Emulating the professionals

Today's tour of The Arizona Republic offered us an insider's perspective on what goes on in a thriving newsroom. We visited four of the 10 floors and sat in on an hour-long editorial "budget" meeting. At first, I thought we were going to have to sit through an actual budget meeting (in the traditional sense). Thank goodness that wasn't the case, because I think this was infinitely more interesting.

This morning's meeting reminded me of "Beat Report Mondays," during which my Intro. to Print and Broadcast Journalism students would report on their beats. Categories included high school sports, juvenile crime, weather, international news, local politics and health and medicine. (Please note my use of the serial comma, as inspired by our AP Stylebook religious experience this morning.)

One thing The Arizona Republic staff did during their meeting that I want to adopt in my editorial meetings is use Google Docs. I love the idea of updating a live document during the meeting (projected for all to see) and sharing it with everyone on staff. I need to really practice using Google Docs! My school hasn't boarded that ship yet.

This morning's meeting also showed me how a professional editorial meeting is conducted. Teaching students the important skill of how to respect and listen to other people while they are reporting, as well as respecting everyone's time by being concise. There were no side conversations, which is a problem I often have with my students. Laurie Bender posted a video clip of the meeting and said she was going to show it to students. I think I will do this too.

                                               A staffer reports on the next day's features.


The staff at The Arizona Republic was so gracious and open to all of us. It was a great experience.

Meghann Peterson
Chanhassen High School
Chanhassen, Minn.