A Day in the Life of an Article

Ever wonder how the article on the front page of The Cavalier Daily got there? How the recap of the basketball game that ended at 11 p.m. the night before is waiting for you in print before your early morning class?
Each article goes through a number of editing steps in order to ensure it's fit to print. First, a writer is assigned a story idea. A writer may be investigating a faculty grant, a new music album, a student group or a sports event, among other subjects. After completing the necessary interviews and writing the article, the writer works through the article with his or her section editor. At this stage, editors help writers make sure their articles have transitions, an interesting introduction, balanced viewpoints and a solid closing paragraph.

The article is then sent to the copy editors, who check each fact in the article from Sylven Landesburg's latest scoring total to the names of student sources. The copy-editors also work to make Cavalier Daily style consistent throughout the article. Once they have completed their job, the article is sent to the assistant managing editor.

The AME reads each article and focuses on its overall structure and flow while also considering transitions and whether the article provides all the information necessary for readers.
Almost ready for print, the article is then sent along to the managing editor who reads every article in each issue except for opinion columns. The managing editor considers all the different components each editing step has worked on throughout the day and makes any final edits to the article.
Finally, the editor-in-chief reads the article for libel concerns and the production team lays out the article on the page with photos and graphics. The page is then sent to the printer and the next issue of The Cavalier Daily is delivered hot off the press, waiting for you on your way to class. Enjoy!

Website woes

In today's rapidly changing media landscape, a functional Web site capable of delivering relevant information to readers is nearly as vital to a newspaper as the newsprint stories and editorials are printed on. That's why The Cavalier Daily transitioned to a new Web site last fall, and that's why hundreds of other media organizations have invested thousands of dollars in the development and publication of so-called "new media." But what happens when a Web site designed to enhance readers' experiences and improve the generation of online content instead ends up creating a host of unforeseen complications? That's precisely what happened with the new CavalierDaily.com. Coding problems, server problems and several other unexpected setbacks have delayed various new media projects and caused difficulty for anyone trying to search through archival material normally available online. As those who attempted to visit our Web site during Winter Break might readily attest to, something needs to be fixed, and fixed soon.Good news, though, is on the horizon. The Cavalier Daily currently is working on solving its Web site dilemma and is actively thinking about bolstering its new media offerings. As we continue working to investigate and fix the technical malfunctions, we also are already planning to incorporate into our Web site additional blogs, photo slideshows, podcasts and -- potentially -- video footage. Moreover, if you have any requests or suggestions, we'd be glad to hear those ideas below. We cannot promise everything, but we can promise that we are working hard to make our Web site more functional and useful.

Changing of the Guard

As most University students know, the start of a new semester frequently brings an assortment of new challenges and unfamiliar faces. In the classroom, that often means getting acquainted with new syllabi and new professors. Post-Winter-Break in The Cavalier Daily offices, it means restarting our coverage of University and local issues and preparing for our annual staff elections.
As regular readers probably have noticed, The Cavalier Daily has gone back into production and has already printed a number of articles, covering topics ranging from Bob Barker's recent $1 million Law School donation, to the women's basketball team's success during Winter Break, to a recent Honor appeals case.
At the same time, many of those same writers and editors have been preparing for The Cavalier Daily's annual staff elections, held each January in Jefferson Hall. Staff members interested in attaining a new position at the paper have, in addition to their current duties, started "shadowing" various editors in the hope of moving up. Some election races are more contested than others, but one thing's for sure: When January 31 rolls around, and the current staff votes, the paper's new elected leaders will make every effort to continue putting out the University's only independent student paper to the best of their abilities – without losing the quality of journalism readers expect.