The Spotlight. (None) 1980-201?, October 01, 1980, Image 2

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Editors Present Plans for 1980-81 Year by Pamela Moore Editor*in-Chief Dear Friends of the Spelman Spotlight, This year marks the beginning of a new era for the Spelman Spotlight Like the rest of the Spelman College Com munity, the Spelman Spotlight has been undergoing a period of intensive exami nation in an effort to prepare for a new century of growth and improvement This period of examination has been necessitated, 1 think, by the emergence of black women, Spelman women in particular, into new fields of endeavors as we seek to broaden our horizons, ex pand in knowledge, and prepare for leadership roles in today’s society. Very little consideration has been given to develop the Spotlight into a quality publication capable of preparing students for a world of work in the print media. Even though in past years, we have been able to produce issues of fairly good quality on a regular basis, the Spot light had never been organized for effec tive and efficient management Policies were not clarified or either nonexistent, and very little emphasis was given to leadership development Within the school, proper mechanisms for guidance and support were lacking and students in general still have low expectations of what the Spelman Spotlight should as pire to be. The paper is viewed as “just another extra-curricular activity;” with little interest in its capability to be a real mechanism for personal development and career preparation as well as a voice for college and community concerns. Indeed, the whole concept of women journalists is a rather new concept not only at Spelman and the Atlanta Univer sity Center (AUC) but in society in general. Of the relatively small number of women in the media, one can bet that the percentage of black women is very smalL Thus, it is only natural that con sideration be given to producing quality women journalists as Spelman emerges from a history of preparing teachers, li brarians, singers, dancers, and actresses to a future that promises leaders in the fields of politics and business as welL In an effort to spearhead this process, 1 have instituted the following changes through my role as editor-in-chief of the Spotlight: 1) Spotlight Handbook. A handbook outlining policies and respon sibilities of staff members has been writ ten and is in the process of being printed This useful book will clarify roles and procedures and will help maintain sta bility after staff turn-over periods. 2) Election Procedures and Accountability. Two constitutional amendments have been sent to the SGA By Kiron Kanina Skinner Associate Editor Dear Spelman Sisters, It seems to me that this year, for some strange reason or another, there are so many things to do, and so little time to do them in. I’ve talked with many members of the class of 1981, the senior class, and they strongly concur. We have all those ap plications to pass, GPA’s to maintain, graduation to comtemplate and sanity to hold on to. But I’ve also talked to some members of the other classes, and they are working hard too. I would like to make special recognition to the freshman class. I was here during freshman week. They came and got immediately in volved in Spelman college. Although I feel I am working hard, and perhaps suffering from “senior anxiety”, I am very excited about The Spotlight this year. As associate editor I would like to tell you my goals for our paper this year. This year the position of Associate Editor has been, for the most part, redefined to meet the special needs of the Spotlight and the Spelman community. As usual, my job is one of execution. The editor-in-chief formulates policy, and I implement it. But aside from this function, the position of associate editor will include - personnel and staff development. It is my job, in light of the fact that we do not have a journalism department, to see that our staff is educated in all areas of journalism. To do this, each month I will host a workshop covering some areas-of journalism. For example, the workshop to be held in October will be on journalism in politics. Hopefully, we will have guest speakers from the city government and specialists in the area from major newspapers. I am working on a workshop program for the rest of the semester and year, and interested students are urged to participate. As far as other salient goals for this year, I hope to execute the goals of the editor-in-chief, sponsor a worshop per month, greet you with an editorial in each issue, establish an effective evaluation system for our staff, and further develop our staff in all areas of journalistic endeavors and finally, and most important of all, I plan to graduate in May of 1981 It seems like guite a voluminous amount to accomplish in the short span of the academic calendar. It is. But because the editor-in-chief and I want to present you with a quality paper, we are willing, and will, get the job done. Good luck to all Spelman students (especially the senior class) Kiron Kanina Skinner Associate Editor by me that will require student ap proval. One amendment outlines an election process that will more fully guarantee qualified and prepared per sons for the positions of editor-in-chief and associate editor. The other amend ment requests the establishment of a publications review board to enable stu dents to have a mechanism through' which to voice their concerns of news paper or yearbook related matters. 3) Staff Organization. In order to facilitate a more efficient process of news-gathering and in order to produce a paper on a more regular basis, new roles of specialization have been created and assigned In order to enable the editor-in-chief and associate editor to more effectively deal with matters of administration and development, the position of managing editor was created to oversee the newspaper production process. The positions of sports editor, arts editor, religion editor, etc. were elimi nated and their responsibilities have been taken over by our two feature editors. Reporters are ranked according to experence and are being assigned to beats in order to be effective. 4) Staff Development. Each month the associate editor will sponsor workshops or seminars designed to en hance staff exposure and capabilities. Efforts are being made to get a visiting journalist advisor who will also teach journalism courses. However, it may take a year for this process to be com pleted 5) Newspaper Quality and Attractiveness. Efforts are being made to sharpen our reporters skills in order for them to produce a greater variety and a higher quality of stories. The type of the paper has been changed to a different style and a larger point size to enhance the appearance of each page. In addition, we have increased the num ber of pictures per page. The masthead of this issue will be the masthead that will be used for the remainder of this year and hopefully years afterward for purposes of consistency. 6) Frequency of Issues. This year we hope to produce 12 issues of the Spotlight which is a small increase over the number produced in past years. This semester the paper should come out twice a month. Next semester, however, the paper will be coming out once a month for the most part due to vaca tions and exam periods. We at the Spotlight encourage your comments concerning this school’s paper. Our office is open from 9 am. to 6 p.m. daily. If you need to inquire about deadlines, ads, stories, etc. feel free to drop by. Voice of Black Wi Editor-in-Chief - Pamela D. Moore Associate Editor - Kiron K. Skinner Managing Editor - Michelle Dacus Asst Managing Editor - Rosalyn Cary News Editors - Bridgette Davis Vivian fannings Feature Editors: Lisha Brown LaRhonda Morris Photography Editor. Whitney Young Art Editor. Mary Barkley Advertising Manager Janice Tillerson Asst Advertising Manager Elaine Terry Business Manager. Betty Jackson Circulation Manager Lisa Vaughn Office Manager. Susan Hart Public Relations Manager. Sonja Washington Staff Artist. Mary Barkley The Spelman Spotlight is produced regularly by the Spotlight Staff, composed of students from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges. Primary control, however, is vested in Spelman students. All questions and concerns from the public concerning this paper should be directed to the Editor- in-Chief, Spelman Spotlight, Box 50, Spelman College, Atlan ta, Georgia 30314. The office phone number is 525-1743.