Journalism 9: Magazine Production

Warrior Life
Spring 2010
Class blog: http://eccwarriorlife.wordpress.com/

Instructor/Adviser: Kate McLaughlin

Office: H-113A Editor-in-chief: Haipha Simon
Phone: 310-532-3670 ext. 6090 office EIC e-mail: misshai@rocketmail.com
310-409-9910 cell Texts: The Magazine from Cover to Cover
E-mail: kmclaughlin@elcamino.edu by Johnson and Prijatel (optional)
Office Hours: T/TH 10 to11:30 a.m. The Associated Press Stylebook 2009
Class Meetings: F 10:30 to 11:30 - H-112 (required)
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Welcome to Warrior Life!

Welcome to Warrior Life! Participants in this class are staff members of El Camino’s student
magazine. As such, you become part of EC’s long history of award-winning student
journalism. This is your chance to be creative, work autonomously, add an important clip to
your resume and learn the ins and outs of producing a magazine from start to finish. You’re
encouraged to involve yourself fully in the production of the magazine. If you are interested
in design, get involved with the layout. If you are interested in advertising, talk to the ad
manager. If you want to be involved in any aspect of the production of the magazine
outside of your role as reporter, talk to Haipha Simon, WL’s editor-in-chief, to learn what
she’s doing and how you can help. Now is the time to learn everything you can about
magazines and the production process.

The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to manage your time well and avoid procrastination.
Banging out a news story on deadline is a vital skill, but magazine features must be
developed over time through several revisions. Give yourself the time and opportunity to
do well.

CLASS MEETINGS: No matter what your schedule, you are expected to be in class. If you
are not in class for any reason, including interviews, you will be counted absent. If you come in late,
you will be counted late, and that will count toward your absences. If you miss class, it is your
responsibility to find out what you missed and to make up that work. The absence policy for this
class allows you to miss 3 classes. Use them wisely. For every class you miss after that, you lose 5
points off your final grade. It’s not about the validity of your absence; it’s about logging the
necessary hours to learn the material.

STORY ASSIGNMENTS: Assignments will be made early in the semester. Once you’ve
received your assignment, you must make steady progress. The periodic deadlines that you need to
meet are listed below. You’re journalists. You must make the deadlines. Period. Magazines are a
tremendous team effort. Don’t let your teammates down. Plan ahead and know ahead of time what is
coming. Late work earns half credit. Check your boxes in the newsroom and the Warrior Life blog
regularly for WL info. If you find that you are having a hard time getting started, facing
insurmountable procrastination or writer’s block problems, let me or Haipha know! No matter the
issue, we can help you get rolling again.

TEXT: You should purchase both texts listed above. However, only the AP Stylebook is a
requirement. The prerequisite for this class is Journalism 1, where you would have learned about
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writing news, features and profiles. Therefore, a certain amount of prior knowledge is assumed. If for
whatever reason you do not possess this prior knowledge, buy the J1 textbook! Or make an
appointment with me for extra help. Also, you need to read feature stories in daily newspapers and
magazines. You should start reading longer magazine pieces and noticing how their style and focus
differ from that of newspapers. The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Magazine and Rolling
Stone are good places to concentrate your reading.

SUPPLIES: You will be given notebooks for interviewing. It will help if you have a
digital or tape recorder. If you have an iPod, you can get a cheap add on (I think it’s $10)
that will turn your player into a recorder. If you don’t have one you can borrow one from the
journalism department. See me for checkout procedures BEFORE you need the recorder.

GRADES: Grades will be calculated as follows:

Five homework assignments worth 20 points each (100 total)
Five story assignments worth 20 points each (100 total)
Attendance and class participation 100 points (100 total)
There are 300 total points available in this class. The breakdown follows:

300 – 270 = A
269 – 240 = B
239 – 210 = C
209 – 180 = D
179 or fewer = F

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES/ (this is subject to change):

Week 1 - Friday, Feb. 19:
Introduction to Warrior Life, the editor-in-chief, and each other. Feature story
ideas assignment given. Class Q&A. Pass around sign-up sheet for staff roster.
Week 2 - Friday, Feb. 26:
Feature story ideas are due today but there is no formal class meeting. However,
you must e-mail your completed assignment to me AND to Haipha by noon.
Week 3 - Friday, March 5:
Warrior Life story assignments given out. Staff roster given out. Discussion of
what to do next (Report! Focus on your angle!) Interview do’s and don’ts.
(Make sure you’re checking our blog regularly!) AP style assignment goes out.
Week 4 - Friday, March 12:
Discussion of story progress and art/photo ideas. Photo/art assignment goes out.
First drafts due next week. Be sure to e-mail them to Haipha AND bring a
hardcopy to class.
Week 5 - Friday, March 19:
First draft of story due. E-mail your story to Haipha before class AND bring a
hardcopy to class. Photo/art assignment due. Discussion of art assignments.
Discussion and completion of photo assignment sheets. Editors assign photos to
photographers.
Week 6 - Friday, March 26:
Make sure you know who is photographing your story and follow up with him
or her. You should receive editing notes back on your first draft. Story draft No.
2 assignment given out.
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Week 7 – Friday, April 2:
Second draft of your story is due. Be sure to e-mail a copy to Haipha before
class AND bring a hardcopy to class. Brooke will edit story drafts and get them
back to you via e-mail by next week. Discussion of story and photo progress to
date. Make sure you’re connecting with your photographer. It is your
responsibility to make sure photos are taken for your story.
Week 8 – Friday, April 9:
JACC No formal class meeting. Third round of rewrites assignment goes out.
WL photo progress discussion. No rest for the weary. Give your story one more
pass and e-mail it to Haipha on or before Friday, April 16. Photos and final
stories are due the week we get back!

April 16: Spring Break (E-mail the final version of your story to Haipha on
or before April 16.)

Week 9 – Friday, April 23:

Everything has to be in today. Final stories, photos, captions are due. Bring a
printed copy of your story to class. Final, last-chance photo fixes/fact checks.
Any final-final comments to stories made this week. Check your e-mail/cell
phone. You may be called on during the week to clarify info, confirm a fact,
talk about your story, etc. Stay in touch with Haipha this week. Warrior Life
design and layout process gets cooking this week. Completed page layouts due
next week!
Week 10 – Friday, April 30:
Final-final versions of WL pages done today by 10:30 a.m. Warrior Life will
be sent to the printer before midnight May 13. Staffers should coordinate with
Haipha to look at their story pages for any corrections or clarifications on or
before May 10.
Week 11 – Friday, Meay 7: EIC editing completed pages. Magazine going to
printer next week! EIC status report. Roundtable discussion of experience. Post-
production assignment goes out.
Week 12 – Friday, May 14: Magazine at printer! Post-production assignment
due.
Week 13 – Friday, May 21: Possible guest speaker. WL Post-mortem. Final
assignment handed out.
Week 14 – Friday, May 28: No formal Class Meeting. Enjoy the holiday! WL
delivered June 1.
Week 15 – Friday, June 4: Final assignment due. WL in-hand! Review the
finished product as a group.
Week 16 – Friday, June 11: Individual conferences in my office.

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