The Auburn University Plainsman
By Hannah Johnson
Red Level High School
Red Level, Alabama
The Plainsman is a weekly newspaper created and edited by Auburn University students. The newspaper covers many different topics revolving around the college and community.
The Plainsman is a free newspaper. Most of the revenue is generated by selling ads and subscriptions to businesses within the community. The number of ads sold determines the number of pages put in the newspaper.
The staff decides what goes in the paper by having a weekly meeting. During this meeting, they decide what goes in the editorial. They call this an Editorial Board. The e-board is where the staff discusses different topics and brings in research about the editorial.
The paper has several different staff positions. During the summer term, there are on average of thirteen workers, while during the school year there are around 30. The positions for the paper are: Editor, Managing Editor, Campus News Editor, Intrigue Columnist, and Photographer.
The Plainsman work week runs Monday through Wednesday. The submission deadline is Wednesday. Then, the newspaper is printed and delivered on Thursday.
The average number of pages during the summer is eight. During the fall and winter terms, the average number of pages is 24. During football season, the staff often prints a 16- 24 page game day inserts for special games, such as homecoming.
According to the summer staff, working on the newspaper is very enjoyable. They become close with their fellow staff members. Natalie Wade, Chief Editor of the Plainsman, states “I love working with my staff because it’s the most stressful fun you can have.” Natalie shares that it can be difficult being in a closed room with the same people all day, but the hard work pays off.
When Wade was asked how being part of a college newspaper differed from a high school paper, she had many answers. College students have much more freedom as to what they write and publish than high school students. Also, instead of a monthly paper, there is a weekly paper for colleges, and the students alone are responsible for the paper.
An interesting fact about the newspaper and staff is that the paper actually has a lawyer in case of lawsuits. Also, the staff gets paid a small stipend to work on the paper.
Red Level High School
Red Level, Alabama
The Plainsman is a weekly newspaper created and edited by Auburn University students. The newspaper covers many different topics revolving around the college and community.
The Plainsman is a free newspaper. Most of the revenue is generated by selling ads and subscriptions to businesses within the community. The number of ads sold determines the number of pages put in the newspaper.
The staff decides what goes in the paper by having a weekly meeting. During this meeting, they decide what goes in the editorial. They call this an Editorial Board. The e-board is where the staff discusses different topics and brings in research about the editorial.
The paper has several different staff positions. During the summer term, there are on average of thirteen workers, while during the school year there are around 30. The positions for the paper are: Editor, Managing Editor, Campus News Editor, Intrigue Columnist, and Photographer.
The Plainsman work week runs Monday through Wednesday. The submission deadline is Wednesday. Then, the newspaper is printed and delivered on Thursday.
The average number of pages during the summer is eight. During the fall and winter terms, the average number of pages is 24. During football season, the staff often prints a 16- 24 page game day inserts for special games, such as homecoming.
According to the summer staff, working on the newspaper is very enjoyable. They become close with their fellow staff members. Natalie Wade, Chief Editor of the Plainsman, states “I love working with my staff because it’s the most stressful fun you can have.” Natalie shares that it can be difficult being in a closed room with the same people all day, but the hard work pays off.
When Wade was asked how being part of a college newspaper differed from a high school paper, she had many answers. College students have much more freedom as to what they write and publish than high school students. Also, instead of a monthly paper, there is a weekly paper for colleges, and the students alone are responsible for the paper.
An interesting fact about the newspaper and staff is that the paper actually has a lawyer in case of lawsuits. Also, the staff gets paid a small stipend to work on the paper.