Editing
Editing is something that I gained a lot of experience with throughout my three years with the Omega. In my first two years on staff, there was always an unwritten rule that at least one person must check every story before it goes to print or online; in the 2020-2021 school year, our staff made it a requirement to check every story with the editor of the section within which the story will be published as well as one editor-in-chief. This means that I edited at least 1/3 of all stories that our publication put out that year.
All of our stories were in shared Google Drive folders, so every staff member had 24/7 access to every story for collaboration and revising. I found this crucial because bouncing ideas off of one another, reading over each other's stories for inspiration or editing, and working together on co-written stories were all things that we encouraged our whole staff to do.
In high school, I tended to make comments and suggestions in three general categories: AP style, structure/flow, and motivational/positive. The most important category was the last one because we only have a handful of returning staff members this year and I want to make sure that I am helping build the new members' confidence and experience by pointing out what they do well as well as their errors that need correcting.
The number one thing I made sure I didn't do was change anything the writer had already written; I always turned on suggestion mode when I came onto someone else's document, and any larger-scale change I suggested, I would make sure I left a comment. I did this because, obviously, it's their writing and their voice that should make up the final product.
On a personal note, I often found myself struggling with commas as well as passive voice; so, what I usually did was consult both my co-editors-in-chief for additional eyes on what I wrote before it was published. I liked to keep my AP Stylebook handy to help me when I was editing others' writing and when I wrote on my own. If I was struggling with an issue that extended beyond the bounds of technical editing such as how to work with anonymous sources or matters concerning journalistic ethics, I would consult our adviser for further advice.
AP Style
The comment on the left was for a writer that added the year and spelled out the month, so I pointed out AP Style's rules for consistency.
The top right comment was for a student who wrote "Mrs." in front of a source; you only need the source's last name after the first time they are introduced.
The bottom right is an example of of adding two hyphens instead of an em dash. I made a comment so the writer learned what it is and when to use it.
Structural/Flow
This category is more general; it can include anything from fixing the syntax of a sentence to suggesting additional sources to fixing elements that don't align with our publication's rules.
The top left comment was for a shift in messages that didn't fit with the angle of the story.
I also made a point to keep consistent subjects like the top right comment when a writer was mixing up who his audience was.
Apart from suggesting sentence structure alternatives, I often suggested sources to include to enhance the story. This is shown in the bottom right comment, where I mentioned a possible visual aid to compliment her writing.
In the bottom left comment, I suggested a student hyperlink the statistic she included with the link to the source.
Motivational/Positive
This category is the most crucial for several reasons.
First, it's important to enhance staff confidence by praising what they have done well. Also, I like to have a long final comment to wrap up my keys for helping the student improve the story. Finally, we have barely been in-person this year and I don't know the staff as well.
In the top right comment, I start and finish with a positive tone and fill the middle with a summary of suggestions and minor details.
For the bottom left quote, I praised this staff member for getting a well-written story out quickly.
The top left comment is also one where I summarize my thoughts and include praise to boost confidence. I found this to be a great balance for a concluding comment to let the writer know that their story is great but that there are still things to be worked on.
*Note: comments say "today" because they were taken from various documents belonging to other students and rewritten on a page that I created.