2008-2009 Overview

•Mission / Vision

•Staff

•Process Overview

•Activities

•Evaluation and Feedback

•Recent Awards

Mission

• Accent strives to provide an ethical, socially responsible, well-rounded, fair-minded and independent student press. We are dedicated to providing opportunities for students to learn and gain experience through producing media content. Accent offers ACC’s faculty, staff, students and the community a complete source of information about student life.

Vision

• The Accent is the community newspaper of the Austin Community College District.

Accent StaffJournalism is a noble calling. The workingjournalist is to report, write, and explain inaccordance with the highest standards of theprofession.

-World Journalism Institute

Staff• Newspaper Specialist - Full time ACC staff

member; serves as adviser; oversees production; educates students on journalism standards, procedures and ethics; offers feedback when asked; serves as a resource for student leaders ; oversees advertising; coordinates budget; coordinates contest entries and travel to conferences; does not exercise prior review over content.

Hourly Staff• Editor-in-Chief - assigns stories; provides editorial feedback to

students; oversees story meetings; manages story board; follows procedures for day to day operations; keeps regular office hours; ultimately responsible for all content in paper.

• Assistant Editor - assists in editing stories; copy edits and fact checks articles; assists the editor in executing day to day newsroom procedures; keeps regular office hours.

• Campus Editor - assists in editing stories; manages campus beat reporters;primarily focuses on ACC events, activities, and people

• Photojournalist/Web Editor - edits photos; shoots photos; maintains website; manages assistant photojournalist/web editor.

• Layout / Production Editor - lays out paper; implements and generates ideas regarding layout and design.

Student Staff and Interns• Illustrator - creates illustrations and infographics to accompany

articles in layout

• Photographer - covers assigned stories; produces eye-catching visuals

• Writers - covers assigned stories; produces well-written articles

• Layout Intern - Assists in paper layout; designs and creates graphic elements

• Photo/Web Intern - Assists in editing photos; shoots photos; assists in web editing

• Copy Editor - Intern position primarily responsible for proofing all written content of newspaper for grammar, usage, and AP style.

2008-2009 StaffWe are growing

• Editor-in-Chief – Elizabeth Carson

• Assistant Editor– David Rodriguez

• Campus Editor – Sarah Neve

• Photo / Web Editor – Alma Hernandez

• Layout Editor – Jana Lelek

• Content contributed by 39 students

• Editor-in-Chief – Sarah Neve

• Assistant Editor– David Rodriguez

• Campus Editor – Jamie Carpenter

• Photo / Web Editor – Alma Hernandez

• Layout Editor – Jana Lelek

• Layout Intern– Chris Scott

• Copy Editing Intern– Julie Gorkowski-Day

Fall 2008 Spring 2009

Production Cycle OverviewPut it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. --Joseph Pulitzer

Production Cycle Overview• Monday

– Morning - previous issue distributed

– 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. - Open story meeting in RGC 101.1

– 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. - Adviser and editors meet about previous issue and staff business

– 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Editors establish story / photo assignments

– 4 p.m. - E-mail with assignments including “homeless” stories sent to everyone on Accent list

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Tuesday - Thursday

– Writers and photographers produce content

• Editors have limited office hours to accommodate meetings with staff members.

• Editors work with staff members via e-mail and over the phone

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Friday

– Content deadline• Photographers upload shots to FTP server

or come in and help to edit / caption photos

• Writers e-mail or drop off story drafts• Editors review all content, and contact

staff immediately with suggestions and necessary changes

– Production begins• Content editors and layout editor create

wireframe on whiteboard• Layout editor transfers wireframe to

InDesign, and creates InCopy assignments for all text

• Photo editor begins editing photos.

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Monday

– Final content in InCopy• Editors finalize written content and

place it into InCopy assignments

– Photos chosen, cutlines written• Photo editor chooses photos that will

run in issue• Contacts photographers who write or

revise cutlines

– Layout adjusted• Sizes of original wireframe adjusted

to accommodate content• Headline and cutline assignments

created

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Tuesday

– Rough Layout Finalized• Stories can no longer change in size• Headlines and cutlines inserted in

InCopy

– Photos edited• All photos color corrected and sized

– Copy finalized• Editors make final minor edits to text

in InCopy

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Wednesday

– Layout finalized• Typography perfected• Photos placed• Special graphic items finished and

placed

– Final Copy Edits• Copy edit intern proofs all text for

grammar, usage, and AP style

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Thursday

– Files Finalized• Layout checked for technical

requirements– Color Mode– Fonts– Graphic Links– File types

• Files made into pdf and uploaded to printer

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Content Week

Production Week

Production Cycle Overview• Friday

– Photo / Web editor begins process of uploading content to web site.M

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Content Week

Production Week

Student Outcomes forCore Functions

• Editors and interns are true employees who learn– Appropriate and productive workplace behavior– Industry standard stills– How to properly interact with the public

• All contributors are journalists who learn– Ethical coverage– Professional communication skills– Working within deadlines– Journalistic style and standards– The role of community media

Activities

Activities• Orientations

– Fall and Spring staff orientations

• Field trips– Lunch with Matthew Dowd– BBC / NPR broadcast– Tour Austin American-Statesman

• Travel– Fall, Corpus Christi TCCJA convention– Spring, Dallas TIPA convention

• Staff activities– Fall Bowling Bash– Spring celebration TBA

Evaluation and Feedback

Formal Evaluation and Feedback• All editors receive formal ACC performance

evaluations every semester.– In addition, they receive a portfolio “starter kit” at the

end of their first semester and are encouraged to build a full portfolio by the end of the second semester.

• All contributors must attend an end of semester portfolio conference in order to qualify for their honorarium.– Fall 2008 - 15 portfolio conferences completed

• Staff members have opportunity to have their work professionally judged and critiqued at state and national conventions and contests

Recent Awards

Recent Awards

• Best of show, two-year college paper– 2008 ACP National College Summer

Journalism Workshop• Clip Contest - New Writing - Kevin Stutz - 2nd

Place, Headline Writing - Staff - HM, Overall Excellence - Staff - HM, Editorial - Staff - HM, News Photo - Alma Hernandez - HM / Live Competition Editorial Writing - Trevor Goodchild - HM

– 2008 TCCJA Convention

Student Outcome from Activities and Contests

• Team building

• Retention

• Interactions with professionals

• Networking

• Exposure to current practices

• Resume building

What Accent Provides

• A public forum:– 3000 copies of each print issue distributed across

the district– A web site currently averaging 384 page views per

day– Both provide opportunities for the community to

not only read about, but also interact with and discuss community news, events, and issues.

From the forum(Posted 1/29) - Letter to the editor“I have recently received SPAM through my student gmail

account from the ACC bulk mail account.Some of the SPAM I received was regarding how to recycle and

some is regarding ads for classes that I have no interest in.I still want to receive important information like school closings.I contacted the ACC help desk and they told me to just delete it all

using filters.This includes important announcements about school closings and the like.

I am currently addressing the issue through the IT department and the Student Governance.

I would appreciate it, if you would consider publishing an article on the downfalls of ACCmail.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. “

From the forum(Posted 11/11/08) - Comment on Board Forum at RGC Story“I attended this and I asked a question concerning how marketable my degree will

be after graduation.Now I am worried about there even being ANY jobs when I graduate due to the

HORRIBLE economy!

It seemed to me that the gentleman who spoke to us was nostalgic for the days when ACC was a prep class for those who were going on to attent the Univesity of Texas at Austin and not so much for those of us who are hear to get viable career skills.

The thing is that it takes money to make endowments, fund academic research, scholarships and grants and make an educational institution run and if the graduates can't get jobs after we graduate, then how can we contribute to our school so that others can follow behind us.

Not everyone needs or wants a four-year degree unless it can help you make more money in the career marketplace...because without money, you can't pay the rent, buy the groceries, ride the bus or pay the taxes which helps other people!

Like it or not, this society is all about Money!“

From the forumA public forum: (Posted 9/22/08) - Comment on “Redress” column

“Ms Carpenter appears to be a young person very concerned about the youth on campus, What about the old farts like me who like John McCain?

I was once young and I had better things to do than vote so I don't blame the youngins. Who has gas money to drive to vote. That will take away from their McDonalds money and MTV time.

Young people today are not bystanders. They arw too lazy for that. Instead they are bysitters! GO AARP!”

What Accent Provides

• An applied learning lab– Journalism, Language Arts, Photography, Design,

and Other students apply what they know– Graphic Design students earn internship credit– Journalism students have opportunity to be

published– We serve as a resource for any academic

department that would like to use us

What Accent Provides• Student Jobs

– Editors are able to earn income in a school friendly environment

• Accountability– SPA forms used to ensure that student employees are reaching

academic goals

• Future employment resources– Portfolios– Letters of recommendation– Awards– Informal Counseling

• Innovation– When it comes to media, if it is new and promising, we’ll try

it

On the horizon• March - SXSW electronic coverage

(blogger, Flickr, Twitter)• April - TIPA state collegiate journalism

conference• October ‘09 - Hosting TCCJA state

conference in partnership with ACP/CMA national conference.

• Increased partnering with academic programs and possible early college start.

Learn More

• Accent Online

• Staff site

• ACC site

• Facebook Fan Page “The Accent Newspaper”