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Editorial Groups

Each student reporter is organized into an Editorial Group with a Student Editor. Our editors are veteran reporters who have been selected because of their previous performance in the program and their demonstrated leadership ability. They are tasked with using their expertise to help you through the program.

 

Your editor will read and approve your article proposals (pitches), give you advice, and provide constructive criticism to help you revise your work. Over the semester, your group will participate in a group feature project that you decide upon and plan yourselves.

Editorial Expectations and Guidelines

Editors are expected to: 

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  • Contribute substantive editorial comments on each submitted article; 

 

  • Check email regularly and respond promptly to questions or requests for advice;

 

  • Organize student work within Google Drive;

 

  • Submit a report on each student following the completion of each three-week writing cycle;

 

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Revision Notes

You editor will give you detailed notes about every first draft you write. Here are the things that our editors will be looking for as they go through your work.

 

Accuracy

We cannot print incorrect things! Despite this, false facts, assumptions and half truths make it into JSR first drafts on a regular basis. Editors watch for:

 

  • Assumptions. Just because something seems like it's true doesn't mean it is. 

 

  • Incorrect data or dates. 

 

  • Disproven theories or outdated statistics.

 

  • Misspellings. Make sure, especially, to check the spellings of names. 

 

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Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is a crime, and printing plagiarized material could be disastrous for The Korea Daily. If you plagiarize, you will be caught and you will have to do a makeup assignment. Your editors know how to check for plagiarism and will do so. Directly copying an author's works is not the only way to plagiarize. The following is also prohibited:

 

  • Writing an article based on a single source. For work to be original, it must contain either original reporting or research from multiple sources (ideally it will contain both). If you reword a single artlcle and put your name on it, you are doing nothing more than stealing it. 

 

  • Failing to credit an author or photographer whose work you have used. 

 

 

Completeness.  Editors make sure that no crucial information is missing from articles. This can include:

 

  • Information presented without context. Students must give proper context in their articles so that readers who are not already familiar with their subject matter will not feel lost. 

 

  • Unexplained processes or technical terms. 

 

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Topicality 

Editors make sure that student writings stay on topic and do not include tangential or superfluous information.

 

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Redundancy

In the name of concision, editors highlight instances of redundancy and offer suggestions for making work leaner and more efficient. 

 

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Style

Editors offer helpful suggestions to improve writing style and assist with conformity to JSR standards.

 

  • Story Structure. Organization is the key to intelligibility. 

 

  • Grammar, Syntax, and Punctuation. Articles should conform to Standard American English, and on style questions  we defer to the AP Stylebook.

 

  • Voice, Plurality, and Tense. Editors are vigilant against the use of passive voice and also police shifts in plurality and tense. 

 

  • Simplicity. The standard for major American newspapers, from the New York Times on down, is to publish at an 8th Grade level. Editors make sure that their reporters' work is simple enough to be read at an 8th Grade level.

 

  • Word Count. Editors make sure that student work is between the mandated word count of 500-600 words per article.

 

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Objectivity

Journalists must learn to be objective and present stories fairly and without coloring them with their own perceptions. Student Reporters must get special permission from the program coordinator to write editorials. When checking for objectivity, editors look for the following:

 

  • Bias or misrepresentation. Especially with controversial topics, it is important to look at and understand each side before depicting either side. Don't repeat one side's characterization of another without independent research that you've done yourself.

 

  • Connotative Language. Objective authors must avoid using terms that come with negative or positive connotations, choosing rather to use denotative language whenever possible. 

 

  • Author's Opinions. Objective articles do not have to be "opinion-free zones." That would be really boring! However, objective journalists must avoid putting their own opinions in the story. Instead, you may report on the opinions of others by interviewing them, researching online, or taking surveys. 

Student Tracking Reports

Your editor will monitor your progress using a report like the one you see on the right. 

 

Note that your editor has space to comment on every deadline of each cycle. Note also that there is a category for "incomplete." This category will apply to work that doesn't meet our standards -- for example, articles that don't have pictures, or revisions that don't take into consideration the specific editorial notes that were given.

 

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If There Is a Problem with Your Editor

We rely on our editors to make our program work. That's a whole lot of responsibilty, and our editorial staff is absolutely amazing at it.

 

But nobody is perfect.

 

If you are having a hard time communicating with your editor, or if you think that there is something lacking from your editor's notes or communication, please speak out by emailing jstudentboard@gmail.com and explaining the issue.

 

Editors: if there is a complaint against you from one of your students, we will evaluate it and give you a chance to counter your reporters' accusation, correct it if necessary, and mediate any disputes if necessary. If that fails, you will receive a warning. If there is another complaint after your warning, you may be replaced by an alternative editor.

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