Sophomore Molly Schochet listens as Hill explains how Google Analytics works, how Echo uses the information provided and how to interpret the data Google Analytics shows. As part of preparing next years staff, Hill is showing people small pieces of bigger processes regularly, including how we use analytics.
A news outlet is not a legitimate news outlet without an audience. Readers are what shape our coverage and how we will continue to learn and grow. Some may say a high school newspaper exists to serve solely within the school but that is not the case. Our audience certainly includes the students and staff at our school, but it also includes alumni, parents, community members and other news sources (especially student news sources).
We print 1,400 copies every cycle. These are distributed during lunch to the roughly 1,400 students in the school, left in the approximately 150 staff mailboxes, placed in all the offices around the school and delivered to City Hall and the City Council. Not every student is interested in reading our print edition, but this year I have seen an uptick in interest.
While our print editions are slightly more targeted to a high school audience, our website gets traffic from many people. The most common commenters on our social media are parents of other Park students or Park alumni.
We print 1,400 copies every cycle. These are distributed during lunch to the roughly 1,400 students in the school, left in the approximately 150 staff mailboxes, placed in all the offices around the school and delivered to City Hall and the City Council. Not every student is interested in reading our print edition, but this year I have seen an uptick in interest.
While our print editions are slightly more targeted to a high school audience, our website gets traffic from many people. The most common commenters on our social media are parents of other Park students or Park alumni.
This year we rolled out a new approach to social media to better serve our audience. Specifically, we started using our Instagram stories to better engage students. Facebook and Twitter coverage remained mostly the same, but Instagram got a makeover. We began to utilize the stories to generate excitement for our print issues. We post our late night selfies two days before distribution, then some kind of interactive visual on distribution day. We have seen our Instagram followers increase, with user engagement close behind.
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Fundraising |
At the end of my first year on staff, we decided to give the publications room a makeover. While none of us are interior designers, we ultimately decided to paint the room a nice gray, with blue accents. Unfortunately, that left Echo in a bad place financially. When I became editor-in-chief I took it upon myself to fix that burden past classes had left. This year, I set up the first fundraiser Echo has had in my time on staff — bagging groceries at Cub Foods.
The few hour commitment we asked staffers to make paid off — in one day we made over $800. That money went a long way to help our finances, but one fundraiser is not enough. I am currently in the process of setting up several other fundraisers for the rest of the school year, which I consider incredibly important because any extra money we raise, we use to make Echo more fun, which is always a priority for me. |
BrandingAt the start of the year, we looked back through many years of Echo's and decided it was time for a change to our nameplate. We redesigned our nameplate and all accompanying branding elements before school even started.
This change was important to us because we felt the old branding was a bit outdated. It was certainly still well designed and applicable, but we wanted to show how Echo has changed. The three lines coming off of the name are meant to emulate the introduction of more multimedia coverage, as they look a little bit like the Wi-Fi symbol. I really enjoyed the process of brainstorming and workshopping the new nameplate, and I am happy with how it turned out. |
Even though I am graduating in less than four months, I know Echo doesn't end in less than four months. I am certainly sad to see my time on staff come to a close, but that doesn't mean I've given up. All my underclassmen friends can tell you, I've tried to recruit all of them (and all their friends) on multiple occasions. Often they ask why I care, as they know I will not be on staff anymore, and the truth is I care because Echo has been a highlight of high school.
I do everything I can to help next years staff thrive. That varies from recruiting people, to writing a detailed document about all the things I do every cycle so they don't forget, to maintaining relationships in the community. I am actively working to ensure the program's sustainability after I leave because student press is such a vital part of my high school experience, and I want to give others that opportunity.
I do everything I can to help next years staff thrive. That varies from recruiting people, to writing a detailed document about all the things I do every cycle so they don't forget, to maintaining relationships in the community. I am actively working to ensure the program's sustainability after I leave because student press is such a vital part of my high school experience, and I want to give others that opportunity.