Adviser Lori Keekley and Hill laugh about an error caught in the on-screening process. On-screening is the last step before the PDFs are created and sent to the printer. Along with Keekley and senior Isabel Kjaer, Hill reads every page of the paper to catch any final errors or changes that need to be made.
Walking into the publications room (affectionately called the Pub) for the first time as a staff member is terrifying, at least it was for me. I had no experience whatsoever, never having taken the introductory journalism class due to a scheduling conflict. I didn’t know anyone on staff. Most of all, I was terrified of failing.
Fast forward a year and a half, I’m walking in on my first day as editor-in-chief. Again, I am a ball of nerves. True, I had substantially more experience now and I knew how to survive as a staffer. But my co-chief was a senior, who seemed to always know what to do as she had almost a year of experience. I felt dramatically inferior, but I had to lead. I was the only editor-in-chief in one of the classes, so I was their go-to person. Very quickly I had to get used to answering questions definitively, because I was now the person in charge. I was still terrified of failing.
One last jump into the future brings us to the present day. I am one of the most experienced people on staff. I have been editor-in-chief for three semesters, and the staff looks to me and trusts me to lead. I am still scared of failing.
But that healthy fear of failure is what allows me to lead. It drives me to always be better, quicker, more thorough and it drives me to lead. It pushes me to take risks, go farther, do more and constantly improve.
I walk into the Pub many times every day, and crossing that threshold still makes me pause. I feel the immense pressure to carry on the legacy of Echo, to continue the practice of ethical and high-quality journalism and to lead the staff to do the same.
I have worked to cultivate the reputation of being available, helpful and kind to all. And it is working. Every single person on staff (all 55 of them) has approached me multiple times this year. I am very proud of that. I believe it is crucial for staff to be led by someone who everyone feels comfortable with, or the staff dynamic will be damaged.
Fast forward a year and a half, I’m walking in on my first day as editor-in-chief. Again, I am a ball of nerves. True, I had substantially more experience now and I knew how to survive as a staffer. But my co-chief was a senior, who seemed to always know what to do as she had almost a year of experience. I felt dramatically inferior, but I had to lead. I was the only editor-in-chief in one of the classes, so I was their go-to person. Very quickly I had to get used to answering questions definitively, because I was now the person in charge. I was still terrified of failing.
One last jump into the future brings us to the present day. I am one of the most experienced people on staff. I have been editor-in-chief for three semesters, and the staff looks to me and trusts me to lead. I am still scared of failing.
But that healthy fear of failure is what allows me to lead. It drives me to always be better, quicker, more thorough and it drives me to lead. It pushes me to take risks, go farther, do more and constantly improve.
I walk into the Pub many times every day, and crossing that threshold still makes me pause. I feel the immense pressure to carry on the legacy of Echo, to continue the practice of ethical and high-quality journalism and to lead the staff to do the same.
I have worked to cultivate the reputation of being available, helpful and kind to all. And it is working. Every single person on staff (all 55 of them) has approached me multiple times this year. I am very proud of that. I believe it is crucial for staff to be led by someone who everyone feels comfortable with, or the staff dynamic will be damaged.
Doing what no one wants to do |
Part of being a leader means doing the things no one really wants to do. I’ve challenged myself to do that more than ever this year. Whether that means taking the story that requires me to sit through a three-hour City Council meeting, or go to the Trump rally as a journalist, or clean our publications room, I will do it. My willingness to push my own limits and do more for Echo has helped our publication.
I strive to lead by example in all aspects of Echo, but specifically I see it working with picking up stories. I hope that as people see me picking up stories in class, they are less nervous to take a story at the last minute. The long waits for people to volunteer to cover certain content are getting shorter, though they aren't short enough. |
“Scheduling fun” doesn’t sound like the best way to have a good time, but when we are responsible for posting content daily and producing a print paper every three to four weeks, everything needs to be scheduled. Sure, there are unplanned fun times, weird and amazing things are inevitable when you get a group of teenagers together. But nevertheless, we make an effort to schedule some fun.
At the beginning of the year, we planned a fun activity for every month, some of them are thematic, but most of them are random things found after spending too much time on Pinterest. Examples include non-dominant hand coloring (timed for extra challenge), team production of an Echo flag, felt crafts and all staff potlucks. While there are always a few people who are hesitant to participate for a variety of reasons, I try really hard to get everyone involved. I make a point of approaching the people sitting off to the side. Our scheduled fun is essential because it fast tracks the process of bringing the staff together. With a staff that fluctuates and class hours that are changed every semester, we don’t have much time to make the cohesive community necessary to produce what we need to. Every person on staff works hard, both on Echo and in life in general, the scheduled fun is a way of rewarding that hard work and making sure the staff is balanced and mentally healthy. For that reason, since I have been editor-in-chief I have made fun a priority. |
Scheduled fun |
Rising above |
When I found out I was going to be promoted to editor-in-chief, I was excited, but also a ball of nerves. I knew most of the other editors didn’t want me to be chief. They resented that a junior was chosen as chief instead of them. I totally understood, many of them had applied for my position and they felt cheated, but that doesn't justify how they acted.
For months they talked about me behind my back, complained that I didn’t deserve it, and on top of it all didn’t do their jobs well. When I started to pick up the slack because they weren’t pulling their weight, I was immediately “overstepping” and “doing their jobs for them” which couldn’t be further from the truth. I was keeping the details of Echo running smoothly. Those few months were the hardest months of Echo for me. But, looking back, I’m glad it happened. I learned what it was like to be a leader of people unwilling to be led. It made me more confident and assertive. To this day I don’t know all of what they said, I barely know the surface. My friends assure me that I don’t want to know, but I’m not sure. When the seniors graduated and my friends and I were suddenly the oldest people on staff, I told the managing editors to never let us act as last year seniors did. In August I gave them permission to call me on it if they ever felt I was senior sliding or being rude to the staff. I don’t wish that on anyone, and I am grateful to my fellow senior editors for continuing to be the kind people they always have been. I also took it as an opportunity to set an example. Everyone knew how they felt about me, but by not acknowledging it and by continuing to do my job to the best of my ability, I proved that I could lead. |
One of the biggest challenges I have faced on Echo is maintaining diversity. I attend a very diverse school, but unfortunately the make-up of our staff barely reflects that. Everytime we put out applications we ask ourselves, how do we make it accessible to everyone, how do we attract a variety of people and how can we get them to stay.
All too often the people who bring diversity to our staff quit after a semester. It’s no one's fault, but it happens time and time again. Frequently, they are some of the most talented staff members, and it pains me to see them leave. I try really hard to bring them into the community, help them find their place, and convince them to stay. It doesn’t always work, but it sometimes does, and it's definitely worth the effort. As a staff we are constantly searching for new content, and we are constantly searching for new diverse content. Because a lot of the members of our staff are in the same classes and have the same friend groups, it is really easy to overcover, and undercover, the same people time and time again. We make a conscious effort to counteract that by using a no-interview list, and the couch rule. The no interview list is the idea that if we interview one person too many times, they are off the table unless absolutely necessary. The couch rule is that if you have sat on the person's couch or they have sat on yours, you cannot interview them. This helps us diversify our sources, and challenge our staffers to expand their sources beyond their friends. |
Diversity |
Liaison to the community |
When I am pitching Echo to English and Journalism classes, my go-to point is that the skills you learn apply to so much more than just journalism. Even more than growing as a writer, Echo has taught me how to interact with others in a professional way. All too often adults, especially outside of our city, look down on high school publications. I’ve seen that if you lead with “I’m a reporter from Echo, my high school’s newspaper,” sources will take you less seriously and not treat you the same. Honestly, it really hurts. Nevertheless, I have learned how to act professionally so I am taken seriously.
While the administration of our school does not look down on us in the same way, we are very careful with how we treat our relationship with them. As an editor, I take more of the stories having to do with the administration because of how we divide content, so I am the face of Echo for our principal and assistant principals. The same goes for the school board and city council. It is very important to me that the adults running our district and city understand what Echo is, why we are here and what we do. I have made a conscious effort to keep the city council invested in us, by hand delivering papers every cycle. |