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ACP Forums
This is an archived ACP Forums thread.
Planning an effective Newspaper Retreat
Kate, 6/30/2005, 8:57:40 AM
Hi I am a new editor-in-chief and half my staff has attended three or four retreats now, and the other half hasn’t been to any. I’m trying to mix it up this year to keep the older staff members awake while covering the basics for the new staff. Are there any particular exercises that have been effective and fun in reaching a new staff while energizing an experienced one? Any suggestions on how to make a good newspaper retreat?
Responses
Rachele Kanigel, 7/5/2005, 1:07:20 AM
Hi. I'm a newspaper adviser writing a book about college newspapers. Below are some tips for planning a training session I plan to use in my book. Hope some of them are helpful.
Some things you can do to keep it fresh for the more experienced folks -- change location, bring in guest speakers from the professional press whom you haven't had before, break the staff into small groups at certain times and give them a choice of two or three sessions, some for the old staff and some for the new (for example, you could offer one session on basic newswriting or interviewing skills and another at the same time on investigative reporting techniques).
Tips for Organizing a Staff Training
All student newspapers should schedule training sessions each time the staff turns over. If you have a large staff, you may want to organize special sections for reporters, editors, photographers and designers. If your staff is small, you’ll probably want to have one training for editors and another for the staff as a whole. Here are some tips for making training sessions effective.
1. Survey the staff. Ask both returning and incoming staffers what skills they’d most like to learn.
2. Get organized. Assign a person or a committee to organize the training. Typically, advisers and top editors or teams of editors create training programs.
3. Find time. Decide how much time to devote to training. Some newspapers sponsor multi-day or even multi-week seminars. Others can only spare a day or two.
4. Arrange the date early. That way students can plan vacations and work schedules around it. A week or two before the term starts is usually best, although some papers find they get better attendance if they .
5. Set a budget. If your newspaper has the money, you may want to arrange for meals or a special venue for the training, such as a hotel, restaurant or conference center. If your budget is tight, you can hold the training in your newsroom or in classrooms and have students handle lunch on their own. If meals are too pricey, provide drinks and snacks to keep people’s energy up.
6. Recruit local journalists. If possible, take advantage of newspaper alumni who are now working for the local professional press.
7. Learn the law. Invite your newspaper’s attorney, a law professor or other media law expert to offer a session on legal issues, such as libel, copyright, and open meetings and records laws.
8. Break the ice. If the staffers don’t all know each other, open the training with introductions or ice breakers so people can get to know each other.
9. Mix it up. Make sure some of the activities are interactive – intersperse large group sessions with small group discussions or exercises.
10. End on a high note. Conclude the training with an informal social gathering, such as a pizza party. Encourage veteran staffers to mingle with new people.
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