We don't print the week before a break, so I had it easy the past few days. I was a bit nervous about our budget packet getting through, but even the House meeting was relatively smooth. We were out by 11 and I didn't have a headache when I left.
Our business manager might wrangle us some ads before long, via an ad agency. Perhaps, cross our fingers everyone, we'll have some fundraising to report come budget time.
I edited some articles for the online version a few minutes ago. Punched up some headlines and tweaked the content.
Over the break, me and the adviser are going to plan our pannel for the convention we'll be attending. Guess what I'm not looking forward to doing? Stage fright to say the least.
Oh, the VP of SGA resigned. Seems they can't have more than two exec board members at anyone time or something...maybe I'll stick that up on the Web site over break. I'm sure there's a photo of him around somewhere.
Oh, apparently the Gay/Straight Alliance was mad at us. Champagne's article about Kemp and Buckley briefly mentioned their selling penis and vagina cookies for a fundraiser. He was comparing it to something about Kemp's lack of a shirt...I guess they were upset. I haven't figured out why, or the reasoning behind it, but it wouldn't be the first time I've heard complaints with no grounds whatsover.
We did a story on RAs a semester ago and one got upset and accused us of putting words in her mouth or something to that effect. She was basically quited as having no comment, so I'm not sure what she was mad about either.
I guess it's the valid complaints I should worry about, like the Valentine's Day messages. Giving some one their money back would be much easier if they'd let us know who they were to begin with...
Friday, February 22, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Give all of your money to The Critic, or you hate freedom.
I finished the budgeting packet. Sadly, I had to report $0 in fundraising. I'd rather not have selling ads go on my list of failures when it comes to this newspaper. Unless something changes soon, as in by the end of the week, I'm going to look into things. This is something I should have been up on in the fall, but for some reason didn't get to.
Not having much money for enxt year is currently my biggest headache. I'm not going to be here, but I'd hate to leave the Critic in a mess.
This week we don't print, but I'm planning to work on something that should take up a page if I work it right. The level of apathy on campus has finally gotten to me, so I think I'll drop an editorial about it. I've only done one before and that was to clear the air about the sex column incident.
Technically, I've got a busy week ahead of me, but without a paper to put out, it's a cake walk. I finished that paper for my English class Friday night, so that's off my mind. It's an awful paper, but not as bad as my first idea for it. I was going to compare Superman Returns to The Scarlet Letter...
Not having much money for enxt year is currently my biggest headache. I'm not going to be here, but I'd hate to leave the Critic in a mess.
This week we don't print, but I'm planning to work on something that should take up a page if I work it right. The level of apathy on campus has finally gotten to me, so I think I'll drop an editorial about it. I've only done one before and that was to clear the air about the sex column incident.
Technically, I've got a busy week ahead of me, but without a paper to put out, it's a cake walk. I finished that paper for my English class Friday night, so that's off my mind. It's an awful paper, but not as bad as my first idea for it. I was going to compare Superman Returns to The Scarlet Letter...
Friday, February 15, 2008
Green Mountain coffee: mold blend.
I'd say this issue is a good one. It had a lot of pictures, ones that actually fit the articles they were enxt to, and a lot of news. We even had to people write in to us, althoug I suspect at least one was a class assignment.
The column that was supposed to raise a stink had more to do with conduct, not so much what was written. Still, the paper has been out about three hours, so we'll wait and see.
Speaking of hours, the paper was sitting in the mailroom since about 9:30 this morning, little did I know at 11:30 until I wen't down to check out mail. Good thing someone was looking at caught me through the mail box hole...I didn't get a call or anything, I just happened to catch their attention when I went down.
Last week I asked if the delivery guy left it in the breezeway to please give us a call. Nothing more. They seemed a little cold towards me this morning too. I wonder what we did to piss them off? If anyone should be annoyed at us now, it's the bookstore and Student Affairs. I don't recall upsetting the mailroom that much recently.
Let's see, I've got some critiques to write, an essay for Alan's class, and I've got to type up a budget. This will all be after my work hours in the writing center and after I take Kathy out to dinner.
Thankfully, next week isn't a busy one, as there's no paper. Still, I've got me an idea for an editorial.
On a funny note, a Hezbolla commander was killed. The funny part: he looks exactly like my father. Or rather, he looked like him. I told my old man I'd found what his estranged brother had been up to all these years; he laughed.
The column that was supposed to raise a stink had more to do with conduct, not so much what was written. Still, the paper has been out about three hours, so we'll wait and see.
Speaking of hours, the paper was sitting in the mailroom since about 9:30 this morning, little did I know at 11:30 until I wen't down to check out mail. Good thing someone was looking at caught me through the mail box hole...I didn't get a call or anything, I just happened to catch their attention when I went down.
Last week I asked if the delivery guy left it in the breezeway to please give us a call. Nothing more. They seemed a little cold towards me this morning too. I wonder what we did to piss them off? If anyone should be annoyed at us now, it's the bookstore and Student Affairs. I don't recall upsetting the mailroom that much recently.
Let's see, I've got some critiques to write, an essay for Alan's class, and I've got to type up a budget. This will all be after my work hours in the writing center and after I take Kathy out to dinner.
Thankfully, next week isn't a busy one, as there's no paper. Still, I've got me an idea for an editorial.
On a funny note, a Hezbolla commander was killed. The funny part: he looks exactly like my father. Or rather, he looked like him. I told my old man I'd found what his estranged brother had been up to all these years; he laughed.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The pretzel supplies are running low.
The meeting could have gone better. Some people seemed shocked that we need to constantly be writing articles and generating story ideas each and every week for the paper to, you know, print or something.
Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic. We've got a ton of photos going in and everyone (most everyone) has an article assigned to them.
My one worry for this week is a column. It hasn't been written yet and already people are upset. I'll have to make sure there's nothing in it that warrants a lawsuit, but even so, I'm sure I'll be in for a few interesting House meetings. I guess it comes with the job, though, so I guess I'll live.
What else? We lowered our ad rates. Burke even seemed to think we were high. That thing about ads isn't quite shaping up like I had hoped...perhaps I thought it would be easier than it actually is.
We're headed off to Burlington this weekend. Kyle is headed home for a visit. Normally, we'd all go down, but he hasn't been home in a while.
I wonder if my car will make the hill tonight?
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tell me to beware, I'll tell you where to be. Chicken pot pie...
I just got done poking around the Blood Drive, asking questions, taking pictures. If we do it right, that should fill up a page. I've got about three columnists now, so I'm thinking editorials might bleed over onto page four. One woman who writes for us had a pretty good idea for a column, so we're going to run with it. Stay tuned for "Dear John" the best thing since Holy Sheet.
As for last issue, I guess I'm more happy with it today than I was the day it came out. It had some horrid spelling errors and some odd picture placements, but I'll live with it. The guy I have who converts the files converted them wrong, so for a second I was looking at a PDF with no pictures showing up and feeling ill. The problem was fixed though. So, barring techincal difficulties, the Critic should roll right off the press this week.
One thing did annoy the crap out of me Friday. A guy I know related to me that there's this woman who likes to sit down and "correct" all the Critic's spelling errors when it comes out. He asked her why she simply didn't join the Critic as a copy editor and her response was something like "Because then I'd have to be a part of it," or something insipid like that.
What kind of person takes a student newspaper the day it comes out and marks the errors on it when they could just as easily show up some night and make sure the errors never see print? A *****, that's what.
I guess there's nothing for it but to make a big deal out of proofreading. If I let stuff like that bug me, I'm not going to get far.
As for last issue, I guess I'm more happy with it today than I was the day it came out. It had some horrid spelling errors and some odd picture placements, but I'll live with it. The guy I have who converts the files converted them wrong, so for a second I was looking at a PDF with no pictures showing up and feeling ill. The problem was fixed though. So, barring techincal difficulties, the Critic should roll right off the press this week.
One thing did annoy the crap out of me Friday. A guy I know related to me that there's this woman who likes to sit down and "correct" all the Critic's spelling errors when it comes out. He asked her why she simply didn't join the Critic as a copy editor and her response was something like "Because then I'd have to be a part of it," or something insipid like that.
What kind of person takes a student newspaper the day it comes out and marks the errors on it when they could just as easily show up some night and make sure the errors never see print? A *****, that's what.
I guess there's nothing for it but to make a big deal out of proofreading. If I let stuff like that bug me, I'm not going to get far.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
In which I complain, a lot.
You'll want some coffee for this one:
So I go to the House meeting like usual, no big deal. My friend John gets his Jujutsu club started, great, fantastic. This is after the usual rigmarole of House, with the minutes and the re-electing the executive board, you know, stuff you do every meeting.
It comes time to ask for the Critic's trip money. Now you might think that by my tone, we didn't get it. Quite the opposite really, we got $300 extra because the guy from Ultimate thought we'd need more for gas money. This threw me off so badly, I actually argued with him. I argued against getting more money. Read that last line again, just so it sinks in.
Anyway, despite all that, we got the motion passed and I was more than grateful.
The meeting progressed and that's about when my good mood came down with a bad case of cancer and died. I think we spent over half an hour discussing things that didn't need to take five minutes. Stuff we'd already talked about and formed committees to act upon.
For example: We spent a good half an hour talking about a tardiness policy. How should people be punished for leaving early or coming in late and thus not suffering as long as everyone else. At some point, the question was raised "Who even wants a tardiness policy?"
Guess how many? ZERO. We spent half an hour talking about something no one cared about.
The meeting adjourned sometime around 1 a.m. I was pretty irritated, but not half as irritated as I was about to be. I live up a hill, which in the wintertime, becomes impassable for my front-wheel drive Buick Skylark. Mainly at 1:30 a.m. when the plows are all asleep.
As you can imagine, I try to make it up the hill. No luck, so I try to back down only to back into a snow bank where I get stuck. One a.m., snowy hill, still half a mile to go.
Lucky me, a snowmobiler shows up and gave me a lift. Froze me, but I got home before 2, so I'm not complaining about that. In fact, I take back every bad thing I've ever said about snow machines.
Anyway, I'm at school early on four hours of sleep and there's a Critic to put out. It's going to be quite the day.
So I go to the House meeting like usual, no big deal. My friend John gets his Jujutsu club started, great, fantastic. This is after the usual rigmarole of House, with the minutes and the re-electing the executive board, you know, stuff you do every meeting.
It comes time to ask for the Critic's trip money. Now you might think that by my tone, we didn't get it. Quite the opposite really, we got $300 extra because the guy from Ultimate thought we'd need more for gas money. This threw me off so badly, I actually argued with him. I argued against getting more money. Read that last line again, just so it sinks in.
Anyway, despite all that, we got the motion passed and I was more than grateful.
The meeting progressed and that's about when my good mood came down with a bad case of cancer and died. I think we spent over half an hour discussing things that didn't need to take five minutes. Stuff we'd already talked about and formed committees to act upon.
For example: We spent a good half an hour talking about a tardiness policy. How should people be punished for leaving early or coming in late and thus not suffering as long as everyone else. At some point, the question was raised "Who even wants a tardiness policy?"
Guess how many? ZERO. We spent half an hour talking about something no one cared about.
The meeting adjourned sometime around 1 a.m. I was pretty irritated, but not half as irritated as I was about to be. I live up a hill, which in the wintertime, becomes impassable for my front-wheel drive Buick Skylark. Mainly at 1:30 a.m. when the plows are all asleep.
As you can imagine, I try to make it up the hill. No luck, so I try to back down only to back into a snow bank where I get stuck. One a.m., snowy hill, still half a mile to go.
Lucky me, a snowmobiler shows up and gave me a lift. Froze me, but I got home before 2, so I'm not complaining about that. In fact, I take back every bad thing I've ever said about snow machines.
Anyway, I'm at school early on four hours of sleep and there's a Critic to put out. It's going to be quite the day.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Until you run out of cake.
Well, we just had our Tuesday meeting and I can't say as I'm pleased. Two people didn't show up and didn't send e-mails telling me why and the one who had an excuse didn't send her e-mail with her story ideas. If it wasn't for this being the week when stories are due for the Advanced News Writing class, we might be up a creek.
I'm not completely irritated, though. The people that did show up have done their part, and I'm not too worried about filling this week's issue. It's next week I'm concenrned about. I might have to end up doing a few myself here like last semester, which is annoying because I'm no longer graded by my writing.
My Wednesday is free and clear, so we'll see what I can scrum up tomorrow or some of today. I'm hoping I see one of our columnists so I can speak with her about something. Which reminds me, "Moments Like These" should be back, plus there's that Portner thing I keep forgetting.
Oh, we did go see NEK sportsnet.com's production facility...classic Vt. small business. They had their stuff together despite being in a basement (a nice basement too). We'll be working with them for a class, but I'm not sure what we can give that they don't have in spades already.
I'm not completely irritated, though. The people that did show up have done their part, and I'm not too worried about filling this week's issue. It's next week I'm concenrned about. I might have to end up doing a few myself here like last semester, which is annoying because I'm no longer graded by my writing.
My Wednesday is free and clear, so we'll see what I can scrum up tomorrow or some of today. I'm hoping I see one of our columnists so I can speak with her about something. Which reminds me, "Moments Like These" should be back, plus there's that Portner thing I keep forgetting.
Oh, we did go see NEK sportsnet.com's production facility...classic Vt. small business. They had their stuff together despite being in a basement (a nice basement too). We'll be working with them for a class, but I'm not sure what we can give that they don't have in spades already.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Theo?
Someone has been running around and writing "Theo" on everything. Have I mentioned this? Well I'm saying it twice then if I have. It's written all over LSC and even on the wall in White's Market. I'm thinking of ways to publicize this (graffiti is news in Vermont...) without encouraging it. I'm thinking, if it continues at least, that headlines like "Who is Theo?" and et cetera, should be avoided.
But for real, who the hell paints "Theo" all over the place? What bugs me about petty vandal crime is that it lacks class. "Theo" says nothing, nor is it hard to write "Theo" on random surfaces.
I remember hearing about some people hacking Wikipedia and putting a tracker on who updated. It was illegal, but they found out that oil and cigarette companies were editing entries on their companies to make themselves look better. Now there's a crime with class.
We're having another news meeting on Tuesday, as usual. Hopefully Thursday night didn't scare my staff off. It gets easier folks, I swear.
But for real, who the hell paints "Theo" all over the place? What bugs me about petty vandal crime is that it lacks class. "Theo" says nothing, nor is it hard to write "Theo" on random surfaces.
I remember hearing about some people hacking Wikipedia and putting a tracker on who updated. It was illegal, but they found out that oil and cigarette companies were editing entries on their companies to make themselves look better. Now there's a crime with class.
We're having another news meeting on Tuesday, as usual. Hopefully Thursday night didn't scare my staff off. It gets easier folks, I swear.
Friday, February 1, 2008
One down, 10 to go.
The first issue of the semester is out. All things considered, it went pretty well.
I guessed it was going to be a long night. The crew was pretty green, but they learned well enough. I lost the damned front page and had to do it over again, and the printer kept telling us they hadn't received the files via Fetch, so we had to e-mail them.
I wasn't quite clear on what I wanted from people writing-wise, so I had to alter a few articles quite a bit. No big deal, I've got a plan to help that matter on Tuesday. There were some rather unfortunate mistakes in the paper as well. Something about prizes and a guy named Barrie Sanders...
The last hour or so I spent messing with blogger for Dan's class. I can make slide shows now, so maybe this blog will have something cool of that nature in the near future.
I guessed it was going to be a long night. The crew was pretty green, but they learned well enough. I lost the damned front page and had to do it over again, and the printer kept telling us they hadn't received the files via Fetch, so we had to e-mail them.
I wasn't quite clear on what I wanted from people writing-wise, so I had to alter a few articles quite a bit. No big deal, I've got a plan to help that matter on Tuesday. There were some rather unfortunate mistakes in the paper as well. Something about prizes and a guy named Barrie Sanders...
The last hour or so I spent messing with blogger for Dan's class. I can make slide shows now, so maybe this blog will have something cool of that nature in the near future.
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