A Spirit that is Not Afraid
Wanted: Staff Writer or Copy Editor
Job Description: Working unconventional hours (do not expect 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), no cell reception in work area, sense of humor, love of Chik-fil-A, knowledge of AP Style, use of the infamous red pen, InDesign is a plus and must be an Auburn University student.
Distributed in the wee hours of Thursday mornings, students are anxious to pick up their copy from the stands around campus. But most students are unaware of how much work goes into this weekly paper. It's the long hours, mass amount of e-mails to section editors, phone tag with sources and even chasing down sources for a story that goes into making The Plainsman what it is each week.
The Auburn Plainsman is one of the largest weekly papers in the state of Alabama. It just so happens that it is a student run paper on campus for students, faculty, staff and the Auburn-Opelika community. Many might not realize that with it being student run, The Plainsman does not receive any funding from the University. All profits are from ad's and subscriptions.
Editor-in-Chief, Lindsey Davidson, has worked at The Plainsman for 2 1/2 years. She began as a volunteer and worked her way through the different sections of the paper, up to the top, where she is now. She is in charge of all the editorial side (writing and actual paper layout), work with the business side to make sure ad's are laid out correctly and in charge of the staff.
Davidson said the paper has 26 students on the editorial side, and nine students on the business side to make up the entire staff for The Plainsman.
"We have all different people from different majors, we don't just have journalism majors. We have people from COSAM, engineering majors, psychology majors, all throughout liberal arts; it's not limited to just journalism majors," Davidson said about volunteers and staff who work for the paper, "It's open to anyone to apply."
The Plainsman also greatly welcomes volunteers to help cover stories each week and to assist the staff in different sections that interests them. "The volunteers work in any of the sections, whether it be writing, photography, multimedia, or if they want to help out with copy, it doesn't matter," Davidson said.
Volunteers report to the meetings with the section editor on Wednesday's at 7 p.m. to be allocated a story or an assignment.
"My favorite part of being editor-in-chief is I get to step back and see what everyone else is creating," Davidson said. "It's not as much of a hands on position, and I can see what my staff can do and what they're willing to do and how hard they're willing to work."
Davidson said it is rewarding to see the paper come out on Thursday's and see all of the hard work and the final product completed. She said she is also excited about the new work the multimedia staff has done this year with The Plainsman Web site. Davidson said a lot of work has gone into making sure there are new stories added each day, along with slide shows, videos, music and other features.
The Plainsman office is in the Student Center 1111. Meetings are each Wednesday at 7 p.m., and are welcome to anyone who wants to contribute. The Web site is updated daily at www.theplainsman.com.
Job Description: Working unconventional hours (do not expect 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), no cell reception in work area, sense of humor, love of Chik-fil-A, knowledge of AP Style, use of the infamous red pen, InDesign is a plus and must be an Auburn University student.
Distributed in the wee hours of Thursday mornings, students are anxious to pick up their copy from the stands around campus. But most students are unaware of how much work goes into this weekly paper. It's the long hours, mass amount of e-mails to section editors, phone tag with sources and even chasing down sources for a story that goes into making The Plainsman what it is each week.
The Auburn Plainsman is one of the largest weekly papers in the state of Alabama. It just so happens that it is a student run paper on campus for students, faculty, staff and the Auburn-Opelika community. Many might not realize that with it being student run, The Plainsman does not receive any funding from the University. All profits are from ad's and subscriptions.
Editor-in-Chief, Lindsey Davidson, has worked at The Plainsman for 2 1/2 years. She began as a volunteer and worked her way through the different sections of the paper, up to the top, where she is now. She is in charge of all the editorial side (writing and actual paper layout), work with the business side to make sure ad's are laid out correctly and in charge of the staff.
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"We have all different people from different majors, we don't just have journalism majors. We have people from COSAM, engineering majors, psychology majors, all throughout liberal arts; it's not limited to just journalism majors," Davidson said about volunteers and staff who work for the paper, "It's open to anyone to apply."
The Plainsman also greatly welcomes volunteers to help cover stories each week and to assist the staff in different sections that interests them. "The volunteers work in any of the sections, whether it be writing, photography, multimedia, or if they want to help out with copy, it doesn't matter," Davidson said.
Volunteers report to the meetings with the section editor on Wednesday's at 7 p.m. to be allocated a story or an assignment.
"My favorite part of being editor-in-chief is I get to step back and see what everyone else is creating," Davidson said. "It's not as much of a hands on position, and I can see what my staff can do and what they're willing to do and how hard they're willing to work."
Davidson said it is rewarding to see the paper come out on Thursday's and see all of the hard work and the final product completed. She said she is also excited about the new work the multimedia staff has done this year with The Plainsman Web site. Davidson said a lot of work has gone into making sure there are new stories added each day, along with slide shows, videos, music and other features.
The Plainsman office is in the Student Center 1111. Meetings are each Wednesday at 7 p.m., and are welcome to anyone who wants to contribute. The Web site is updated daily at www.theplainsman.com.
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