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 will be the best available source of information for the ACC community.

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.

2010 Staff

• Editor-in-Chief – Sarah Neve

• Assistant Editor– Chris Smith

• Campus Editor – Sarah Vasquez

• Life and Arts Editor – Devon Tincknell

Spring 2010

• Photo Editor – Teodora Erbes

• Web Editor – Teodora Erbes

• Layout Editor – Chris Scott

• Design Intern – Karissa Rodriguez

On average, 37 students contribute per semester

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

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

– 3 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

Accent is printed on the Austin American-Statesman press

Activities

Activities• Orientations

– Fall and Spring staff orientations

• Field trips– Lunch with Matthew Dowd– BBC / NPR broadcast– Other TBA

• Travel– Fall, Hosted TCCJA convention as part of national college

media convention– Spring, Kerrville TIPA convention

• Staff activities– Fall Bowling Bash– Spring celebration

Evaluation and Feedback

Evaluation and Feedback• I critique every issue based on professional standards

(ACP)• 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

Rec

ent A

war

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The staff of the Accent attended the 2009 TCCJA and ACP / CMA Convention From October 28 - Nov. 1. Below, you will find the awards we won.

National Level AwardsAssociated Collegiate Press

* Online Pacemaker Finalist - theaccent.org * Best of Show, Second Place, 2-year non-weekly broadsheet - Accent newspaper

Rec

ent A

war

dsState Level AwardsTexas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA) - Canned Contest - Division 1

* Overall General Excellence, Third Place - Accent newspaper * Headline Writing, Second Place - Accent newspaper * News Writing, First Place - Sarah Neve * Magazine Layout and Design, First Place - Vickey Roy, Life4U '08 * Magazine Photography, First Place - Peter Pereault, Life4U '08 * Column Writing, First Place - Devon Tincknell* Column Writing, Second Place - Devon Tincknell * Layout and Design, Second Place - Jana Lelek * Sports Photo, Second Place - Hanlly Sam

Rec

ent A

war

ds* Magazine Layout and Design, Second Place - Sarah Neve, Life4U '08 * Sports Action Photo, Third Place - Teodora Erbes * Feature Photo, Third Place - Alma Hernandez * Magazine Non-Photographic Illustration, Third Place - Karen Kuhn, Life4U '08 * Sports Photo, Honorable Mention - Hanlly Sam * Cartooning, Honorable Mention - Karen Kuhn * Editorial Writing, Honorable Mention - Sarah Neve * Magazine Non-Photographic Illustration, Honorable Mention - Karen Kuhn, Life4U '08 * Magazine Overall General Excellence, Honorable Mention - Life4U '08Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA) - Live Contest

Rec

ent A

war

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* News Writing, Second Place - Christopher Smith * Editorial Writing, Second Place - Karissa Rodriguez * Feature Photography, Third Place - Teodora Erbes * Feature Photography, Honorable Mention - Brock Caron * Editorial Writing, Honorable Mention - Devon Tincknell

New initiatives• Fall ‘09

– New, media rich web site launched– Audio and video production piloted

• Spring ‘10– Basic reporting and basic photojournalism offered as

in-house training– New media coverage (blogging, twitter, video) used at

SXSW

• Fall ‘10– New media lab / Accent office opens in Round Rock

How we can support you and your students

• Real working environment• Access to industry standard software and

equipment• Class sets are available if you would like to use

Accent in your classes.• Keep the tips coming about exciting events and

interesting people in your departments. We’ll help to get the word out.

• The editors and I are happy to make presentations to any of your classes.

How you can support us

• Read, and encourage your students to read the paper.– Critique our work– Send letters to the editor

• Consider us a resource for real world assignments.

• Send talented students our way.

Learn More

• Accent Online– Staff Blogs

• ACC site

• Facebook Fan Page “The Accent Newspaper”