Warning: Sierra Mills is Chief Copy Editor of The Leader, expect some bias

For the first featured Club of the Week, I decided to dive into The Leader (shocker). You may have seen some of their papers scattered around on racks in academic buildings on campus, but what goes into the making of these news magazines? 

With the publishing of The Leader’s newspaper being bi-weekly, a lot of thought and work goes into what to write about. 

So, there are five sections that delve into varying different topics; News, Life & Arts, Opinion, Sports and the Scallion (the satire section). 

Weekly, the section editors of each section as well as the Managing Editor and the Editor in Chief, look into what events are happening on campus through social media, word of mouth, or being told directly by the club. 

Then, a content document for each section is created. This includes article ideas that have a possibility to make it into print in the next issue. 

This content doc is then sent out to each of the section’s writers, allowing them to pick what article to write and who they can contact about the topic. 

Another important aspect that goes into the making of the magazine is the Photography department and Art department, I mean who would just want to look at just text on papers outside of academics. 

When an article is being written, a photo or graphic request needs to be made a week before the issue is made, to give the artists and photographers plenty of time to bring out the best product for the article. 

Then, the Friday before printing, the editors read through each article to make sure it is readable and follows the proper style guidelines. Because the club is a journalism-driven club, Associated Press Style, or AP style, is the style used for editing purposes and is one of the most important aspects of editing. 

And then, Saturday at night, myself and other copy editors read through all of the articles to act as a second set of eyes to maintain consistency, clarity and cohesion. 

Sunday, the big day,the entire day features putting the entire thing together. The Leader uses InDesign from Adobe to put together the entire newspaper, so relying on Adobe gives the club some trust issues and many late nights at the office to make sure everything is the best it can be. 

Monday morning, the final copy of the issue is sent out to the printer in Jamestown, and we wait until Tuesday for the papers to arrive to distribute!

Articles are also posted on The Leader’s website to allow people outside of campus to read their stuff.

Now that the process has been spelled out, I feel that I should include a conversation with the club member who has been in the office the most; Taylor Swift!

Okay she’s a cardboard cutout, but she has been in the office more than any other member of The Leader. 

So let’s hear what she has to say:

How does it feel to be at the office more than any other E-Board member?

Swift: —

What has surprised you the most about The Leader?

Swift: —

What’s the worst thing that has happened in the office?

Swift: —

Who is your most favorite member?

Swift: –

Well, that concludes our time with The Leader. Hope that this informs you about what goes into each issue.