOL at the top of the tables but also has the determination to get it to new heights by keeping up with innovations and coming up with new ideas. By making me the overall editor, you will have someone who has the tenacity to make things happen, the forethought to avoid problems before they arise and the experience to know how to improve WINOL even further.

I will work on the 4 key issues WINOL has:

Efficiency

·         Packages should include a few seconds of ‘camera stare’ to top & tail package to help with production & stop black holes and accurate timing for script & in and out words to help with timing which will help lead to less reliance on post-production to fix production issues

·         Use News & Features meetings pitch stories, not discuss ideas which should be done in a separate meeting as well as having all features writers to double up as production and vice versa

·         Have more than 1 person designing & developing the website to innovate it, balance work load & keep the website modern & user friendly

·         Deadlines to be set more realistically according to the type of article as well as to be followed more and a simplified submission system that can be used in the same way by all sections and editors

·         Ensure editors prioritize their role over any others they do & keep the editors the same for the term rather than on a rota to give more stability to the news room

·         Social media editor role needs to be given more authority  to ensure the person in the role can do their job effectively

·         Ensure OB equipment has been tested on multiple occasions prior to the event by enforcing an OB testing system to follow

Quality

·         Have a dedicated subeditor to look for spelling and grammar errors, check facts and sources and ensure all article are correctly formatted so that they can be uploaded quickly as well as to a high quality

·         Writers to come up with more than 1 idea so editor can chose between them as well as help them to better use the news & features board & the spike (as it gives us room to change bulletin if things fall through, etc.; use of board helps show people any changes, current order, etc.)

·         Ensure the dated web layout is updated and constantly improved & innovated as and when it starts to look old fashioned or stops being user friendly, plus check that dead links are removed, pic slider is fixed & site is updated quickly when problem is encountered

·         Everyone to have still camera training and greater photo shop training (due to bad edges on photo features) so that photo quality can improve which will benefit the site & social media output

·         Editors have to make decisions on length, necessity, order, whether or not to kill a story, and so on more readily and ensure the reporters know this as well as updating it on the board as it is more professional to film to time rather than adjust time to film

·         Ensure no-one to have more than 2 roles within WINOL & its extended family so that people can focus on their jobs better & give greater quality and frequency to their work

·         Scripting should be improved and finished earlier to allow for more rehearsal time and give greater certainty to the crew

·         More contact-lead news as this is more in line with corporate news practice and will make us seem more professional and knowledgeable

·         Event Specials to have a plan “locked in” at least 2 weeks before and should not change unless something dramatic happens and purchase a WINOL dongle for OBs to stop the internet connection issues interfering with shows in the future

·         A new, physical “flat pack” set for new studio (different ones for different studio pieces) to put up and take down as necessary as this will keep our studio looking professional and allow us greater variety in the camera angles and shots available to use

Frequency

·         News & Sport stories should be uploaded quickly & not wait until the bulletin is up in order to keep the website fresh

·         Magazines need to choose to either upload content frequently (like a website) or everything once a month (like a magazine) as the inconstancy can put off some readers

·         We need people to work over the weekend to keep site fresh & drive more people to it

Communication

·         Editors should give detailed, relevant feedback to their team in each debrief and on their blogs

·         As Editor, I will hold an editors meeting after news and features so that everyone can know what is going on. This will also make collaborations between sections much easier

·         Enforce use of style guide, social media bible, etc. to ensure consistency in articles both on the websites and on all other media platforms

I would also like to ensure the slim stat Word Press app on all of the WINOL sites and that the relevant editor has access to look at these to help us track what articles our readers are interested to keep our circulation figures high. As well as this, to aid with falling circulation figures, I believe Sports Week should be uploaded on a different day to the bulletin as a way of driving extra traffic to the site throughout the week.

By implementing my ideas and making me the overall editor, I feel that we can improve our circulation, innovate our output and impress future employers with our professional content.