Thank you to the Kirkwood High School Publications Department for their editorial policy, Kent State’s Journalism Adviser program, and to the Journalism Education Association for providing examples of editorial policies as well.
Establishing structure
The Ladue Horton Watkins High School Administration agrees to allow the Panorama staff to make content decisions and to operate as an open forum, provided they do not infringe on the rights of other students or create a substantial disruption at school as per the Tinker standard. The adviser will give advice to the students on staff and play devil’s advocate concerning controversial or sensitive material, but ultimately, the students have final say in what is published.
Media-level policy
The Panorama Newspaper is an open-forum for students at Ladue Horton Watkins High School. In order to ensure the news we report is accurate, important and relevant to our students, we do not operate under prior review. Students and the Ladue community are encouraged to participate in conversation with the staff by submitting letters to the editor, commenting on LaduePublications.com and/or emailing or conversing with the staff.
The role of student media
Panorama is a monthly newsmagazine that strives to inform and entertain students, staff and community members and to uphold professional standards of accuracy and fairness. The publication hopes to engage the student body by eliciting dialogue among our readers. It aims to reflect the diversity of the population it serves and observes the journalistic principle of doing no harm.
A Panorama editor will write the staff editorial each month. The majority of the editorial board must approve of the editorial before publication. The editorial board is made up of the members of the Panorama staff, with each member getting the same number of votes, regardless of position.
Panorama Staff Expectations
All staff members are expected to adhere to the following expectations:
- Sell 3 ads, $300 or 6 Sponsorships each year on staff (Panorama).
- 3 sources per story.
- Follow AP style rules.
- Don’t interview your friends if it is avoidable.
- Do not show bias unless writing an opinion piece; be sure to show both sides of a story.
- When writing opinion pieces, use sufficient data, evidence and/or quotes to back up the argument.
- Meet your deadlines. 2 missed final deadlines may result in a staffer’s termination from staff, subject to the adviser’s discretion. If you do not produce your story by production night, you may be terminated.
- Submit story ideas each month on time.
- Represent the newspaper staff in a respectful and unbiased manner.
- Follow ethical guidelines of journalism (do no harm, don’t misquote or make up facts, be accurate and transparent in your reporting)
Staff conduct
- Staff members are expected to follow school rules. If you are suspended from school, your position on staff may be revoked. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case by case basis.
- Staff members are expected to follow the law. If you are arrested, your position on staff may be revoked. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case by case basis.
- Staff members who are caught plagiarizing, fabricating quotes or making up information may be immediately dismissed from staff. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
- Staff members are expected to treat all staffers with respect and to complete their work on time. If a student is constantly causing a disruption, turning in assignments late or not turning them in at all, the adviser reserves the right to dismiss them from staff.
Adviser Expectations
- Create a productive and inclusive environment.
- Communicate expectations clearly and timely.
- Guide students through ethical decision making as they produce content.
- Introduce staff members to current journalism trends and issues.
- Stay up to date with current events and social issues.
- Provide students with opportunities to compete in local, state and national competitions.
- Stay up to date with fair, consistent and accurate grading.
Content and Ownership
- All stories, photos, art and graphics produced for the Panorama and Rambler are the property of Ladue Publications. Upon submission of the staffer’s work, the publication assumes ownership of the contributor’s copyright interest and the contributor relinquishes control of that interest.
- The Panorama and Rambler retains the right to enter any material into local, state and national contests.
- All content collected for the Rambler Yearbook and Panorama Newspaper is property of Ladue Publications.
Senior Thank You’s in Yearbook
- Seniors have the opportunity to submit a thank you to someone who has helped them during their time in Ladue Schools. In order to submit a Senior Thank You, seniors must get their portrait taken by Wagner Portrait Company before November. Seniors must also submit their thank you before the deadline, usually in December.
Yearbook Refunds
- Students may receive a refund if their portrait was taken and they are left out of the book. The portrait must have been taken during school picture day or retake day. Portraits taken on other dates may not be eligible for a refund.
- Seniors may receive a refund for senior ads if an ad is left out of the book, but the book will not be refunded.
- If a student purchases multiple books, they can find someone to purchase their book, but Rambler will not reimburse starting 2020.
Yearbook Portraits
- Students will be placed in their current grade-level section based on graduation year. If a student does not have enough credits to be in a certain grade level, they will not be included in that grade level. If a student has enough credits to graduate early, they will be included in the senior portrait section as long as the yearbook staff has been notified by the student/ family of the student.
- Students and staff are not to wear/ bring the following in their portraits:
- Shirts with words/writing
- Low-cut/sleeveless shirts
- Hats/comical wigs (unless wig is worn on a daily basis)
- Props
Name Policy
- All students and staff of Ladue Horton Watkins High School may choose to be referenced by a preferred name or nickname in Ladue Publications (Panorama newsmagazine, Rambler Yearbook), provided said nickname aligns with conduct as delineated in our editorial guidelines (appropriate, not a joke, etc.). The student or staff member must provide expressed consent (fill out this form) for said accommodation to be made.
- All students and staff of Ladue Horton Watkins High School may choose to be referenced by preferred pronouns in Ladue Publications, provided said pronouns align with conduct as delineated in our editorial guidelines. The student or staff member must provide expressed consent (fill out this form) for said accommodation to be made.
- Upon receipt of this form, parents/guardians will be notified that the student has elected to change their name. Parents will have the option to override the name change request if the student is under the age of 18.
Yearbook Group/Team Photos
- Group photos must have at least 4 students in order to be covered in the yearbook
- No hand gestures will be allowed in any group or team photo.
- If a group or team photo breaks one of the rules, the Rambler staff retains the right to pull the photo from the yearbook.
- The yearbook staff reserves the right to not allow props in photos if they are distracting, inappropriate or mess with the photo dimensions.
- If a group needs to retake their photo, they can do so for $25 and must schedule with the yearbook staff.
- All group photos need to be taken by the yearbook staff so they are uniform.
Yearbook Senior Advertisements
- Photos will not be accepted that include anything illegal or could be interpreted as illegal (alcohol, red solo cups, drugs, gambling, etc.)
- Photos will not be accepted with offensive material/props (Confederate flags, weapons, etc.)
- Photos will not be accepted of students in clothing that does not follow the school district’s clothing policy (including past photos/ childhood photos).
- Phrasing included in advertisements must meet the standards of the Rambler yearbook, including grammar, spelling, accuracy, etc. If any quotes are used, they must be appropriately attributed and accurate. All quotes should meet the standards set by senior quotes (see senior quotes section). No profanity will be accepted.
Planning and gathering
Controversial coverage
- The Panorama and Rambler strives to better the community by producing relevant and important news, but the staff will not shy from publishing controversial or sensitive content if the matter pertains to the Ladue community and the community would benefit from well-researched reporting on the matter.
- As a courtesy to the Ladue administration, the editors may choose to inform the administration if they decide to cover controversial or sensitive material. The adviser will encourage and help foster a positive and informative relationship between the administration and the publication staff.
- If the Panorama or Rambler does decide to cover sensitive or controversial material, the highest standards of journalistic reporting and ethical judgment will be followed. The adviser will help the staff to consider consequences of printing controversial/ sensitive material. Students will have the ultimate say over publishing content.
- The Panorama and Rambler will consider the following when deciding content: timeliness, audience, emotional value, novelty, prominence and the impact the content will have on the Ladue community.
- Panorama and Rambler staff will strive to include a diverse population of students (gender, race and religion considered) in order to accurately represent the Ladue student body.
- Anonymous sources: Anonymity will rarely be used for sources due to the lack of credibility when quoting anonymous sources. Sources will only be anonymous when naming them endangers them or would cause harm to either the student or someone else in the student body. The Panorama and Rambler staff reserves the right to decide whether or not a source should be anonymous. The majority of the editorial board must agree on decisions concerning anonymous sources. If the Panorama or Rambler promises anonymity to a source but the board does not agree to grant it, the source must approve before their name can be used in the story. If the source does not agree, the Panorama agrees to not quote the source.
- Sources will be treated with the utmost respect and care. Panorama and Rambler will not misrepresent a source or partially quote them in order to change their meaning. The Panorama and Rambler staffs will practice professional and ethical care when handling sources. Students will strive to be clear and transparent in their reporting.
- When interviewing, students will ask permission before recording a source. Staff will take notes regardless of technology used to assist them. Students will allow sources to read over their quotes to ensure the student quotes them correctly.
- When sources request to preview their stories, staff members may choose to share the quotes and notes they have from their interview as a courtesy, but will not be share the final story or draft.
- Staff members will result to texting or emailing sources as a last resort. If a student interviews over the phone, through email or text, they must include that detail in their story so the audience is aware of the circumstances.
- Panorama and Rambler will identify Ladue students and adults by their first and last name. Children younger than high school may be identified (first and last name) in the publication with parent permission.
- Panorama and Rambler students will strive to include data and information that is public record when relevant.
Producing content
- Staff writers will contact sources after receiving their story assignments to set up face-to-face interviews or phone interviews when necessary. Staff writers are required to interview three sources minimum before drafting their article. Staff writers will share rough drafts with their editors. Editors will give feedback and help writers to develop their story further. Once the final draft is complete, the editors will use their own discretion to expand or trim stories as needed to fit their page design.
- Writers and editors may add words and short phrases into quotes in brackets to provide context.
- Original grammar and language will be quoted provided it is not profane or too difficult to understand.
- Links may be shortened to their basic URL address to save space provided the site can be easily found from the shortened URL.
- Advertising: The Panorama and Rambler reserve the right to refuse publishing to any business they do not feel appropriately serves the Ladue community or misrepresents the publication staff and their aim to do no harm to the community. Panorama and Rambler will not publish advertisements that promote the use or sale of illegal substances or anything that would be illegal for high school students (tobacco, alcohol, vaporizers, gambling, etc.). All advertisements must be paid in full before publishing. Advertisers may submit designs, but the Panorama and Rambler reserve the right to alter designs to fit space requirements. Advertisers will have final approval of their advertisement before publishing. Panorama staff can design advertisements with a minimum of 10 days notice before publishing.
- Use of profanity: The Panorama and Rambler staff understand the power of language and the changing of meaning when certain words are altered due to profanity. The Panorama and Rambler staffs reserve the right to censor material they deem offensive or unnecessarily vulgar. In cases of controversial language, the Panorama and Rambler Editorial Board will decide by majority vote whether or not it would be beneficial/ constructive to use the original language or image. The Panorama and Rambler staff will not use profane language or images without purpose or in a careless manner.
- Obituaries Panorama: Panorama will run an obituary for current student or teacher deaths the next publishable month following the incident in the news section. Cause of death will not be mentioned. Suicides will be treated the same as other deaths. Date of birth and date of death will be included as well as the deceased’s first and last name. The most current yearbook picture will be used.
- Obituaries Rambler: Rambler will run an ⅛ senior advertisement in the senior ads section the year the student would have graduated for any student who attended Ladue High School with their most recent yearbook photo and their date of birth and date of death. During the year the student passed, Rambler will run “in memory of” next to their name in the portrait section. Details on the death will not be included.
- All material not created by the Panorama and Rambler staff will be used only if permission from the original creator is granted or if a review of a product is being conducted. If a student would like to use copyrighted works, they must contact the original creator. If they cannot get permission or locate the original creator, the material will not be used. If permission is granted, the Panorama and Ramber will cite the original owner in the photo or art credit line.
Letters to the editor
- No profanity/ non-protected speech
- 300 word limit
- Accurately researched
- Correct spelling and grammar
- The Panorama reserves the right to edit the letter to meet AP style and our in-house style guide
- Letters to the Editor should be in response to something Panorama has covered in a recent issue.
Corrections policy
- The Panorama will include any corrections in the corrections box the issue following the mistake. Both the mistake and the page number will be listed.
- For online mistakes, the staff will fix the mistake in the story and at the end of the story, and make a note that the story has been changed from an earlier version and why.
- If a student, employee or community member requests that an online story be taken down, the editorial board will make the final decision on a case-by-case basis, provided there was nothing lawfully wrong with the story when it was published. The Panorama serves as a historical record of the Ladue community and reserves the right to preserve content as part of history.
Senior edition
- Honor the seniors in the best way possible.
- Include all seniors (plans after high school). Question should be “What are your plans after high school?” in a Google Form. Divvy up to the writers to get these details.
- EICs make the Google form and include the superlatives, senior memories, senior favorites (class, restaurant, tv show, actor, movie, randomness, culture staples of HS), seniors can voluntarily submit essay. Editors reserve the right to trim essays with permission.
- At least half of the senior class needs to participate in senior superlatives for them to be published. The seniors on Panorama staff will decide what superlative categories will be included.
- Retirement stories and news of the year.
- Senior editors on staff all write a column. If there is room to include, senior writers may be allowed.
- Dads Club Scholarship, Faculty Scholarship, senior awards, etc.
- Coaches are allowed to select one senior and write 1-3 sentences dependent on space.
AP Style
- Know date rules. No “On Jan. 24.”
- Never use “due to” unless talking about babies or trains.
- Never use “towards,” always “toward”
- If it makes sense without the word “that,” get rid of it.
- Grade level and title
- Never use Mr. or Mrs. or courtesy titles
- Use “said” in quotes.
- For quotes, “Quote,” name said.
- Single quotes in headlines and subheadlines
- More than for numbers vs. over
- Since is a time not a reason. Does not take the please of “because.”
- Numbers are greater than and less than, not bigger or smaller
- Farther is a physical distance, further is figurative or metaphorical
Sports AP style
- Versus is vs.
- Biggest score first, say winner then loser. Ladue beat Fort Zumwalt South 10-1
- All scores are in numerals, not spelled out
- DI for division I
Ladue Publications Social Media Policy
- Social Media will be used to promote Ladue Publications, content published on Laduepublications.com and to inform the Ladue students and community about upcoming and recent events/ sports/ news. Posts should be unbiased and factual and should refrain from promoting events/ etc.
- Only students on the newspaper, yearbook or Ladue Publications staff are allowed to publish to our social media accounts. Under NO circumstances is another student to post on our publications’ social media on your behalf.
- Students are to consider consequences and potential risks whenever posting to our social media accounts. Use good judgment and remember the ethics of journalism. We post with integrity with the goal of informing our students and community in order to make a positive impact.
- The public will be allowed to post comments on our social media and website; however, online comments that are found in violation of the editorial policy will be removed as quickly as possible.
- Ladue Publication staff members will not engage in conversation on social media (either on a Ladue Publication account or a personal account) unless they are clarifying information or answering essential questions.
- All information posted via Ladue Publications’ social media is held to the same ethical and factual standards as the rest of our content and should thus be verified through multiple channels before publishing.
- Mistakes should be clarified and corrected as soon as possible. Any corrections must acknowledge the error in the previous post so as to maintain our transparency and to continue the trust we have build with our readers. When mistakes/ errors are made, both the adviser and EIC must be notified by the staffer who posted.
Technology Policies
Social media
Staff members are expected to follow the Social Media policy (see above) while posting on Ladue Publications social media. Staff members are also expected to use good judgement when posting to their own social media accounts because how you conduct yourself reflects back on our publications. Students should avoid arguing with others on social media, name-calling, profanity or publishing anything illegal or inappropriate online. Inappropriate behavior on social media may
Students should refrain from posting material produced by/for Ladue Publications on their own personal accounts (Ex: photos taken by a Laude Publications photographer of prom/ soccer/ etc. should not be reposted on that photographer’s Facebook or Instagram). Students may retweet Ladue Publications tweets in order to boost awareness.
When posting on the Ladue Publications accounts, students should take extra care to ensure they are posting to the correct account and not posting to their own account accidentally. Likewise, when students are posting to their own accounts, students should double check to ensure they have signed out of the Ladue Publications account.
Students who post inappropriately to the Ladue Publications social media accounts (accidentally or on purpose) risk losing their position on staff. Posting on social media for the publications is a huge responsibility and should be treated as such.
Twitter and Instagram should be updated daily with sports, clubs and class activities covered. When photos are included, student names and grades should be identified. On Instagram, the description should be written as journalism style captions.
Students should avoid sounding bias when posting for social media and should maintain the journalistic integrity of Ladue Publications.
Posting procedures
The web editor maintains final control over publishing to LadueLead.com (apart from the adviser). Other students may write stories and post drafts, but final publishing will be left to the web editor.
Social media passwords will be changed monthly and only the students assigned to work social media have permission to post to the accounts. Students with access to the social media accounts are not to share the passwords with other students. Students must also add their initials to the end of their post on social media so the adviser can see who posted what.
Students should check their facts and ensure the information they are sharing is accurate before posting. If mistakes are made, corrections should be made as soon as possible.
Editor Job Descriptions
Editor in Chief
To be an editor in chief, you must be on staff as an editor for at least one year; in addition, you must be extremely detail-oriented, as you are responsible for editing all sections of the paper (along with the copy editors); you must be present for 99 percent of staff meetings and production nights, and you must stay on final production night until ALL pages are complete and the paper is sent to be printed.
- Plan yearly Panorama schedule
- Manage the staff (distribute assignments, help staffers with stories and design)
- Lead all staff meetings
- Lead editors through content decisions during story pitch day
- Begin class with announcements and jobs for the day
- Responsible for notifying staff of any changes or events involving Panorama
- Edit and approve all pages before printing
- Stay at production until EVERYONE is finished
- Ensure paper is up to date with style and design trends
- Assign art and photos
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
Managing Editor
- Maintain checkpoints for deadlines
- Maintain grades/points on a spreadsheet
- Oversee extensions for stories
- Create schedules for the year and update google calendar
- Ensure that everyone is aware of worknights
Web Content Editor
- Organize web story pitch/make spreadsheet for stories
- Organize who is going to board meetings
- Assist Web EIC in editing and publishing stories
- Assist Web EIC in web redesign
Business Manager
- Update the ad contract with current dates and pricing
- Teach staff how to sell ads and give them ad contracts and sizing guides so that they can visit businesses and sell to them
- Contact previous clients along with new potential clients to secure sales
- Deal with clients in a professional manner through email, make sure you have payment and art ahead of time
- Create and layout the ads pages
- Must be comfortable with InDesign software
- Finalize pages during Production Week
- Track money sales and stay organized
- Assign art and photos
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
Web Editor in Chief
- Edit website and ensure everything is running smoothly
- Run Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)
- Edit writer’s work for web
- Post galleries for photographers
- Help other students to post media to web
- Keep website up to date (polls, calendars, announcements)
- Assign stories, art and photos
- Track writers and story progress
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
Head Copy Editor
- Edit pages/ copy
- Give writers advice and suggestions for improvement on their writing
- Ensure stories are written in AP style and meet journalistic standards
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
In-Depth Editor
- Come up with a timely idea for the center In-Depth spread
- Design a layout complete with infographics and copy
- Complete interviews and research thoroughly
- Ensure your spread represents the diversity of our school (interview a diverse groups of students: racial, gender, religion, etc)
- Assign art and photos
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
News Editor
- Keep track of school events and make sure we cover the ones that will matter most to our community
- Assign art and photos
- Write stories as needed
- Manage writers and give advice/ suggestions as needed
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
Sports Editor
- Stay up to date with athletic activities around the school
- Plan every part of spread as early as possible
- Develop unique angles on sports stories
- Push for quality photos– as many as possible
- Plan recurring elements (Senior sit-down, simple stuff to look buff)
- Be prepared to write timely stories. Don’t write a recap that is published a month after the event.
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
Features Editor
- Construct interesting layouts– vary the sizes of recurring elements in order to accommodate stories (Double takes/ Humans of Ladue/ Teacher Spotlight)
- Keep track of writers (check in with them)
- Ensure a variety of students (grades, gender, race, religion) are featured throughout the year
- Edit writers’ stories and make sure you get the hard copy and electronic copy of the stories
- Write one staff ed
- Write one column
- Assign art and photos
Opinions Editor
- Manage opinions writers
- Come up with topical topics to cover (this is difficult for opinions!)
- Assign opinions stories for writers– at least one pro/con per month
- Assign art, as well as monthly cartoon
- Assign staff editorial (must be written by editors)
- Write monthly column
- Edit opinions stories (along with news stories, opinions stories are the most difficult to edit because all claims/opinions/etc. Must be extremely precise and have substantial research)
- Lay out and design pages
Photography Editor
- Must have experience dealing with professional photography equipment (DSLR cameras, memory cards, and lenses)
- Must take Photo or Art I class or be able to provide a portfolio of work proving photography skills, must have worked as a staff photographer for at least one year
- Have advanced photography skills, basic photo-editing skills, and knowledge of InDesign and Photoshop software
- Be able to assign photos and download them from Trello, communicate with staff photographers through GroupMe chat
- Read and grade photo staff’s story ideas, review Photo section story ideas and pitch/decide on ideas for Photo page during Story Ideas Meeting before each new issue
- Take all photos for Photo page (back cover), layout and design the page, pick a font and color for the headline
- Be able to interview people, write captions, write short pieces to introduce the spread
Art Editor
- Assign art to artists and manage artists
- Create any last-minute art needed on production week or special pieces needed throughout the month
- Design the Senior Edition
Social Media Editor
- Publish daily updates to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
- Ensure sports scores are live tweeted whenever possible
- Stay up to date with Humans of Ladue (weekly posts on Instagram)
- Post links to web stories/ galleries on SM
- Organize SM coverage of school events
- Ensure SM posts are appropriate, unbiased and journalistic in nature
- Complete story idea sheets on time
Staff Writer
- Complete story idea sheets on time
- Write 1 web story per month
- Have rough drafts and final drafts in on time
- Interview at least 3 people for each story; no more than 1 teacher or adult
- Follow AP style guide and our in-house style guide
- Edit drafts until publishable
Staff Artist
- Complete story idea sheets on time
- Complete art assignments as needed
Staff Photographer
- Complete story idea sheets on time
- Complete photo assignments as needed (2 per month minimum)
- Assign photo assignments to photographers and make sure everything gets covered
- Upload photos onto Google Drive and Trello
- Edit photos for printing
The Adviser will:
Teaching and advising
- Teach sound, professional journalistic standards and practices.
- Look out for the best interest of her students and guide them as needed.
- Create a welcoming and all-inclusive environment where students can discover and fulfill their potential.
- Give advice and guide students as they write, design and create for the publication.
- Challenge students to produce their best work.
- Teach students about and help guide students through legal issues, such as copyright infringement, liability, invasion of privacy, etc. and will not knowingly allow students to break the law.
- Help to recruit new students into the program and provide information to students interested in the program.
- Select editors and adjust as needed with the publication and the students’ best interests in mind. Adviser maintains final say in deciding all editor positions and staff set up, regardless of editor’s class experience or accomplishments.
- Work to develop and foster a positive relationship with the administration and the publication staffs.
- Teach students about advertising and prepare them to help sell advertising space so the publications can continue to print quality papers and books.
Classroom materials and technology
- Provide students with the tools need to be successful.
- Stay up to date with the current journalism trends and technology.
- Provide opportunities for students to compete and publish their work on a grander scale.
- Provide information on summer camps and journalism programs to interested students.
- Ensure technology works correctly (printers, cameras, computers, etc) and communicate with school technology team regarding issues as needed.
Grades and classwork
- Communicate clearly with students what her expectations are and hold students accountable for their work.
- Grade students fairly and consistently based on the quality of the work they turn in and the amount of effort they put forth.
Equipment Checkout Procedure
We have a variety of useful equipment ranging from cameras, video cameras, batteries, lenses, tripods, memory cards, flashes, recorders and bags. These are available to Ladue Publications students only. Under no circumstances are you to check out equipment for other students or allow other students to use the equipment.
When you check out the equipment, it is your responsibility to take care of it and bring it back the following day. All equipment is to be returned the morning after your shoot (Monday morning for Friday shoots) and put neatly and carefully back in the correct drawer/ file cabinet. Don’t forget to sign the equipment back in and to take your memory card!
Students checking out equipment must wait until the end of the day to get their equipment. If there are multiple shoots going on in one night, the equipment will be checked out on a first-come first-serve basis (unless there is a special event like homecoming or prom). Students may only check out one camera, and may need to limit the number of lenses they check out depending on how many other shoots are scheduled for the day.
Equipment is not to be left alone on shoots (in the stands, by the bleachers, etc.) or in cars. Cameras can be severely damaged by hot/cold weather. Cameras and equipment should not be taken or used in the rain. They are not waterproof. Cameras are not to be left with friends or family members. They are your responsibility, so keep them with you.
If you follow all of the guidelines and something still happens to the camera (a soccer ball knocks it out of your hands, lightning bolt hits it, Chuck Norris punches it, etc), you will not be liable for damages. However, if the camera is broken or stolen due to negligence, the staff member who checked it out will be held responsible for replacing it.
Staff Policies
Deadlines
Deadlines are an integral part of journalism and missing them is not an option when it comes to producing content in a timely and consistent fashion. All staff members are responsible for ensuring they reach their deadlines and that their content is consistent with Ladue Publications standards.
Extensions
Extensions are rare and will be handled on a case by case basis. Any staff member who thinks he/she may need a deadline must inform their section editor, EIC and advisor at least one full week before the deadline so alternative plans can be made.
Missed Deadlines
Missing a deadline will result in a 0 for the monthly deadline grade and a meeting with the adviser, student, section editor and EICs.
Missing two deadlines will result in a 0 for the monthly deadline grade, and a meeting with the adviser, student and parents. Missing two deadlines may result in the dismissal from staff for the student. If the student is enrolled in the class, he/she will be given alternative assignments to work on outside of the publication.
Work nights
Work nights are also an essential component to ensuring our publication is printed to our standards and that we catch as many mistakes as we can before publishing. It is also an important time to work as a staff and to help each other be successful. Students must attend work night if their work is not complete and signed off by both the adviser, section editors and EICs.
If a student knows he/she will not be able to attend work night one month, they must ensure their work is complete before work night or they will risk receiving a lower score on their deadline grade. Because so much of our work is contingent on the work of others (the designer can’t finish the page without the story, the cover can’t be sent off without the photo, etc.) work night is an important time for the staff to collaborate and ensure everything gets completed when it needs to be.
If a student participates in a sport, they must attend work night after practice or before their game unless their work is complete and signed off by the EICs, adviser and section editor.
Having to work is not an acceptable excuse to miss a work night. Work nights are scheduled months in advance, so the student has plenty of time to request off or to switch schedules with someone.
Sudden occurrences and emergencies will be handled on a case by case basis.
Staff communication
All staff members are expected to check their email daily in order to ensure they don’t miss any important announcements. All staff members must sign up on the cell phone list in case there is an urgent matter regarding pages, stories, photos or content, especially if a student is going to miss work night. If staff members feel comfortable using the cell phones to communicate with their editors, they are free to do so. If your editor or adviser emails you, you are expected to respond within 24 hours. Part of being responsible is being reachable.
Any staff member who has the adviser’s cell phone number (ie attended convention/ went on a field trip/ etc.) may not give out that number to other students. If there is an emergency, the student may contact the adviser via text, but email is the preferred method of communication.
Advertising information
- All students on Panorama are expected to sell 3 advertisements or $300 worth of advertisements by October 1. At the start of the summer, the staff will meet to plan out who will go to which businesses. Students will also pair up and go to sell advertisements together.
- The Panorama and Rambler will typeset and design all ads if so desired to fit our standards.
- The advertising contract, once signed by both parties, shall constitute a binding agreement. Either party may break this contract through written notification. This must arrive at Ladue HS no later than two weeks prior to publication.
- No advertisements may include photos of alcohol/ illegal substances or images that may be construed as alcohol/ illegal substances.
- The Panorama and Rambler staffs may review or reject any copy or illustration that does not meet the standards of acceptance. No advertisements for products illegal for the majority of high school readers will be accepted.
- When an advertisement contains an error which is not the fault of the advertiser, the Panorama staff will publish a correction in the issue following the error as well as an additional print of the corrected ad.
Regarding payment and invoicing:
- Pay the day of: If you chose to pay today, you will receive a paid invoice within a month for your records and a subscription to the Panorama for the school year.
- Billed later: If you chose to pay at a later date, you will receive an invoice to be paid by Oct. 1. Bills not paid by Nov. 1 will incur an additional fee of 20% original contract. An additional 20% will be added each month until the bill is paid. You will also receive a subscription to the Panorama starting after the bill has been paid.
- Donations will also receive a paid invoice for your records as well as your name on the Patron’s page on LadueLead.com. Donors also receive a complimentary subscription to the Panorama for the school year.
Ladue Publications Style Rules
- No oxford commas.
- No Mr., Ms. or Mrs. in names. First and last name cited the first use, and then only use the last name every time after, unless dealing with people with the same last name. If they have the same last name, use the person’s first name instead.
- Quote as follows: “I love journalism,” Sarah Semmel said. Be sure the person’s name comes before the word said and note the punctuation.
- Captions need to be a minimum of 2 sentences, max of 4. First sentence is in the present tense. Don’t repeat facts from your story. Get a quote if you are able to.
- Avoid exclamation points when quoting and especially in your writing.
- Place a .5 black around all photos.
- When referring to our high school with the full title, capitalize it.
- Ex: I love Ladue High School.
- However, when you are just referring to high school, it should remain uncapitalized.
- Ex: I love high school.
- Use Ladue High School when referring to LHWHS.
- Spell out numbers 9 and below. If a number begins a sentence, spell it out, even if it is above 10. Leave numbers as numerals when referring to sport scores and ages.
- When using surveys, be sure to specify the means by which you gathered the information, whether or not it was voluntary and the number of individuals who participated.
- Avoid using the passive voice and try to be concise and clear in your writing.
- Bad- Passive voice example: The ball was thrown by John.
- Good- Active voice example: John threw the ball
- Bad- Overly wordy example: Joe was running through the woods, and he was thinking about the night before.
- Good- Concise example: Joe ran through the woods and thought about last night.
- If there are two family members in the story, then use first names.
- Commons and Seminar are capitalized, as are Ram day, Blue day and White day.
- High school students or teens, not high schooler
- Avoid orphans and widows, unless it is in a quote.
- If you are going to capitalize the name of a club, you need to say the full name.
- For national chapters, you need to say- “The Ladue chapter of the National Honors Society”
- Never give abbreviations in parenthesis. Just on the second mention, use the abbreviation.
- Most stories should be written in a 6-7 grade reading level. Opinions are an 8th grade reading level.
- Avoid dead white space.
- Text wrap should be 1 pica away.
- Avoid banner headlines.
Useful Journalism Links
- https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/bias-objectivity/understanding-bias/
- The American Press Institute has several useful pieces on their site for student journalists, but this page specifically deals with bias and how students can recognize their own bias while writing.
- https://www.spj.org/foi-guide-students.asp
- The Society of Professional Journalists is a helpful resource for student and professional journalists alike. The site above is specific for helping students understand FOI laws and even has instructions for how to submit a records request.
- https://yearbookdiscoveries.com/middle-high-school-college-resources/#toggle-id-2
- The site listed above has a ton of valuable resources for yearbook creation, adviser advice, choosing a camera, curriculum, and so much more.
- http://camerasim.com/apps/original-camerasim/web//?utm_source=CameraSim%20updates
- This site allows students to play with camera settings to better understand how adjusting the shutter speed, ISO and aperture can affect the quality of a picture.
- http://www.schooljournalism.org/workshops/
- The above site has a great list of summer workshops for student journalists, which is a great resource to help students better their skills.
- http://www.schooljournalism.org/journalism-training/
- The School Journalism site also has several training modules for both advisers and student journalists to better their skills and test them on various quizzes and tutorials.
- http://www.newseuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/first-amendment-faq/
- The Newseum Institute has a variety of resources, but the link above focuses specifically on the First Amendment with common questions and answers.
- https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music
- The above site has free music that students can use in videos rather than dealing with copyright laws and craziness when creating videos.
- https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/10-ways-to-develop-expository-writing-skills-with-the-new-york-times/
- The New York Times has a lot of helpful student news posts, and the above site helps students understand feature writing skills.
- http://www.collegemedia.org/news/prof_krg/article_226c233a-74c9-11e3-b7f2-0019bb30f31a.html
- The article linked above helps students to come up with story ideas that their audience will likely care about.