leadership
& teambuilding
Ever since our current adviser took over the newspaper and yearbook journalism programs at Fivay, both classes were founded on the ideology that strength in bond amongst staff members was crucial to our collective productivity. Every year that I have returned to journalism, there are at least a few new students but mostly returners. No matter the composition of the staff, it is pertinent to both our adviser and to one another that we build union and companionship. As if it were put on a pedestal, our advisor holds camaraderie to a very high and personal level. I now do the same. Being a leader in each staff, I also believe that team building is very important to our productivity and the overall cohesion of the program. In the beginning of the year, the newspaper and yearbook classes participate in activities ranging from interviewing skills to cooperative problem-solving. The photo to the left depicts a team building activity that we do every year called "the human knot," in which everybody joins hands as to form a knot and then, working together, we must "untie" ourselves and form a closed circle, hands still connected.
This photo of my co-Editor in Chief, Emily, and me was taken by our adviser at the end of our junior year when we began brainstorming theme ideas for the upcoming school year. Emily and I meet daily to discuss progression with the yearbook as well as any concerns we may have with staffers or editors. We address the class daily on any matters that we believe deserve attention such as upcoming deadlines, the need to increase advertisement sales to local businesses, the need for an increase in pre-order sales amongst other matters.
With weekly deadlines, The Bird's Eye headquarters gets quite hectic; staffers and editors are often in need of assistance uploading or editing photos, conducting interviews, writing stories, brainstorming headlines, designing layouts and many other dilemmas. While my own workload consists of copy editing all text within the book in addition to overlooking the general functionality of the staff and the progression of the book's production, time is always made to assist staff members. In the right-hand photo above, student life editor, Lauren (seated) and staff member Cassie ran into some frustrations with altering the image size for the dominant photo on the Night Life spread as it appeared grainy when increasing the brightness. I advised them to increase the contrast in colors and return the brightness back to its original state. Decreasing the shadows also served the photo's final appearance. I encourage staff members to explore our publishing platform each day as to become more familiar with the program and provide assistance if need be.