Yearbook Staff Positions and Responsibilities

Students, please comment on which job you would like to have in our class. If you have taken this class for honors credit you will be expected to have a leadership role in the production of both the yearbook and the school newspaper.

EDITOR ____________________________________
•Brainstorms with staff members to formulate an appropriate theme.
•Organizes ladder with section editors.
•Works with section editors and staff members to incorporate theme throughout book.
•Designs folio and all theme pages, including opening, closing and divider pages.
•Helps supervise staff members.
•Establishes system to track deadline progress.
•Creates a positive atmosphere for staff.
•Works with adviser to make decisions.
•Works with photo editor in photo selection.
•Edits stories, captions, headlines and other elements before sending pages to the plant.
•Keeps records of page submission to plant.
•Determines where to hold the "final deadline" party after all deadlines are completed and received in the plant on time!

YEARBOOK BUSINESS MANAGER ____________________________________
· Set goals with adviser regarding revenue from yearbook, advertising and personalization sales.
· Work with the adviser and school bookkeeper to establish and maintain a balanced budget.
· Use the selling tools on YBA to create a process to track yearbook and ad sales.
· Conduct research to uncover the wants and needs to potential buyers for staff planning and production.
· Inspire successful yearbook promotional marketing and sales campaigns; lead the business staff in articulating and executing plans.
· Manage all yearbook sales and keep orderly, accurate records. Monitor the financial standing of the yearbook at all times and conduct regularly scheduled financial updates for the staff to instill ownership.
· Ensure complete customer satisfaction with advertising and yearbook sales.
· Plan and oversee the yearbook distribution event.

SECTION EDITORS ____________________________________
•Plan design and graphics for each section, including headlines and other graphic considerations.
•Organize section ladder with editor.
•Aim to achieve maximum coverage.
•Formulate story and photo ideas to help tell the story of the year and are appropriate for the theme.
•Assign stories and photographs for each spread.
•Check names for spelling accuracy.
•Assign and assist staffers, reporters and photographers with assignments when necessary; determine criteria for replacing staffers unable to complete assigned tasks
•Edit copy, captions, headlines and other page elements.
•Are responsible for deadlines that correspond with section.
•Oversee production of section pages.
•Meet deadlines with accuracy.

CLUBS/ACTIVITIES EDITOR ____________________________________
•Helps plan group shots for each club and a method for identifying all members.
•Works with photographer when group shots are taken so the names are written down in the proper order and spelled correctly
•Establishes a filing system to store information (including correct name spellings) on each organization.
•Looks for a new angle to each club's story assignment.

STUDENT LIFE EDITOR ____________________________________
•Keeps a calendar of student events and activities.
•Assigns story and photos when events lend themselves to an accurate and new approach to coverage.

ACADEMICS EDITOR ____________________________________
•Establishes communication with faculty to keep abreast of events and activities concerning academics.
•Creates a fresh and lively approach to packaging this section.

SPORTS EDITOR ____________________________________
•Develops an organization system to record accurate game scores and team information.
•Maintains a calendar of events and makes certain reporters and photographers are covering selected activities.
•Coordinates group photos of each team.

PEOPLE EDITOR ____________________________________
•Establishes system of identifying portraits to ensure spelling and year classification accuracy.
•Communicates portrait opportunity to teachers and faculty.
•Knows all photo shoot and delivery dates.
•Looks for an innovative approach for story ideas.

ADVERTISING SECTION EDITOR ____________________________________
•Determines size offerings and cost options
•Uses the ItPays program to track advertisers
•Establishes a method for providing receipts and thanking advertisers
•Researches, understands, and creates sectional design to meet staff requirements

COPY EDITOR ____________________________________
•Establishes a style sheet for all sections -- determines the type families, styles, sizes, and procedures for all copywriting.
•Edits (does NOT write) each story, caption and headline thoroughly with each staff member.
•Edits pages with section editor before pages are submitted to the plant.
•Presents information at meetings that will assist members with consistent writing or editing.
•Helps establish content for staff stylebook.
•Reports copy progress to editor and section editors.
•Develops a listing of students already quoted in copy to ensure that a maximum of students get covered.
•Understands and develops process for spell checking and error-free page submission

PRODUCTION/DEADLINE EDITOR ____________________________________
•Assists section editors in designing spreads.
•Helps section editors choose graphics that will be a reader's service, enhancing deserving content.
•Develops a method of executing design on computer systems.
•Presents educational information at meetings that will help staff with production; understands the meaning and need for multiples/signatures when submitting color pages.
•Assembles and posts an accurate example of each section, opening, divider and closing pages, detailing typography and graphic specifications.
•Assists in staff training of a) computer systems and/or b) production process.
•Maintains an accurate color-coded ladder diagram and confirms pages for deadline submission.
•Transfers ladder information to computer ladder (to Yearbook Avenue TM site).
•When deadlines are overdue, communicates with the adviser, plant and rep to avoid extra charges, late day accumulation and/or a later ship date.
•If late days accumulate, communicates with the adviser, plant and rep to know of any extra charges, and/or a later ship date.
•Checks pages for production accuracy prior to plant submission.
•Photocopies pages before plant submission and makes copies of proofs after correcting. Keeps organized system of these pages.
•Understands and maintains "Last Name First" indexing.


ADVERTISING MANAGER ____________________________________
•Establishes ad sales guidelines; works with adviser and yearbook business manager to determine ad sizes and rates
•Uses previous year’s ad section to divide sales leads among staffers; assigns additional businesses as sales prospects
•Collects, organizes and reports all sales data
•Enters information to ItPays
•Works with ad yearbook business manager to confirm publication of all ads

PHOTO MANAGER ____________________________________
•Works with section editors and editor to ensure coverage of activities and events.
•Maintains an up-to-date calendar of events (using Yearbook Avenue) so photo opportunities are not missed.
•Presents educational information at staff meetings that will assist members with photography.
•Assists editor in the visual development of the opening, closing, division and/or other theme pages.
•Assigns photo requests to staff photographers.
•Develops organization system for filing contact sheets, negatives and prints.
•Creates system for working with and billing for local photo processing; or:
•Maintains Jostens' Thumbprints for filing and selecting digital images
•If school darkroom is used, creates darkroom management systems and maintains inventory of darkroom supplies


STAFF MEMBERS ____________________________________
(Reporters, Photographers and Staff Assistants)
•Assume full responsibility of all assignments taken, including reporting and writing, photography, planning, designing and production tasks; signs staff contract for adviser’s file
•Maintain a staffer notebook to record events, quotes, survey results, assignments; notebook should also serve as a journal for on-going recording of actual activities and the compiling of suggestions for future staffers
•Index pages as assigned and completed.
•Accept advice on assignments from editors and willing to improve where needed.
•Develop an awareness of audience's needs.
•Become familiar with production process.

COMMITMENT FOR EACH STAFF MEMBER
•Recognize the extra effort and hours it takes to meet deadlines with accuracy.
•Recognize the meaning of responsibility to assure adviser and school administration that all material will be checked carefully to avoid any possible slander, libel, non-quoted opinions, and/or any copy which might not represent the best interests of the school.
•Check every word and name in print for spelling accuracy.
•Maintain and update a Jostens Yearbook Planner and Yearbook Avenue Web site with deadline dates and assignments.
•Assist other staffers with their tasks when necessary.
•Create a positive atmosphere in the yearbook room.
•Attend every staff meeting.
•Checks www.yearbookavaenue.com weekly for staff messages and assignments.