2024 Maryland Journalist of the Year
Editing, Leadership and Team Building
The editing process is a crucial stage in ensuring the quality and integrity of publications. I have been working as a Section Editor (local news editor, Feature Editor) and an Editor-in-Chief of my high school newspaper and my countywide student newspaper for the past two years. At those positions, I assign stories to reporters, review content to ensure submitted stories follow the editorial guidance and are factually accurate and make edits and comments for revision. I edit a lot of our articles before they go into publication, online or in print.
The following are several key elements I consider when editing articles.
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Fact-Checking and Verification
Fact-checking is a non-negotiable step in our editing process. We verify the accuracy of all factual claims, statistics and quotes presented in the articles. This may involve cross-referencing information with reliable sources or reaching out to additional experts for clarification.
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Structural and Content Editing
We focus on structural and content editing to ensure that each article effectively communicates its message. We assess the organization of ideas, coherence of arguments and overall flow of the narrative. If necessary, we provide feedback on restructuring paragraphs, adding transitional phrases, or clarifying confusing passages.
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Language and Style Editing
Language and style editing are essential for maintaining the professionalism and readability of our publication. We pay close attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling and syntax, making necessary corrections to improve clarity and coherence. Additionally, we ensure consistency in style, adhering to our publication's style guide for matters such as capitalization, abbreviations and formatting.
This is our style guide reviewed with all writers and editors at the beginning of the school year for The MoCo Student.
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Strengthening Voice and Tone
As high school journalists, we encourage our writers to develop their unique voice and perspective. During the editing process, we provide feedback on voice and tone, helping writers refine their storytelling techniques and connect with our audience on a deeper level. We aim to strike a balance between engaging storytelling and maintaining journalistic integrity.
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Collaborative Feedback
Editing is a collaborative endeavor in our newsroom. We believe in the power of constructive feedback to elevate the quality of our publication. Editors work closely with writers, providing specific suggestions and guidance for improvement. We foster an environment where open communication and mutual respect are valued, allowing for productive discussions and meaningful revisions. At the beginning of the school year, I directed our staff on The Pitch and The MoCo Student to fill in their contact information on our Contact Google Sheets for efficient communication between team members.
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Final Review and Approval:
After multiple rounds of editing and revisions, each article undergoes a final review by the editorial team. We ensure that all edits have been incorporated, and the article meets our publication's standards of accuracy, fairness and professionalism. Once approved, the article is ready for publication.
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Reflection and Continuous Improvement:
As Editor-in-Chief of two newspapers, I recognize the importance of ongoing reflection and continuous improvement of our publications. After each publication cycle, we conduct post-mortem discussions to evaluate our editing process, identify areas for enhancement and implement strategies for future growth. We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of journalistic excellence and integrity in all aspects of our work.
Below is an example of my editing of a MoCo News article for The MoCo Student.
In addition to editing articles each week for The MoCo Student and The Pitch, I’ve also served as an editor for literary magazines. I’m the Senior Editor at Polyphony Lit, a literary magazine where I review prose and poetry submissions. This role has honed my editing skills and provided me with the opportunity to lead a team of junior editors, engaging in thoughtful discussions to determine the status of submissions. I also serve on the Editorial Board of Misty Mint Magazine, for which I reviewed all 33 submissions across the nation to select high-quality work and collaborated with fellow editors to successfully develop and launch our debut issue.
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Leadership and Team Building
In my junior year of high school, I served as Feature Editor of The Pitch and MoCo News Editor of The MoCo Student, leading my sections to contribute meaningfully to our publication. Since August 2023, I’ve led these two publications as an Editor-in-Chief. As an EIC of The MoCo Student, I’ve steered the vision of The MoCo Student to reflect countywide student perspectives and upheld the rigorous quality standards of our publication. I lead a team of 90+ editors and staff writers, representing 25 different schools in the county, working across eight sections, including News, Features, and Opinions. I hold regular editorial meetings and workshops to support our staff’s continuous professional development and facilitate partnerships with other countywide media platforms to jointly report on issues, highlighting student voices. Under my leadership, our online readership has grown to hundreds of daily readers, expanding our impact on community conversations.
As an EIC of The Pitch, I lead and manage a team of 60+ editors and staff writers for online publishing and monthly print issues. With our editorial board and advisor, I oversee the publication to ensure all published content is accurate, well-written, and aligned with the publication guidelines. Notably, a large project we took on was launching the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion section to better represent our school’s 3,200+ students and staff. My vision is to produce publications that reflect the spirit and aspirations of our school community, ensuring every student feels heard and empowered, and that’s what I work toward every day.
I’ve had extensive experience working with individuals of different backgrounds and experiences and holding Zoom and in-person meetings and group chats to discuss tasks and group activities. For example, on The Pitch, I lead section meetings every story cycle to discuss the angle, photo idea and interviews with writers.
I also actively create team-building activities to foster an atmosphere of respect and inclusion for our school newspaper The Pitch. The following is the seating chart the editorial board and I worked on at the beginning of the school year for period seven (we have two periods). Our objective was to give section editors more opportunities to get to know each other and establish a sense of comfort and camaraderie while working together.
Below is our instruction on self-introduction. In our newspaper room, there is a column on the wall where everyone writes their name, a tradition to help our staff feel more connected to our room, newspaper and community.
One of the activities I organized with our editorial board in our first week was stations, in which groups of staff members reviewed various aspects of journalism, including interviewing, headlines, etc. We set up stations around the room with editorial board members and myself leading the station lesson and activity. Through this activity, I got to know more staff members.
The following screenshots are of the slides that we went over to the staff to teach them how to navigate SNO Flow.
2024 Maryland Journalist of the Year