How to use Google to run your student newspaper

Posted by Dave Lee on 30 April 2008 at 09:30
Tags: Newspapers, Online, Student Journalism, The Linc

I once read a student newspaper which listed Mr G Oogle as their pictures researcher. A bit cheeky, yes, but it now seems Mr Oogle could in fact pay a huge part in making our student newspapers better.

One of the challenges student newspapers face is the lack of communication between staff. We don’t have the luxury of news meetings every morning. Heck, some of us don’t even have the luxury of a room to do it in. Many a student paper — and indeed, many a ‘real’ newspaper — will have to rely on frantic emails, text messages and phone calls to get copy in and ready to be printed.

But you can make it easier on yourself. It’s not tough, it’s not complicated and it’s not expensive. It’s free!

How to use Google to run your student newspaper

Recently, I was wowed by the internal software used by a big media company here in the UK. It was their own little world — news would come in from various wires, internal messages and memos would fire back and forth and boy… the shared contacts directory was really something to behold. The whole set up will have cost them thousands.

But wait! Look at what you can do with Google:

1. Email. Ok, that’s obvious. But if you have your own webspace (i.e. you host a website for your publicatin) then you can install email inboxes for all your team, using a you@yourpublication.com style email address. What’s great about it is that the software used is the same as Gmail. In other words, it’s very, very good. What’s especially handy is the way you can customise it. Below is a screenshot of our inboxes. Note our logo (pointless, but pretty…), and more importantly, notice the quick contacts down the left hand side. Each member of the team can be messaged with a simple click. If they happen to be online at the same time as you, you can even send them an instant message, msn-style.

The popular Gmail interface can be customised to match your newspaper’s style.

2. Calendar. You’ve seen one calendar and you think you’ve seen them all. Wrong. Take all those email accounts you’ve just set up after step one. Then imagine that each of those log ins can contribute to one mass calendar, with everyone’s entries appearing in a different colour so you know what’s what. You’ll never miss a diary-event ever again. At a glance, you can see who’s covering what and when. Not only this, but you can view the calendar, and edit it, using your mobile phone. If you’re the editor… how great would it be to be able to automatically email your entire team an hour before your editorial meeting? Bliss.

3. Documents. Now this is the best part. Using Google Docs, you can upload all your copy into one place. Your subs can access it and edit it in real time. You don’t even have to be in the same room. Using spreadsheets, why not make an online contact directory, just as we did below. Like the calendar, all your team can access and edit this. An invaluable tool. Just think of all the people you speak to in a year, and imagine how useful a printable, searchable copy of them all will be.

Names are added in the same way as in an Excel spreadsheet. Also, note the tabs at the bottom for different type of contacts.

More information about how to install and use the Google software package can be found here. Good luck!

Five things student editors should do with Facebook in 2008

Posted by Dave Lee on 8 February 2008 at 13:52
Tags: Lincoln University, Newspapers, Online, Student Journalism, The Linc, facebook

We all know that Facebook is a terrific tool – has it ever been any easier to keep in touch with friends? I don’t think so. Last week I had a 21st birthday party that was organised using Facebook’s event application, and it really couldn’t have been simpler.

The question is, what else can we do with it? How, as student journalists, can we use this rapidly expanding medium to our advantage?

Here’s where I think we should all start. Please, feel free to add your own in the comments section.

Five things student editors should do with Facebook in 2008

1. Use a group to force change. Take a look at this: The Linc Campaign for a 24-hour Library. 700 members strong, and our University is really taking note. That group was set up in the minutes, and yet, has had more effect than anything else we’ve done – including printing a big poster in our last issue. A Facebook group means people can support your cause by just clicking “Join”. It’s quick, easy and ultimately very impressive when you pull it off.
2. Establish a Facebook presence for your publication. This is a bit trickier than the group, as there are a few different ways you can approach this. Facebook have just added the ability for anyone to make a page for a business or group, and you can invite people to become ‘fans’ of your newspaper. Think of it as a group on steroids – it allows you to list events, add videos and host your own message board. Perfect for a student newspaper.
3. Reach people you don’t meet in your day-to-day studies. It’s easy to assume you cover all the big issues on your campus. You don’t. Somewhere, hidden away, is a huge wealth of stories that will blow your readers away. Trawl through your university’s network homepage and see what people are talking about on the message board. See if any interesting/strange societies are doing anything that will interest your readers. Perhaps take a look at the marketplace listings, you never know what you might find there.
4. Connect with the sports teams. Provided you have a good Athletic Union, it’s fairly easy to keep on top of all the sporting events taking place. But take a look at sport coverage in the ‘real’ press and you’ll find it’s very personality-based. Big characters exist in sport at every level, and Facebook opens to the door to all the team banter that would normally be reserved solely for the coach on the way to somewhere like Loughborough. It was through a Rugby player’s Facebook profile that we found a disgusting yet brilliant picture of a players dislocated hip. It was very eye-catching… until you realised what it was and swiftly looked at something else.
5. See what the ‘competition’ is doing. As I’ve written in the past, it’s never been easier for student editors to see what everyone is up to. See what other newspapers are doing on Facebook, and if you like what you see, pinch it! The possibilities really are endless.

Any other suggestions? If you’re feeling super-adventurous you could attempt to make an application specifically for your publication, although that’s for the real tech-heads only at the moment.

10 comments

Dealing with a student death

Posted by Dave Lee on 30 January 2008 at 09:20
Tags: Lincoln University, Student Journalism, The Linc

Here at the University of Lincoln, our student newspaper, the Linc, is a baby. We’ve only printed seven issues, and so every edition that comes out brings a new fresh problem for the team to overcome.

This month we heard some tragic news. Three students lost their lives during the Christmas break. Of course, we had to cover it. It was just a question of how.

The only decision we were sure about is that we had to cover it. We would lose any integrity we had if we let this news go unreported. Bad news happens. What we weren’t sure of was how to go about presenting our coverage. We had to be careful.

How a student newspaper reports a death has to be different to the way a local paper would. You know that people who knew the student will be reading. Do you report mere facts (the time, the place, essential details) and risk coming across as wooden? Or do you delve into the life of the student, and risk being accused of intruding on a family’s grief?

Get your coverage wrong and you could find your newspaper on the end of some very angry, emotional students. Yet, get it right, and you’ll have produced a moving newspaper, paying a worthy tribute to the students.

Unfortunately, that line between tribute and insult can be crossed very easily. You can – and should – adhere to the PCC Code, and not be afraid to use it to defend your actions. But at the back of your mind should be the acknowledgement that you have a duty to treat the news as respectfully as possible.

For our coverage, we lead with a front page picture and the headline of ‘Tragic’. It has, as expected, caused distress – but just because it’s a realisation that these students are sadly no longer with us.

I’m interested to hear any stories from student editors out there about how to deal with difficult issues like a death on campus.

1 comment