Editorial Staff

March 24, 2014

The editorial staff, composed of those on the editorial board who do not hold an executive position, are responsible for management of several key areas within The Observer and reflect the four core pillars of a modern news publication. They are directly managed by the executive directors, as appropriate.

Advertising Manager, Business

  • Manages ad requests off of the Observer website
  • Supervises other ad sellers
  • Ensure ad team is on track to meet revenue goals
  • Work with the Web Editor to manage online advertising
  • Manage running list of advertising leads

Account Manager, Business

  • Adheres to Office of Student Employment Guidelines and registers all payable staff to be compensated by Case Western Reserve University (using The Observer’s revenue-generated funds)
  • Completes the payroll on a bi-weekly basis for hourly staff
  • Processes all reimbursements
  • Ensures all reporters and photographers are paid per each submission at the end of each month
  • Keeps the director of business operations up-to-date, maintains applicable sections of budget

 Copy Editors, Print

  • Read and copy edit every article using the Associated Press Style Guide and The Observer Stylebook on production night
  • Log improvement tips for specific writers and direct to applicable section editor and director of print
  • Develop new policies and additions to The Observer Stylebook to ensure content is maintained at the same level throughout the academic year

Designers, Design

  • One each for News, Arts and Entertainment, Opinion, and Sports
  • Additional position available to create both front page and infographics for use throughout paper
  • Design pages of their respective sections on production nights
  • Make corrections to page proofs
  • Determine art and graphic placement
  • Notify section editors of captions, headlines, summaries, and decks
  • Completes design assignments as requested by the director of design
  • Please indicate which are you are most interested in on letter of intent.

Photography Editor, Web and Multimedia

  • Works with editors, reporters, and photographers to bring photographic content to both the weekly print edition and observer.case.edu. Manages photography team.
  • On production night, selects and edits photos for publication in print and online.
Public Relations Coordinator, Business
  • Work with the Social Media Editor to coordinate social media campaigns
  • Coordinate Observer participation in campus events such as TSO
  • Work with Distributors to increase distribution
  • Be the Observer contact for other campus organizations

Section Editors, Print

  • Create beat assignments and coordinate story ideas for each week’s issue of The Observer
  • Directly supervise reporters and coordinate all required training
  • Recruit new reporters
  • Create ideas for exclusively online content
  • Assign stories to reporters, and write any important stories that weren’t assigned
  • Assist reporters to further develop writing skill and network connections
  • Enforce deadlines among reporters
  • Edit all stories in the section
  • Ensure that names/captions in section photos are accurate
  • Maintain communication with and encourage writers
  • Provide input to director of print regarding feature content and potential opportunities for further coverage

Social Media Editor, Web and Multimedia

  • Responsible for managing the cwruobserver Twitter account, giving access to those staff members who want or need it
  • Responsible for managing The Observer Facebook page
  • Monitors social media and brings positive and negative comments to the attention of the executive directors
  • Responds to social media comments and interacts with other entities on social media in order to foster engagement with audience
  • Investigates and executes ways to increase audience engagement through social media (e.g., contests, sound-offs, and article sharing)

Web Editor, Web and Multimedia

  • Acts as webmaster of observer.case.edu (a.k.a. thecwruobserver.com)
  • Uploads stories and photos to observer.case.edu by Thursday evening, timing their publication for Friday morning
  • Adds PDF of current print version on homepage widget
  • Moderates comments daily, ensuring that spam comments do not remain visible for more than 24 hours
  • Works with Student Newspaper Online to ensure there are no interruptions in service
  • Maintains cloud storage and digital sharing accounts