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Topic: starting a new school press
| Author | Message |
| JoyceinMontreal | Posted – 12/15/2005 4:24:22 PM | show profile This is going to sound awfully amateurish, but here it goes anyways: I'm a sophomore right now, and I'm not quite satisified with the choice of student publications at my university. One is too conservative/boring, and the other is too socialist/radical. I tried working for the leftist one as an illustrator, but found it frustrating. I really want to start a new school publication that is more creative, artistic and fun. However, I seem quite alone in my plans right now (both my roommates too comfortable in their editorial positions at the other school publications to hop over), and money is obviously an issue (bake sales anyone?). The question is: Does anyone here have some sort of general advice or tips on starting up (e.g. getting sponsors/advertisers, things to watch out for)? |
| tracita | Posted – 12/15/2005 9:44:06 PM | show profile | email poster A recent grad, I helped to start up an alternative student publication at my university, an online magazine. It was quite a challenge, but once we found our niche, advertised our butts off, and proved ourselves to be credible, we built up quite a following. I'd be happy to talk to you more offboard about any specifics, but here are some things I would suggest to get you started: -Consider starting online. It's cheap and attractive to college students, plus it gives you a chance to play around with space, interactive features and immediate feedback regarding readership. -Don't try to do everything yourself. My co-editor and I had tons of ideas for editorial, but were clueless when it came to the business side. So, we contacted internship coordinators in advertising and PR to help find qualified students to volunteer their skills in these areas. -Do a call out to any school you think would have people interested in writing. A lot of program coordinators will send out an e-mail to their lists with your invitation, especially Journalism and English schools. It's a great way to guage interest and recruit an editorial board interested in your same goals. -Take advantage of your school's resources. We became an official student group because it allowed us free meeting space, fundraising opportunities through the athletic offices and the chance to petition student hall governments for funds. At first I thought it would compromise our independence, but it opened up tons of avenues that would have otherwise been logistic nightmares. -Have a quality product before you look for sponsors. It's kind of a Catch 22-- you don't have money to start up, but no one will really back you until you've proven you can do it, atleast in my experience. My editorial board had to shell out a lot of the start up costs, but it guaranteed we were all passionate about the cause. Once we built up the credibility and readership, sponsors and advertisers started approaching us. These are just some of the things that popped to mind, but I'd be happy to advise on any specifics. It's hard work, but extremely rewarding and educational. Go for it! And, good luck! |
| JoyceinMontreal | Posted – 12/15/2005 10:22:25 PM | show profile Wow thank you so much! To be frank, I was totally lost as to where to begin (never could've thought of the idea of having a website first), so to hear your advice is really fantastic. Is it possible that you give a link to your website? I really want to see how it's like. |
| tracita | Posted – 12/15/2005 10:35:15 PM | show profile No problem. It's www.thebiggreen.net. After I left, it changed into a monthly, but all of the elements are the same. The biggest challenge is to find someone to deliver the technical elements (i.e. the backend, where the magic happens), but networking within the computer science or telecommunications departments might help. |
| pob | Posted – 12/16/2005 2:25:41 AM | show profile Also talk to the nonprofit Student Press Law Center. They will give you all kinds of information on what the school can and can't do. They were invaluable to us at our college newspaper. Every timethe university threatened to shut us down or sanction us, we talked to them and were able to react in an informed and purposeful manner to the school's actions. It's funny how universities feel threatened by papers that try to act outside the status quo, so I thought it would be best that you be told ahead of time that the SPLC can be a great resource. |
| JoyceinMontreal | Posted – 12/16/2005 3:22:43 PM | show profile thanks! i'll check that out definitely. |
| website? | Posted – 12/27/2005 12:34:01 AM | show profile Hey Joyce, I started a bimonthly magazine at my university (I'm a senior now). It was hard, and I made TONS of mistakes, but overall it's the best experience. If you want to go into any kind of publishing business, it's the best bootcamp there is. There's a lot to think about: 1. Figure out a very distinct message/voice, and figure out why it's important/relevant to your student body. In the beginning I tried putting out something I thought was necessary, but it didn't catch on because it's not what the overall student population was looking for. So do some market research, send out surveys, or at the very least, talk to a LOT of different people. 2. Get a solid team around you. I'm a control freak, but believe me, it will all go to crap if you don't have other people there to take on quite a bit of responsibility. As a founder, you'll be spearheading everything---content, design, advertising, printing negotiations, etc, etc. You need people who will head up each area and take their duties and run with them (hopefully with enthusiasm). Your main team of managers need to share your dream and vision, and have ownership in that vision as well. 3. If you're going for a print publication, do research on what kind of printers are in your area and what they offer. We use a printer that's 2.5 hours away that my college uses to print a lot of their brochures, calendars, and such. Your school's PR office can really help you get in touch with teh right people. 4. The previous posting's idea to send a mass email to Journalism and English students is right on. We did that, and the departments were more than willing to help. It might be good to send it out to your business school as well to get some solid people for the advertising/distribution side. 5. As far as funding goes, that's really tricky. We're still battling that. Our school has a student activities fund that gives us money (the fund is appropriated by a student governing committee). if you have anything like that available to you, I suggest you really sell yourself to them. Make a mock publication, all the bells in whistles, to make them believe in you and want to invest in you. Same for the advertisers. That will really help. I hope these suggestions help some...there's so much more to consider...but just know that it's not impossible! And if you take it on, then you will learn so, so much. It's a memorable experience. Good luck! |
| dazzlethem | Posted – 12/27/2005 12:54:01 AM | show profile Joyce -- All of this is great advice. As the former editor-in-chief of my campus newspaper, I want to especially echo tracita's advice about becoming an official student group. It can often boost your funding (or be your only funding) and unless you go to a superconservative university, it probably won't end up compromising your creative vision. (I go to a Catholic one and we have never been censored, although we're hardly chaste.) Anyway, besides the obvious $$$ advantages, it also helps to have campus administration on your side in cases of unforseen problems: fried computers, disgruntled readers, etc., etc. I really admire you for doing this and wish you the best of luck! |
