Becoming a Waltonian Editor or Writer

      Do you enjoy reading The Waltonian? Are you a passionate writer? Do you like working with people and getting information out to the public? If so, maybe you want to consider working for The Waltonian! There are two ways you could be a part of The Waltonian. The first option is being a writer, where you get to choose your own commitment level and how often you want to write articles.

      Every issue of the newspaper has different stories, and your role is to choose a story you are interested in. This could be done for every issue, or only one or two out of a semester. The second option is being an editor, where you commit for one school year. As an editor, you are in charge of coming up with story ideas for the section you are assigned at the beginning of the year.

      Writers, which can include other editors, sign up to write your stories, and you are in charge of giving them all the information to succeed. Once they finish the article, the editor makes edits to the story and places it in the newspaper layout.

      As a writer, it is all done on a volunteer basis. Being a writer allows you to gain experience writing news-related articles, as well as allowing you to express your creativity through writing. There are a variety of story topics to choose from and most people will always find something they are interested in writing. Besides attending one meeting and writing a story, there is not much of a commitment level to being a writer. However, if you want to become more involved there are always opportunities to write for every issue.

      As an editor, there is more of a commitment level. Every year, The Waltonian staff hires editors to work for the following school year. When being hired, they look for people who are passionate about Eastern’s community, are talented writers and are dedicated to working with a team. When you are hired, you sign a contract saying you commit to one school year and will receive either credits or money towards your tuition.

      Sometimes, editors enjoy their experience and return for a following year or two. Once you are hired as an editor, you are assigned a section of the paper and are in charge of that for the school year. Editors are required to work as a team and need to be dedicated to getting work done in a timely matter. Every week you attend a meeting to assign story ideas or talk about improvements for future papers.

      Once the writers are  assigned to stories, the editors must stay in contact with them throughout the week. This is to ensure that both the editor and writer are on the same page. Finally, every two weeks after the stories are written, editors must place the stories into the newspaper layout.

      When I became an editor, I was nervous because I did not have any experience working with a computer program to layout the stories, nor had I ever done any writing besides for classes. However, at the beginning of the Fall semester, I was in a training session with other editors where they taught us the best ways to accomplish our tasks as editors.

      As the semester went on, there were always people to help me if I needed it, because several people had previously been an editor for The Waltonian. That being said, if you are interested in being an editor or a writer for The Waltonian, do not be afraid to reach out. There will be people to guide you along the way and in the end, it will better your abilities as a writer.

      This semester, The Waltonian meetings are every Monday at 10 a.m. in McInnis 109. For more information, please contact The Waltonian Editor-in-Chief, junior Kelsey Fiander-Carr.