tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73259228145491605562024-02-06T22:57:23.391-05:00MUB 156TNH's Newsroom BlogThe New Hampshirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02783748436233119445noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-51574999458550205712011-04-26T02:46:00.002-04:002011-04-26T02:58:39.914-04:00Pulitzer review<style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal">For purposes of this exercise, I'll focus on the Pulitzer Prize won by the Chicago Sun-Times for local reporting after the series that they produced looking into crime in Chicago. After scanning and reading all of the stories and looking at some of the photographs, so many different aspects jumped out at me – and above all else, that is a huge part of winning a Pulitzer Prize. Many organizations are able to produce stories that are gripping once or in one area, but these stories were focused on a wide variety of topics, but honed in masterfully on the Windy City and some of the major problems that Chicago is facing. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The stories that sticks out most were the two about people in this culture not wanting to ‘snitch’ and tell police who some of the criminals were despite knowing who they were. The best one, which looked at one boy who was shot and as he way dying, a police officer asked who shot him to which he replied “I ain’t telling you s**t.” The personal story that this piece had is something that I remember and I think that is one of the best compliments that a story can have – it was memorable. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The crime that takes place in a large city like Chicago is newsworthy for some many reasons. But the Sun-Times went about it a different way and was rewarded for that. They benefited local readers with stories that the local readers actually cared about. In the package that won the award, it seemed like there were numerous cosmic moments. There was the line of the boy that wouldn’t talk to police. There was the line that all of the shooters from a giant shoot-up escaped charges. This package encompassed so many things which is really what drove the project to be so good. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">While the stories didn’t necessarily follow a different style, they certainly carried a more relaxed voice and feel to them. For example, one story opens up with the words “This is the story of … “ That seems like an odd and ultra relaxed lead, but with this project, the writer made it work. The biggest thing, though, that took this series to the next level, was how close the writers and photographers were able to get to every aspect of this crime scene in a large cities. They followed police, doctors and families. The Sun-Times did an outstanding job with this project reporting on the local news that Chicago residents want to read.</p>The New Hampshirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02783748436233119445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-65004480484309795102010-10-22T00:12:00.002-04:002010-10-22T00:24:54.448-04:00Chillin'We pride ourselves on plenty here in the newsroom, but something I feel particularly competitive about during the long hours in MUB 156 is my ability to select the most appropriate tune on YouTube to keep myself and my fellow news, design, sports and executive editors motivated. <div><br /></div><div>True- we sometimes disagree on things around here. Some of us like country (ugh). Some of us like old school rap. Some of us are too indie to function (content editor Amanda Beland also DJ's for WUNH). Some of us are really, really, ridiculously obsessed with the new Mike Posner song.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, that last one was me- but it's only because I have a crush on Mike Posner. </div><div><br /></div><div>But we have those staple songs that everyone loves- Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You", Hall and Oates "Make My Dreams Come True", Biggie's "Juicy" and The Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" are almost always played on repeat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our picks aren't always the same, but we do have some overlap in our taste for tunes. And that's similar to the way we run our newsroom. We're pretty different people, with wildly different opinions. We love discussion (and, sometimes, drama). But at the end of the day, we compromise and overlap, throw all our creative ideas out there, and sometimes it turns it to something pretty good.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although not as good as UB40'S "Red, Red Wine." </div>Mal Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03070793871441515952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-57712889741798597982010-08-07T09:45:00.003-04:002010-08-07T10:19:59.312-04:00Columnists Wanted<img src="http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/iwantyou.jpg" width="407" height="475" /><br /><br />Do you have an opinion? Want to put it out there?<br /><br />Then we want you.<br /><br />The New Hampshire is looking to add a few columnists to our pages for the upcoming semester. Columns can be about any number of topics but should have a particular focus (state politics, pop culture, etc), one that can be revisited on a (preferably) weekly or bi-weekly basis. Columns can be either serious or humorous in tone.<br /><br />Opinion pieces have always been a part of newspapers. We want thick-skinned columnists interested in facilitating discussion in topics important to our readership. We aim to represent a myriad of views, so we're particularly interested in people with political views or ideologies that they feel are currently underrepresented in the paper.<br /><br />If interested, send an email to <a href="mailto:tnh.editor@unh.edu">tnh.editor@unh.edu</a> with your name, contact info, and column idea. A sample column or two will be necessary before bringing you on board. The first regular issue of The New Hampshire comes out September 10.Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-12741035316089702962010-08-02T14:38:00.004-04:002010-08-02T15:15:03.669-04:00The Princeton Review Ranks UNHThe Princeton Review today released the results of their 2010 survey of 122,000 college students, which rank the country's top 373 colleges in dozens of categories.<br /><br />Let's just say that it's pretty safe to say that UNH isn't going to be releasing a press release for this one. Here's the lowdown on UNH, according to the Princeton Review (<em>Note: Links may require logging in to princetonreview.com</em>):<br /><br />#3 <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/Schoollist.aspx?type=r&id=719">"Little Race/Class Interaction"</a><br />#3 <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/Schoollist.aspx?type=r&id=721">"Lots of Beer"</a><br />#17 <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/Schoollist.aspx?type=r&id=739">"Professors Get Low Marks"</a><br />#4 <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/Schoollist.aspx?type=r&id=762">"Town-Gown Relations are Strained"</a><br /><br />However, UNH did get named a "Best Northeastern College" (the bad news: <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/SchoolList.aspx?id=735">there were 218 of them</a>)<br /><br />Of course, the category that gets the most attention, both at UNH and around the country, is the "Top Party Schools." But UNH, which ranked #7 in 2007 and #11 in 2008 <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/unh-no-longer-top-party-school-1.479004#4">before falling off the list last year</a>, failed to make a return.<br /><br />Instead, the University of Georgia took the top spot, with Ohio University-Athens and Penn State (last year's #1) rounding out the top three. Here's <a href="http://news.suite101.com/article.cfm/top-american-party-schools-2010-2011-princeton-review-rankings-a265882">the complete list</a> (no logging in necessary).<br /><br />What do you think? Did UNH get snubbed, slammed, or is this just the painful truth? Start the conversation in the comments below.Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-63423682877776412332010-05-23T13:45:00.003-04:002010-05-23T13:54:08.696-04:00Summer!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq-4jXSilbW0jfP3U4taUIm3GEkl5Ouu2_iOkGCBVrivrF43spiviz9tEwEe2ZSOCbgOJH5IkaoB5k4WAM0Zm-IuZuGocUjFQcrMem3PTGsVOQT4fd_vVRW79cLUO7hzxK8gsw6uTLkGp/s1600/050a.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 406px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 464px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474523429960832338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKq-4jXSilbW0jfP3U4taUIm3GEkl5Ouu2_iOkGCBVrivrF43spiviz9tEwEe2ZSOCbgOJH5IkaoB5k4WAM0Zm-IuZuGocUjFQcrMem3PTGsVOQT4fd_vVRW79cLUO7hzxK8gsw6uTLkGp/s400/050a.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>We'll be back in late August.</div>Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-64170778154168607312010-05-13T16:19:00.003-04:002010-05-13T16:41:22.666-04:00TNH alumna honored by Basketball Hall of FameWhy did this have to be announced <span style="font-style: italic;">after</span> TNH's final issue had gone to press?<br /><br />Jackie MacMullan will be honored in August with the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award. The awards are presented to members of the media who have made a significant contribution to basketball. <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/05/12/macmullan_is_named_gowdy_award_winner/">Read more in the Boston Globe.</a><br /><br />TNH loves Jackie MacMullan because not only did she graduate from UNH in 1982, but she was also on our editorial staff during her time here.<br /><br />As such, we've written about her several times. So instead of a new article on her upcoming award, we'll refer you to some of those.<br /><br />Most recently, we have <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/globe-columnist-espn-contributor-returns-to-unh-with-new-book-1.932384">"Globe columnist, ESPN contributor, returns to UNH with new book,"</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>which was written in November by Brandon Lawrence, currently one of two sports editors. Not surprisingly, this is my favorite part (Note: MacMullan played on the basketball team at UNH):<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Are you kidding?” MacMullan said. “When people ask me ‘what do you remember most about UNH,’ it really isn’t the basketball team, it’s working at The New Hampshire and how much I learned from that, and being up all night and deadlines.”</span><br /><br />Here are a couple other stories we've written on MacMullan.<br /><br />From Jan. 2009: <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/2.3536/looking-at-the-outliers-seeds-of-success-planted-early-for-jackie-macmullan-1.389711">"Looking at the outliers: Seeds of success planted early for Jackie MacMullan"</a><br /><br />From 2008: <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/2.3536/unh-alumna-jackie-macmullan-model-of-integrity-and-success-1.391776">"UNH alumna, Jackie MacMullan, model of integrity and success"</a><br /><br />From 2006: <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/2.3536/veteran-globe-reporter-talks-sports-at-unh-1.393219">"Veteran Globe reporter talks sports at UNH"</a><br /><br />Congratulations to Jackie!<br /><br /><img style="cursor: -moz-zoom-in; width: 310px; height: 496px;" alt="http://www.tnhonline.com/polopoly_fs/1.932415!/image/3060442745.jpg" src="http://www.tnhonline.com/polopoly_fs/1.932415%21/image/3060442745.jpg" /><br />(Photo by TNH's Mike Ralph, November 2009)Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-78205502028257568762010-05-12T16:02:00.002-04:002010-05-12T16:13:18.456-04:00TNHers take home English Department awardsLast week, UNH's English Department held its annual <a href="http://unh.edu/english/index.cfm?id=FEC6615A-A875-99B0-431464DDC5E36F15">student awards and scholarship</a> ceremony and, <a href="http://tnhnewsroom.blogspot.com/2009/05/tnhers-win-english-department-awards.html">as we did last year</a>, we'd like to recognize our staff members who took home some hardware.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Former Executive Editor Cameron Kittle</span> won the Laura Rice Journalism Award, which is given to a senior journalism student in recognition of outstanding reporting and writing over the course of his or her career at UNH.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Staff Writer Michaela Christensen</span> received the Michael Kelley Memorial Scholarship, awarded to a sophomore or junior who possesses high initiative and energy and demonstrates exceptional journalistic potential.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">News Editor Geoffrey Cunningham</span> received the Theodore "Tad" Ackman Journalism Scholarship, awarded in recognition of excellence in the English/Journalism major.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Former Staff Writer Danielle Curtis </span>received the Donald Murray Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to an English/Journalism major who has demonstrated a passion for nonfiction storytelling.<br /><br />TNH has been privileged over the past year to have these four contribute their skills to our publication. We couldn't have done it without you. Congratulations to all the winners.Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-30705796092760232932010-05-07T13:14:00.004-04:002010-05-08T15:48:13.530-04:00Year in Review: The Features We Wish We Could Have IncludedDue to space limitations, the "Year in Review" section, which was included in Friday's issue of TNH, is basically limited to the top news stories of the year. (The one exception was <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/playing-with-desire-unh-students-push-sexual-boundaries-1.898361">our bondage story</a>, which was included because it was probably our most talked-about article of the year). The focus on hard news makes sense, because we want the Year in Review section to prompt students to look back at what made this year exciting and notable.<br /><br />But every year, a number of interesting feature stories grace our pages as well. These stories take an in-depth look at the interesting people, businesses, and stories present within the UNH community. They also allow for a little more creativity on the part of the writer. We'd like to recognize some of our top feature stories of the year below.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best investigative feature:<br /></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/busted-alcohol-policy-at-unh-1.779212">Busted: Alcohol Policy at UNH</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/busted-alcohol-policy-at-unh-1.779212"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></a><br /></span>(Published October 16)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Best local twist on an international story:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/fault-friendly-quakes-in-nh-1.1091841">Fault friendly? History shows New England not immune to earthquakes</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/fault-friendly-quakes-in-nh-1.1091841"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /></span>(Published January 29, our first issue back after winter break, which had been dominated by news of the earthquake in Haiti)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best profile of a faculty member:<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/poli-sci-professor-inspiring-just-don-t-touch-his-hat-1.1471761">Poly-sci professor inspring...just don't touch his hat</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/poli-sci-professor-inspiring-just-don-t-touch-his-hat-1.1471761"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /> </span></span>(Published May 4)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br />Best profile of a student:<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/finding-a-way-to-pay-1.938000">Finding a way to pay</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/finding-a-way-to-pay-1.938000"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>(Published November 20)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Best profile of a business (tie):<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/celebrating-50-years-with-town-and-campus-1.1165946">Celebrating 50 years with Town and Campus</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/celebrating-50-years-with-town-and-campus-1.1165946"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/newmarket-coffee-stop-threatened-by-economy-1.1166000">Newmarket coffee shop threatened by economy</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/newmarket-coffee-stop-threatened-by-economy-1.1166000"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span>(Both published on February 19, interesting enough)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best campus life feature<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/loving-lounge-life-1.478904">Loving lounge life: freshmen reluctant to move out</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/loving-lounge-life-1.478904"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>(Published September 18)Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-38519121852757718132010-05-05T22:53:00.002-04:002010-05-06T08:14:48.682-04:00Newsroom Candid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEURDKs9qE9wtwPPQgxoIhpUWUqJ1r7VQUqrb3PVM7j72-SpVLnf9sFvzLTO5bL9fSZNy4ZMjJfrxPs3RqmkeKW2UzSkoD4HBKOSiAHJBuHRkGveU4xJbZ8eu5sBf6P95vu43CJCzPFtKn/s1600/IMG_2973.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467984743204441474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEURDKs9qE9wtwPPQgxoIhpUWUqJ1r7VQUqrb3PVM7j72-SpVLnf9sFvzLTO5bL9fSZNy4ZMjJfrxPs3RqmkeKW2UzSkoD4HBKOSiAHJBuHRkGveU4xJbZ8eu5sBf6P95vu43CJCzPFtKn/s400/IMG_2973.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />9 pm Wednesday. Managing Editor Chad Graff takes photos of some of our issues from this past year for tentative inclusion in Friday's "Year in Review" section.Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-34790648890558163512010-05-05T09:40:00.002-04:002010-05-05T09:49:58.129-04:00Year in Review: Your Input WantedEvery year in our last regular issue of the year, The New Hampshire includes a special section entitled "Year in Review" in which we take a look back at some of our top stories from the year.<br /><br />That being said, today is Wednesday, we put the paper together tomorrow night, and we have no idea what our top stories have been. So we are now taking your votes.<br /><br />What were the top news stories of the year, the ones that were the talk of the campus? What did you think were our best feature stories and profiles?<br /><br />We're pretty sure that bondage will make it in there, since...yeah. Oh, and stolen newspapers. Gotta get the stolen newspapers in.<br /><br />Other than that, let us know!Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-25094887792740099862010-04-29T15:52:00.002-04:002010-04-29T16:44:27.158-04:00You can put me in a category with the Albany Times-Union and Peter KingAs anyone who follows this blog knows, Tuesday was a crazy, yet exciting and incredibly interesting day at The New Hampshire. Tuesday's are pretty much our days off, at least for the office staff that works Monday's and Thursday's to put the paper together. But in association with UNH athletics, this was the busiest news day that I, and possibly even Chad and Tom, had encountered in our collegiate journalism careers. <br /><br />What happened was this: former UNH tight end Scott Sicko decided (originally) that he was not going to sign an NFL free-agent contract after going undrafted in the 2010NFL Draft, despite receiving contract offers from five teams. I wrote a story about it, for those who weren't aware and didn't look at the front page of Tuesday's TNH issue. Now keep in mind that this was a big deal, and made national headlines on Yahoo.com, FOXsports.com and on College Gameday Live on ESPN. Peter King, Sports Illustrated's NFL writer, wrote about it in one of the weekly issues. Sicko was famous strictly because he turned down the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. <br /><br />When Sicko turned down the five offers (submitted by the Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Jets) he had the nation in his face criticizing him. But the only publications and reporters that contacted Sicko were the Albany Times-Union (his hometown newspaper), Peter King of Sports Illustrated and myself. I called Scott on Sunday night and got a quick phone interview with him, and he was very gracious and complied and answered my questions thoroughly. When I asked him if there was any chance he would change his mind, he said, "None. I've made my decision."<br /><br />It was around 12:45-1 p.m. when I received a text message from Chad Graff, the Managing Editor at TNH. I opened his message to find, "Sicko signed with the Cowboys." I sort of laughed it off and texted him back, saying that I knew he was joking because I had talked to Scott just two nights prior. I got one back that said "I'm completely serious, there are reports everywhere online." I swore a few times and sprinted back to my room down the hall to check for myself. Sure enough, the first thing on Google was labled, "Sicko signs agreement with Cowboys."<br /><br />To make it even worse, Huffinton Post also featured my story on their website, which means national exposure.<br /><br />I didn't know what to do. I texted and called everyone I knew that might have some insight for me, including my co-Sports Editor, Zack Cox. When I calmed down and realized that this wasn't going to kill my journalism career (I may have overreacted a little) I began planning my moves to approach this. <br /><br />After Chad called me and told me that his boss from the Union Leader wanted him to write the story for their site, I decided to write up a small press release and throw it up online. So I did, thus completing the first step to my plan, although I managed to temporarily destroy the sports page at tnhonline.com. Chad called me back, saying he was at the field house and waiting to hear back from the football team to see if they had practice. If not, then we could talk to UNH head coach Sean McDonnell. If they did have practice, we would have to wait until 7 p.m.<br /><br />They had practice. I found this out <em>after</em> I sprinted to the Field House too. I should mention that it was raining, which adds to the effect somewhat. <br /><br />Chad and I casually walked back to the TNH office at the MUB, where we hung out and wrote essays that were due within the next 24 hours while we waited for seven o'clock to roll around. When we went back over to the Field House, we got our interview with coach McDonnell, who is always a very helpful source. But Scott wasn't there, and his quotes meant the most to our stories.<br /><br />After another cold and rain-soaked walk back to the MUB, we finished our stories minus the Sicko quotes. When it was 8 p.m. I gave him a call, and the three of us teleconferenced until we had all the information needed to complete our stories. <br /><br />When I talked to the Scott Stapin, the SID for football, earlier, he said that Sicko had appeared on the Dallas Morning News, as well as several radio stations in Dallas. Those media outlets aside, Chad and I (and Peter King) had the only solid stories that Sicko was headed to the NFL. I don't think I need to mention, it felt awesome.<br /><br />It was pleasing to say that we could be put in the same category as the Albany Times-Union and Peter King.<br /><br />But one conversation I had with Chad really struck me as we were walking back from one of our trips to the Field House. We talked about how great it would have been if this was out only job. Imagine if neither of us had to write essays or attend class. If our only focus was on getting the story. I can safely say for both of us that sports is our passion. We didn't feel as though this were a chore; we wanted to be doing this because we enjoyed it. <br /><br />That day taught me a lesson. What I'm doing for TNH right now, including with Wildchats on WUNH and SCAN TV, is exactly what I want to be doing after college. I've already found my dream job; now it's all about the practice I receive for the future.Brandon Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500122803055488226noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-69873025380717519912010-04-28T23:34:00.008-04:002010-04-29T09:07:49.330-04:00TNH makes Barstool<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9kCIVc6Vc0iHg8dhOmIGQrhLTCzNxlADvEvmW8tCfb80SpIhrJbDb2xRKN_Ku7ckmLc9p2y9gXTtOBDuq5XFygPzDFREzq3GGk8MTJQQha_M15ICcwW8h3N90U0fOU_o34ceqRfVtyzO/s1600/TNH+in+Barstool+Sports.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 400px; float: left; height: 250px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465400767753881394" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9kCIVc6Vc0iHg8dhOmIGQrhLTCzNxlADvEvmW8tCfb80SpIhrJbDb2xRKN_Ku7ckmLc9p2y9gXTtOBDuq5XFygPzDFREzq3GGk8MTJQQha_M15ICcwW8h3N90U0fOU_o34ceqRfVtyzO/s400/TNH+in+Barstool+Sports.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div>Whether you like the popular Boston-based blog Barstool Sports or not (and there doesn't seem to be much middle ground on that issue), you have to agree that it is something of a regional force on the web. As evidence of that last point, you could <a href="http://mainecampus.com/2010/03/29/smutty-lewd-and-proud-of-it-site-sees-growing-um-fan-base/">read this recent article in The Maine Campus</a>, the student newspaper of the University of Maine, which notes the site's growing readership at that institution.</div></div><br /><div>Why are we referencing an article from UMaine? Well, maybe because when they visit the site, <a href="http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/anonymous-unh-student-calls-me-a-cry-baby-in-student-newspaper/">they'll find themselves reading The New Hampshire</a>.</div></div><br />That's right. On Tuesday, in addition to getting <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/scott-sicko-nfl_n_553743.html">our stories about Scott Sicko featured on Huffington Post's college section</a>, one of our regular columnists got called out on Barstool in a post entitled "Anonymous UNH Student Calls Me a Cry Baby in Student Newspaper."<br /><div> </div><br /><div>Now this is the point in the post where we note that as a columnist, The New Hampshirite's views are strictly his own and do not represent the official views of The New Hampshire or its staff. But we are content to sit back and watch the rise in page views that it gave TNHonline.com on Tuesday.<br /></div><div><br />If you missed it, you can read <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/like-a-pro-end-the-hate-1.1429224">The New Hampshirite's original column on TNHonline</a>. It was mostly about SCOPE and MUSO, two on-campus organizations that book concerts, and what students think of them, but it did call the author of Barstool Sports-Boston a "crybaby" (one word, not two; we actually looked that up in the newsroom to make sure we had the correct usage). </div><br /><div>Our advice: read both the article and the post, and get on one side of the fence or the other.</div></div>Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-50565572640204181372010-04-28T09:16:00.005-04:002010-04-28T09:27:46.121-04:00How College Publisher, Scott Sicko, and the Huffington Post totally made my day as executive editor<div class="post-1124 post type-post hentry category-executive-editor-days"> <div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"> <p><em><a href="http://va2nh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/tnhpage.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1138" title="TNHpage" src="http://va2nh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/tnhpage.jpg?w=500&h=312" alt="" height="312" width="500" /></a></em></p> <p><em>TNHonline.com as it looks at 7:08 pm on April 27, 2010. But, as today exemplified, you never know when it might change.</em></p> <p>If you didn't think that TNH staff members put in long hours, consider this: Yesterday (Tuesday), after putting together the 48th issue of The New Hampshire with the rest of TNH’s staff, I (Thomas Gounley, the new executive editor of TNH) got barely any sleep, battled with College Publisher to figure out how to fix the paper’s website, and found out that one of the lead stories in today’s issue was completely obsolete two hours after the issue came out around campus.</p> <p>And it goes down as one of the best days of my life. College Publisher, Scott Sicko, and the Huffington Post’s College section totally made my day.</p> <p>Here’s how it happened:</p> <p>We finished the paper at 2:15 a.m. last night (aka- this morning), a fairly respectable time. I stayed in the newsroom finishing a paper for a class until 3:30 a.m., then returned to my dorm and slept from 3:45 a.m. to 6:15 a.m. I woke up, showered and was back in the newsroom at 7:03 a.m. I spent the next two hours finishing some other projects that were also due in my morning classes in addition to attempting to figure out how to fix TNH’s website, which was warped for some reason that was unknown to me at the time.</p> <p>I had classes from 9:40 to noon. At noon, I returned to the newsroom and put in two calls to representatives from College Publisher, which hosts the website for TNH along with dozens of other college newspapers. After a while of toying around with the website, things were back to normal. It turns out that the code for one of our articles was wrong, which was throwing off the whole site. Given that TNH’s web presence is critical to our non-UNH-based readers, I was glad things were all set.</p> <p>Now you need to know a little about what exactly is contained in the 48th issue of The New Hampshire (the 4th issue I’ve been in charge of as executive editor). On the front page, we have a story about former UNH tight end Scott Sicko turning down free-agent offers from five NFL teams to focus on graduate school. It’s a story that got national attention; it was the lead story on yahoo.com the other day. Traditionally, the sports section comprises the final three pages of TNH, but I decided to pilfer the Sicko article (along with <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/news/ware-kackert-ink-post-draft-nfl-deals-1.1429422">an article about two former UNH players who <em>did </em>sign with NFL teams</a>) to put on the front. It’s not often that UNH football is national news.</p> <p>So around noon I (as <a href="http://twitter.com/thenewhampshire">@thenewhampshire</a>) tweeted <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/college/">Huffington Post’s College section</a> suggesting they consider the article (which was written by Brandon, one of our sports editors) for the site. (If you don’t haven’t checked out the section before, it covers college-related news, a lot of which comes from college newspapers through partnerships they’ve made with the papers). The exchange went like this:</p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/huffpostcollege"><em>huffpostcollege</em></a><em> Former UNH tight end Scott Sicko passing over NFL offers seems like perfect fit for you guys </em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://bit.ly/9LrzAd" target="_blank"><em>http://bit.ly/9LrzAd</em></a></p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/thenewhampshire"><em>thenewhampshire</em></a><em> you’re right! thanks!</em></p> <p>I was pumped. The New Hampshire has only had one other story that was featured on the section, so it’s a rare privilege. Though I hadn’t written the story, I felt that it being featured said something positive about the paper and our staff, and that was good enough for me. I sort of felt like a grandparent that is proud of their grandchild. I hadn’t actually done much to contribute to the article’s success, but, indirectly maybe I had. Between that and getting the website all figured out, I felt like I'd put in a solid day; I was happy.</p> <p>I spent another hour and a half in the newsroom finishing a paper for an English (yeah, occasionally we do things that actually relate to our classes), approving comments on TNHonline.com, and doing general editorial tasks.</p> <p>When I went to lunch at 2 pm, I thought the storm had passed. It turns out it hadn’t even begun.</p> <p>After lunch, I turned on my computer in my dorm room and what do I see? SCOTT SICKO CHANGED HIS MIND AND DECIDED TO SIGN AS A FREE AGENT WITH THE DALLAS COWBOYS!</p> <p>I was stunned; I hadn’t seen that coming at all. Our sports editor had just talked to Sicko yesterday for the story that was on the front of TNH (we’re pretty sure that only he and a reporter for the Albany Times-Union, Sicko’s hometown paper, actually talked to him about his original decision to refuse the NFL offers; other newspapers around the country just quoted what he told the Times-Union), and he hadn’t said a thing about signing with the Cowboys. And now the front page of the paper, which had just appeared in print form across the campus starting two hours earlier, had a story that was obsolete.</p> <p>Oh, did I mention that Huffington Post-College had gotten around to putting TNH’s original article story up on their site?</p> <p><img title="Huffpo" src="http://va2nh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/huffpo.jpg?w=500&h=312" alt="" height="312" width="500" /></p> <p>Yep, front page and center. No big deal. Here’s the actual article (including the shout-out to TNH):</p> <p><img title="huff2" src="http://va2nh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/huff21.jpg?w=500&h=312" alt="" height="312" width="500" /></p> <p>As I conferred with our sports editor via facebook chat, I updated TNH’s facebook and twitter accounts with the breaking news. This went on <a href="http://twitter.com/thenewhampshire">@thenewhampshire</a>‘s twitter at about 2:50 p.m.</p> <p><em>BREAKING NEWS: Scott Sicko changes mind, signs free-agent deal with cowboys after all </em><a title="#UNH" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23UNH"><em>#UNH</em></a></p> <p>I checked Huffington Post College again, and they still had the old story up. So I alerted them to the development (It turns out that they already knew and just hadn’t gotten the page totally updated yet, but I figured it was the least I could do). That led to this exchange:</p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/huffpostcollege"><em>huffpostcollege</em></a><em> Ah, the nature of the news. UNH’s Scott Sicko changed mind, just signed free-agent deal with Cowboys.</em></p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/thenewhampshire"><em>thenewhampshire</em></a><em> we can’t believe it!</em></p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/huffpostcollege"><em>huffpostcollege</em></a><em> We def didn’t see that coming. And now we have 5000 copies of TNH that appeared on campus two hours ago that are obsolete.</em></p> <p><em>@</em><a rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/thenewhampshire"><em>thenewhampshire</em></a><em> ha! one more strike against print.</em></p> <p>By that time, the article was updated on the Huffington Post. (And yes, I took screen shots as this all happened. It seemed like a day that was going to turn into a blog post. Plus, I wanted records of our brief glory to be preserved for posterity.) Here is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/scott-sicko-nfl_n_553743.html">the updated story</a> and page from them:</p> <p><img title="Huff3" src="http://va2nh.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/huff3.jpg?w=500&h=312" alt="" height="312" width="500" /></p> <p>Unfortunately, the original article was still the lead story on tnhonline.com. It was 3 pm, and I had class at 3:30 pm. So I ran to the newsroom and updated the headline and teaser on the main page to reflect Sicko’s signing. Brandon said he would piece together an initial report and he put <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/sports/breaking-news-sicko-signs-with-cowboys-1.1430285">that on the website</a> while I was in class. (It got out at five. Those were some of the longest minutes of my life). When I joined him in the newsroom, we updated facebook and twitter with his new report. He’s currently meeting with the football team to expand the coverage so we can get a full report on the website later tonight(it will also run in the paper this Friday).</p> <p>Which means that it is now 7 p.m. I have been up for 16 hours today, and the vast majority of that has been in the newsroom. Nevertheless, this has probably been one of the most exciting days of my life. From finally understanding some of the inner workings of College Publisher to the excitement upon hearing that we’d have a story up on Huffpo to Brandon and I simultaneously freaking out on facebook chat to sending out ten billion updates as The New Hampshire on facebook and twitter (which is soooooo much fun) to UNH being in the national spotlight, its been a solid day.</p> <p>At first I was annoyed with Scott Sicko for making TNH obsolete after being out for two hours. But hey, that’s what the website is for, right?</p> <p>So thank you, Scott Sicko. Thank you, College Publisher. Thank you, Huffington Post. You guys completely made my day.</p> <p><em>11 p.m. update: Brandon managed to contact Sicko and got <a href="http://www.tnhonline.com/sports/former-unh-tight-end-sicko-signs-with-cowboys-1.1431321">a complete story</a> together, which we put online an hour or so ago. Mad props to him for everything he’s done today as we scrambled to cover the breaking news. It really was The New Hampshire at its finest.</em></p><p><em>Note: This is adapted from <a href="http://va2nh.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/how-college-publisher-scott-sicko-and-the-huffington-post-made-my-day-as-executive-editor/">a blog post that originally appeared</a> on the executive editor's personal blog.<br /></em></p> </div> </div></div>Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-43776391389997495302010-04-27T20:33:00.003-04:002010-04-27T21:17:30.216-04:00TNH Staff: Academic Year 2010-2011April 14 was the changing of the guard at The New Hampshire, the day on which the new staff, the staff that will preside over the paper until April 2011, took over. Now that we're four issues in and looking to bring back MUB 156, the newsroom blog, we thought we'd take the time to recognize the editorial staff of the paper for the next year.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Executive Editor</span>- Thomas Gounley<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Managing Editor</span>- Chad Graff<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Content Editor</span>- Amanda Beland<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">News Editors</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Mallory Baker<br />Geoffrey Cunningham<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Kerry Feltner<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Design Editor</span>- Annie Sager<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sports Editors<br /></span>Brandon Lawrence<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />Zack Cox<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arts Editor-</span> Ellen Stuart<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Staff Writers</span><br />Alexandra Churchill<br />Justin Doubleday<br />Samer Kalaf<br />Matthew Laurion<br />Krista Macomber<br />Gregory Meighan<br />Julia Miller<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Staff Photographers<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Tyler McDermott<br />Erica Siver<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span>Thomas Gounleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17996103119695517621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-14344361901278603152010-04-12T17:18:00.003-04:002010-04-12T23:31:49.723-04:00Farewell, TNHTNH's office takes up one corner of the Student Org Complex. It's made up of a couple of computer clusters, a refrigerator, and a few couches. A gray partition separates the newspaper from the other orgs, lined with issues we've proudly assembled on a semi-weekly basis for the past school year.<br /><br />The electronics, hum of the printer, and printed sheets of paper can seem cold, almost impersonal at times. But the people are colorful, vibrant, intelligent, and quirky. And on Monday and Tuesday nights, we're, well...we're family.<br /><br />The long hours I've spent in the newsroom have been some of the most wonderful, interesting, boring, painful, surprising, intellectual times of my life. We have a language, a rhythm. There's something strange that unites us all. We click.<br /><br />Tonight is my last production night at TNH. It's also the last official night for Executive Editor Cam Kittle, Managing Editor Nate Batchelder, News Editor Tori Lewis, and Layout Editor Chris Hawkins. The times, I guess, are a changing. Thanks Bob Dylan.<br /><br />I remember shaking then Assigning Editor Steve Bodnar's hand my sophomore year, figuring I better publish a few articles, since I was taking an intro newswriting class. I had no idea the two and a half years later I'd be the one assigning stories, on the prowl for Durham's latest, trying to entice people to step into our basement office for maximum coverage.<br /><br />John Wayne showed us the ropes last year. This past year, we only hoped to improve upon what he did. We started a beat system, doubled our number of contributors, increased online traffic by 50 percent with our updated web site, and tried to make TNH speak UNH's language. You know, be more representative of the student body.<br /><br />Our newspapers were tossed into the trash last fall (I cried), we caught the people with security cameras and were featured on WMUR, the Union Leader, and Fox News (I smiled), we covered UNH's own bondage club, the unusual number of assault-induced Clery Act news releases, and made it to a convention in Austin, Tx.<br /><br />Yet, that's only a fraction of what I've experienced within the cardboard cubicles of TNH. Sure, it's good for the career, great on the resume. But what I've learned from the people here will stay with me forever. I think I ran on pure passion for most of the time at TNH - finding the 20-plus hours a week for the paper on top of the 20-plus hours and weekend competitions for UNH's gymnastics team. I came to UNH for gymnastics. But through TNH, I found a reason to stay.<br /><br />I can't wait to see what Tom, Amanda, and Chad do with the paper. A new era is about to start, while another chapter is ending, for many of us. I wish the new staff all the best.<br /><br />And for all TNHers two years ago, last year, and this year: thanks for everything.Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-74517449218614519122010-01-10T13:46:00.002-05:002010-01-10T13:53:08.396-05:00New semester, New ideas??Hi guys, I hope everyone is enjoying their winter break. The J-term is upon us here in Durham, and there are actually some signs of life on the UNH campus, unusual for this time of year.<br /><br />This semester, we want to hear more from you, the readers. Is there a story, person, place, thing, sport, you think is newsworthy? Anything unusual? Cool? Compelling?<br /><br />The Olympics are coming up - anything specific you want about that? (UNH Women's Hockey has some representation this year...)<br /><br />Is there MORE of anything you want covered? Economy-related things? Anthrax scare follow-ups? Travel? (we never did get that C&J Trailways article out last semester...)<br /><br />Any noteworthy majors? How about the nightlife? Business profiles? Sustainability specifics? Government scoop?<br /><br />We're always open to ideas. Email us at tnhstaff@gmail.com for news tips. And let's open the spring semester in style.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-76939523712782584342009-12-07T14:58:00.005-05:002009-12-07T17:25:52.258-05:00TNH Writers, By the NumbersHere are the latest figures for staff and contributing writers for the first semester, as of Dec. 8, 2009 (one issue remaining)..<br /><br />Staff Writers:<br /><ol><li>Amanda Beland: 25</li><li>Brandon Lawrence: 24</li><li>Kerry Feltner: 22<br /></li><li>Thomas Gounley: 19</li><li>Danielle Curtis and Chad Graff: Tied at 18</li><li>Alexis Macarchuk: 17<br /></li><li>Mallory Baker: 16</li><li>Brittney Murray: 15</li><li>Michaela Christensen: 14<br /></li><li>Amanda Flitter: 13</li><li>Geoffrey Cunningham: 12</li><li>Samer Kalaf: 11<br /></li><li>Dustin Luca: 10</li></ol>Contributing Writers:<br /><ol><li>Ellen Stuart: 9</li><li>Alexandra Churchill: 8</li><li>Chris McCandlish: 8</li><li>Krista Macomber: 8<br /></li><li>Jake Nevrla: 7</li><li>Justine Elliott: 6</li><li>Kurt Zielinski: 6</li><li>Erin Cavanaugh: 5</li><li>Ryan Hartley: 5</li><li>Kyle LaFleur: 5</li></ol><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Through 25 issues (one remaining in the semester):</span></span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Total Number of Contributors: 74</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Total Number of Stories Written : 416</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Average Number of Stories per issue: 16.64<br /></span></li></ul>Those are incredible numbers and I'm extremely happy with the amount and variety of content we've produced this year. However, we have a few staff members leaving to go abroad or complete internships, so we'd love to see more contributors step up to the challenge. If you'd like to apply for a position, come to MUB 156 or send an email to tnh.editor@unh.edu.Camhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18129426600466861212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-2679053656623875932009-11-06T08:58:00.004-05:002009-11-06T09:23:22.420-05:00Back, excited, and raring for some changesGot back at 2 a.m. Monday morning, after four hours of flying (from Austin to Houston to Boston) and getting lost in construction in downtown Boston. We made it!<br /><br />Austin was amazing. Incredible. Halloween was like Mardi Gras, with the streets crowded in costumed Austinites of all ages. We saw Lance's bike shop, had amazing Tex Mex, authentic BBQ, and a southern brunch that was to die for. We saw the University of Texas (and stared in awe at the football stadium - their shrine to the sport), the state capitol, and the bridge where bats fly out in swarms at dusk.<br /><br />Austin's weird. It's cool, artsy, western, and funky. People there said it was its own little world, apart from Texas.<br /><br />But on to the important stuff - THE CONVENTION.<br /><br />We attended our first session, groggy eyed from our 3:45 a.m. wakeup call. Chicken Salad II: where the speaker spoke the lingo of college kids, a guy from Florida Atalantic University. He stressed leaving clip art behind, shorter, catchier headlines, and putting FACES on the front page. Because we're doing this for the students and members of the community, right? Well, we gotta put them on the front page.<br /><br />Steve Outing, one of the keynote speakers, addressed the future of journalism. He had worked for big name papers but decided to branch out into the unknown Internet territory in the late 90s, later teaching at the Poynter Institute and UC Boulder.<br /><br />He stressed niche journalism, entrepeneurship, learning the lingo of computer scientists and business people, freelancing, and community journalism websites, like San Diego's Voice of San Diego.<br /><br />Other sessions stressed making the newspaper's website a hub of the community. That collaboration with other media outlets was necessary to keep the news alive. Rather than telling a long "story" now, journalists should see themselves as part of the greater community, informing citizens with "streams" and making their research and information readily available. Linking online, more visuals, info boxes, making information on the site a necessity for the local community.<br /><br />Most of the other sessions dealt with design, headlines, leads, and story ideas for college newspapers. Another dealt with interviews (something never formally taught in UNH classes - things the journalist just picks up on their own here, for better or worse), "Battling the Tranquility Syndrome" on campus and covering news school officials may see as "bad," and covering political issues in the town and surrounding community.<br /><br />Need more info? One of our writers summarizes the convention perfectly in one of his latest blog posts:<br /><h2><a href="http://va2nh.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/tnh-does-austin-thoughts-on-ncmc09/"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to TNH does Austin: Thoughts on NCMC09">TNH does Austin: Thoughts on NCMC09</a></span></h2><br />We returned brimming with new ideas and have tried to incorporate them into today's issue - note the faces of the nontraditional students and new emphasis on profiles. Hopefully we'll become better at catering to our specific audience and get the community more involved on our website, be it through the "bulletin board" widget college publisher talked about, or something else.<br /><br />It's all about finding the time and manpower to make those links possible. Hopefully by amping up the writer's presence in the newsroom, we won't find ourselves so limited.<br /><br />Here's to the future: no matter what, there is hope. People are gonna need their information, in some form or another.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-45134352396215275322009-10-27T20:40:00.003-04:002009-10-27T20:52:51.433-04:00National College Media Convention: Austin, Tx.Seems like a crazy week for everyone: midterms, pounding out another week of issues for TNH, finding the perfect Halloween costume, and possibly preparing for the NYC marathon (shout out to Cam).<br /><br />On Thursday, five TNH staffers are adding a trip to Austin, Texas to the list. While the details will be more precisely mapped out tomorrow, we're leaving lovely Durham at 3:45 a.m. - perfect time to bond, if I do say so myself.<br /><br />Hopefully we'll come back with some innovative ideas like the crew did last year when they went to San Diego. It better be worth it, since the regulars will be busting out a normal production night without some key staff members (shout out to Chris, who lays out most of the pages. She'll be with us in Austin, oh yeah...)<br /><br />If anything, there are opportunities to drop of resumes and cover letters while we're there. For a senior like me, pretty valuable stuff.<br /><br />If you care, join us for a writer's meeting tomorrow at 8 p.m. as we anticipate our quickly arriving departure time. We'll be packing for 70 degree weather, fun stuff.<br /><br />All to serve you, the readers of the website (including this blog), and possibly the paper. And hopefully advance our careers. Thanks for listening - until next time,<br /><br />Keeley<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-2176568920701185612009-10-16T12:15:00.004-04:002009-10-16T12:31:17.853-04:00The newsroom's colder, but the editing's warming up...As our building starts to freeze with the onset of fall and winter weather, the editing is just warming up. Well, we have to make up for the weather somehow.<br /><br />I have to agree with Exec Editor Cam Kittle - the beat system, in my mind, has been quite a success. (Knock on wood - we've still got all year...) But writers who were afraid they'd run out of ideas for stories now find themselves somewhat overwhelmed with the amount of events and feature ideas coming their way.<br /><br />In the case of the power outages earlier this year, having our Crime/Cops beat writer (Alexis Macarchuk) on it right away simplified things and enhanced our coverage. In the past, we would've sent out mass texts and struggled to find a writer who could be in the right place at the right time.<br /><br />The website's awesome. Thanks to John for getting the ball rolling last year, and Cam for initiating everything - from the training sessions to waiting for everything to upload, often until 5 a.m. most nights. Definitely a better reflection of the content, when it looks classier, more streamlined and professional.<br /><br />Ok, am I gushing too much? Well, from a content editor's perspective, things seem nice. An influx of writers and ideas is never a bad thing. Though we could use some editing help, which we're working on.<br /><br />With a slightly smaller staff, everyone's a bit more diligent in the newsroom. While Sporcle marathons used to keep everyone in the newsroom till 2 or 3 a.m. last year, it's actual page layout and online posting that does it this year.<br /><br />And last night - we had our largest amount of original content of the year. When the stories we receive from students double, long nights follow. Thank God I scheduled no classes on Fridays.<br /><br />So that's where we are. A trip to Austin, Texas over Halloween weekend (National Media Conference) should get the five of us going even more excited. Yes, we're missing Halloween at UNH for newspaper stuff - and it's gonna be great. Look how dedicated we are! (I'm actually very excited).<br /><br />I'll stop blabbering on and thank everyone who continues to visit the website and read the paper. Hopefully we are serving our purpose: keeping students, faculty, staff, the community, and alumni informed.<br /><br />Until next time,<br /><br />Keeley<br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-80569944290392627462009-10-14T23:47:00.003-04:002009-10-15T00:02:18.479-04:00It's been way, way too long...Eesh. No posts since Aug. 21? That's pretty awful, considering that I wanted to make this blog a weekly-updated place for readers to go and find out how production nights work and how staffers are feeling as the semester rolls on. Yet here we are halfway through the semester without a single post since summer. Ouch.<br /><br />Well, I'm here to rectify that situation and let you know how the paper's going so far this year, especially with all the new changes.<br /><br />First off, the beat system. It's been a thrilling success, in my mind. We have 11 writers on staff currently (without counting the four or five sports writers we also have) and that's a huge step up from the measly four we had at the end of last year. I don't know how many there were throughout the majority of the year, but I don't think it was close to 11. We've been lucky to have a lot of committed people writing for us this semester. And, with an average of about 12-15 contributing writers showing up to every writer's meeting, we've been able to minimize the amount of AP content to almost none.<br /><br />I think the new Index page has been great, and the new page three with pictures of the week, sudoku puzzles and comics has made the paper a bit more fun for students. I like featuring student photos too; we've been lucky enough to see photographers offer to help with a variety of events and stories. It's great.<br /><br />The business section has been good; the only complaint we've had is that "Corporate" sends a negative message and shouldn't be the title of the section, but I kinda like it. It's different. We've had some good stories show up there, and it allows for readers to expect something new every Tuesday and Friday. It switches up the paper a bit, keeps it on an even keel.<br /><br />Honestly, I'm very proud of the product we've put out so far this year. No regrets at all. We had a bit of a crazy week when all the newspapers were stolen by three soon-to-be punished individuals, but even that was a great thing. It gave us a ton of coverage and I think a few more people around New England might even know we have a newspaper now. Cool.<br /><br />Alright, I've got nothing else for you. I'll try and get my staff to update this dusty old blog more often. Now, I'm off to watch a thrilling new episode of South Park (I <span style="font-style: italic;">am</span> a college student after all...)<br /><br />Cameron KittleCamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18129426600466861212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-36512090323899670852009-08-21T11:10:00.000-04:002009-08-21T11:49:48.914-04:00Big Year on the HorizonIf you're one of the 0 to 10 readers who check this blog daily, you're going to be a whole week or so ahead of the game. I wanted to get out all my ideas somewhere, just to see where I stand with a week left of summer, but all of you MUB 156 readers will reap the benefits.<br /><br />TNH is back in seven days, and it's got a whole new attitude coming with it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Design changes</span>: I've finalized my front, index, left and right inside pages, and sports front templates (pending feedback from my editorial squad) and I'm happy with them. I've still got to tweak the opinion and forum pages a bit, then work on creating a whole new page that will replace the World/Nation alternating section that I feel is important but hardly ever read or looked at, but a new design is on the way. That's all you get to find out right now. It's the temptation and anticipation I want you to feel right off the bat that will keep you reading this post, I hope.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Web changes</span>: The brand-spankin' new TNHonline.com will launch a few days after our staff training session on Aug. 31 with an expert from College Publisher. It looks great and really bumps up our credibility on the web. <a href="http://admin2.collegepublisher.com/se/the-new-hampshire">Here's the link to the test site</a>, if you're understandably impatient.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Multimedia changes</span>: We're doing more video this year. Lots of it. I hope by about the middle of the first semester we'll have something new in the TNH Video player every week, be it a profile, student on the spot, news story, or slideshow. I've already got the interview booked for our first-ever student spotlight profile video with RJ Toman, the quarterback of the Wildcats' football team. The intrigue? He's a California dreamer on one of the best FCS teams in the country and in high school he backed up Mark Sanchez, the New York Jets' new golden boy. He's a good first subject, but the real test is to see how we put together our own studio to really make the video ours.<br /><br />Worried about it not looking professional? Hush now. My dad owns the local printing franchise in my hometown, Minuteman Press, and he's offered to print a couple huge banners for us with some TNH designs tiled across it that can serve as our backdrop for the videos. Boom. I'm already thinking ESPN's Sunday Conversation but with students.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Office changes</span>: We're still in MUB 156 (how could we <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> be?) but I'm hoping to make ourselves a bit more noticeable to the basement MUB passerby. Another new banner (Thanks Pops) that can hang above the door or even a clear adhesive with our design that we can stick <span style="font-style: italic;">on</span> the door are a couple of possibilities that will soon show up around the entrance to MUB 156.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reporting changes</span>: The beat system. Ever heard of it? It's what real reporters use and it's what TNH is implementing next year. It creates a balance of stories, a mixture of stories and way more content. I wrote five, count 'em five, stories on trash bags this summer while I covered the towns of Manchester and Essex for the Gloucester Daily Times. Were they boring as hell? Yes. But they are much more appealing than another AP story you can find with a quick search on Google News. Local news sells, regardless of how mind-numbing. And though our paper's free to pick up and toss away, readership is important too and that will increase with more stories about UNH and less about nationwide crises.<br /><br />The beat system will also get our journalists ready for the real world. Any journalism major can write a story that's assigned to them. But can they go out and make the calls to <span style="font-style: italic;">come up</span> with a story of their own without an editor's help? That's a real test of journalism skills. I know my staff is up to the task. We'll still have weekly assignment meetings for our contributing writers because we still need them and we still appreciate the work they do, but the beat system will create a real distinction between staff and contributing writers that was only seen previously with assigning the so-called "better stories" to staffers and the rest to contributors.<br /><br />Oh, and without getting into too much detail, every staff writer will be required to have their own Twitter account and update it with links to their stories and quick pithy comments about their writing process or anything else they can think of. I want to reach out and have our readers have a way to connect or "Follow" specific writers. It's not competition between our writers, it's communication with our readers. If it doesn't work out, that's fine, but I want to try it and see how it goes to start the year.<br /><br />That's all I got swirling around in the ol' noodle right now, but hopefully this can bring some additional excitement to the start of the year. I'm psyched and ready to go. Are you?<br /><br />Enjoy the final summer days,<br /><br />CamCamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18129426600466861212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-5439635139909452692009-07-25T11:24:00.002-04:002009-07-25T11:40:02.260-04:00Checking in mid-summerWell, our former executive editor threatened a guest post if we didn't update our blog, so I thought I'd take the initiative and give any TNH readers a little summer update.<br /><br />Many of us are hard at work with internships and summer jobs - as are many other UNH students.<br /><br />I've been in my home state of Washington, workin the 9 to 5 at Bremerton's Kitsap Sun - a local paper for those towns on the Olympic Peninsula (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Peninsula">where is this, you ask?</a> Hint: same relative area the Twilight vampires call home) - which is across the water from Seattle.<br /><br />Writing for a "real" publication (what? TNH is real, c'mon!!) has given all of us editors plenty of ideas to implement next year. Cam did outline a beat system, and now that we've seen one at work, we can't wait to get started.<br /><br />I like the efficiency of a defined story-assigning system - hopefully this process will be organized next year, so we can set clear deadlines and be on the same page as our writers.<br /><br />God, and multimedia stuff? Watch out. We've got Meg Power. And different techniques to try out. This <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> the wave of the future, so we've gotta make the most of the video medium.<br /><br />Also, we will continue to try to really get to the core of UNH student life. The more involved we are, the more we work with students and hear your ideas, the better paper we will be. We're meant to serve <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span>, the readers - whether you're a prospective student, current wildcat (oh, yeah, I used the cheesy mascot phrase), or alumnus.<br /><br />See, these editors at the papers we're working for send us out into the unknown - and we end up connecting with individuals and hearing stories that help us understand the area so much more. Sure, we're optimistic youngsters who view the current state of journalism as merely "evolving," but any journalist will tell you that the rewards of sharing a story with the world are infinite. We can't wait to apply our worldy knowledge at TNH. With our experiences this summer, this next year is sure to be kickin. (Don't hate, I couldn't help using that word.) <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>You can count on it.<br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-64660152918694790902009-05-16T10:13:00.005-04:002009-05-16T14:40:20.457-04:00The end of an era...Today, former executive editor John Wayne Ferguson (aka The Duke) will be flying to St. Petersburg, Florida as a Poynter Institute college fellow. He'll be learning the ropes of journalism in a two week "journalism boot camp" along with other top college journalists in the country, making us proud, of course.<br /><br />This week, along with the others at the end of the school year, marks the end of an era. John made tons of changes to the paper, as he recorded here on Mub 156, integrating our paper with the community more than ever. And more than John - saying goodbye to Joe, Kyle, and Jake will be sad. I'm still having a tough time imagining sports without Joe's fiery rants and spontaneous high-fives.<br /><br />As a news editor this year, it was interesting seeing the transformation John's passion for the paper had on us all. I think there was quite a bit of a "piggyback effect" - at least, I know that when I came back from break, many of us wanted to make a difference in the way the paper ran. When the group that went to San Diego came back, they had a vision of what our paper could be, and plenty of ideas to implement.<br /><br />I have to admit, I was a bit taken aback by the increase in responsibility that came with being content editor. I'm glad I got to give the position a test drive this spring, so I know what to expect in the fall. Seriously, though - when you get at least 50 emails a day, it does get difficult to keep up. And I'm already looking for story ideas for next year - email me at tnh.news@unh.edu if you have any!<br /><br />As we all leave for the summer or go off into the world in search of our next calling, I have to give a shout out of love to the organization we call The New Hampshire. It really is the people that make it all worthwhile. The late nights don't seem so bad when you have a good time with the others around you. I've never seen anybody else get so worked up over body text (yep, Meredith - I didn't forget), front page layout design (Nate has offered to give certain stunning front pages a date, if you can believe that), hockey (complete with beard-betting contests), and random photo/multimedia shots of the newsroom (Meg and John - you never know when they'll be watching!). And shout out to Tori Lewis, because, as Meg says, she's probably the only one who's not a nerd and chooses to work with us in the newsroom.<br /><br />Ah, a special group, indeed. Can't wait to see what next year brings, with new Executive Editor Cam Kittle at the helm. Until then, we have a fabulous summer to enjoy.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Keeley Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15099707063353207882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7325922814549160556.post-79512612191571718052009-05-11T16:12:00.004-04:002009-05-13T17:25:06.752-04:00TNH by the numbers: Part 2Now that we've got the numbers done in the big picture sense, it's time to recognize the writers who have done the most work for TNH since September 2008.<div><br /></div><div>First a caveat, TNH does not believe that quantity necessarily means quality. However, we were blessed this year to have both <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">dedicated</span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">talented</span> young journalists contribute to the paper throughout the year and they should all be commended for their hard work. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">MOST BYLINES (FIRST SEMESTER)</span></div><div>1. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cameron Kittle<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>29<br /></div><div>2. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joe O'Connell<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>28<br /></div><div>3. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Biz Jacobs<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>23</div><div> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Meg Power<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>23</div><div>5. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shawn Cyr<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>17<br /></div><div>6. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jake O'Donnell<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>16<br /></div><div>7. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michaela Christensen<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>14<br /></div><div>8. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Laura Hedges<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>13<br /></div><div>9. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Alex Cornetta<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thomas Gounley<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">MOST BYLINES (SECOND SEMESTER)</span></div><div>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thomas Gounley<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>21</div><div>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Biz Jacobs<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joe O'Connell<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20<br /></div><div>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brittney Murray<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>19</div><div>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cameron Kittle<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>17</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brandon Lawrence<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>17<br /></div><div>7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michaela Christensen<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>15</div><div>8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shawn Cyr<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>13</div><div>9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Meg Power<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12</div><div>10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Terri Ogan<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>11</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kerry Feltner<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>11<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">MOST BYLINES (YEAR)</span></div><div>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Joe O'Connell<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>48</div><div>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cameron Kittle<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>46</div><div>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Biz Jacobs<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>43</div><div>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Meg Power<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>35</div><div>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thomas Gounley<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>33</div><div>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shawn Cyr<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>30</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brittney Murray<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>30<br /></div><div>8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michaela Christensen<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>29</div><div>9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brandon Lawrence<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>21</div><div>10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Laura Hedges<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>18</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nate Batchelder<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>18</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">MOST BYLINES (W/O SPORTS)</span></div><div>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thomas Gounley<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>33</div><div>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brittney Murray<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>30</div><div>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michaela Christensen<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>29</div><div>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Laura Hedges<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>18</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nate Batchelder<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>18<br /></div><div>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kerry Feltner<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>16</div><div>7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John Wayne Ferguson<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>15</div><div>8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tori Lewis<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>14</div><div>9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dustin Luca<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>13</div><div>10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Keeley Smith<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>12</div><div><br /></div><div>Two notes on these final counts. </div><div><br /></div><div>First, when they were hired, staff writers were told they only had to write one article a week. Editors were not required to write anything.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, our sports staff is prolific and possibly did more work than the numbers indicate. But the reason that we discount them from the last byline count is because they got many bylines by virtue of writing a game story. Call it an asterisk, if you will. </div><div><br /></div><div>Good job everybody and thanks for all the hard work.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0