Though renowned for its hard news
approach, WINOL Features has triumphed over the past year, with individual
magazines being set up, as opposed to having a generalised Features section, to
accommodate the needs of a less specific target audience and improving the
navigation of the site as a whole. From News to Reviews, the start of the
semester sparked statistics that overtook the likes of Daily Echo #54,081 in GB Rank and HampshireChronicle #27,772, with WINOL standing
at a comfortable #15,260
[06.02.2013] , with the increase of #12,025
within the next couple of months.[27.03.2013][1].
"People come for the News and stay for the Features."
After I struggled last semester
during my brief stint as part of the News Team, I was assigned to the Features Team
as the Editor of WINOL Travel and Adventure, which, needless to say, was a
daunting task.
I knew I’d be somewhat better
suited to Features as over Christmas I had compiled various contributions to a
couple of the magazines, such as an interview with Fashion Designer Siv Stoldal
for Absolute:ly and a philosophical review on the Freud Museum for NewWinchesterReview (NWR). But to actually lead a magazine
meant I had to majorly improve on my organisational and timekeeping skills,
which I believe were my downfall last semester. My subconscious just kept
telling me; “How am I going to do this?
I can barely organise myself, let alone a
whole team.”
Regardless, I accepted the
challenge and believe I performed adequately within the role. Granted there
were things I could have improved, such as working more closely with the Web
Editor to enhance the navigation of the site. And I think the “Fly a Plane” (Flying Lessons) feature would
have made some superb content, on par to the “Go Ape” piece. My initial aim was to include a feature similar to
that every month. It does, however, involve a lot of careful planning, especially
since we’d get no funding, therefore, it never became my priority. I was
definitely keener to get some written pieces onto the site, updated weekly to
help maintain the readership, but as I discovered, this became a tad
unrealistic on top of all other responsibilities.
Within
a month, I was able to successfully organise the relaunch of the magazine,
complete with redesign and an updated template that now features tons of new
content. I also set up and managed the separate Twitter account @AdventureWINOL to help improve
circulation.
Having to attend features
meetings every week helped me to expand on my initial thoughts and ideas for
the magazine. With the first couple of weeks mainly consisting of getting the
magazine up and running (as it has little to no new content), we agreed that
the absolute deadline for relaunch would be 1st March, with new content being uploaded at the start
of every month.
In order for the site to work
effectively during redesign, I had to work closely with the Web Editor
throughout the term. I had been working on an ad for my written piece on the
portal and had already started tweeting about up and coming content, even
getting a mention from @Jack_Courtez from London’s “What’s Up What’s On” magazine.
In terms of promotion, I was
requested for an interview on Sound Radio (university radio station, which I
regret not recording) and was set the task of creating a short features package
that would be included in the weekly News Bulletin.
I was already a tad anxious about
commissioning people to write for the magazine as I am in no way a natural
leader. I learned my lesson and there was no way I was going to leave it until
the last minute to collect content. I was very keen to have it all completed
and transferred to a hardrive at least two weeks before the deadline.
We already had some great
features lined up, including a feature length package on “Go Ape”, a written piece on student “Gap Year Memories”, as well as Exclusive Test Drives contributed by
a combined Media student. I was in charge of the written feature and although I
had five potential contributors, I was still a little anxious about the
prospect of meeting/contacting new people. I discovered, however, that it was a
great way to build new contacts within the industry, some of which I am
thinking of inviting to contribute to the magazine next semester if I stay on
as Editor.
When it came to uploading, some
of the original content had to be taken down due to potential copyright issues,
therefore, I made sure to sub edit every article before it was submitted. This
included searching for visually appealing images under Creative Commons License
and editing them in Adobe Fireworks so they were suitable for the slider.
By
week six, we were up and filming “Go Ape”
at Moors Valley Country Park. This was a great experience going out and filming
first hand. Also, it gave me a chance to get creative. The idea for this
package was solely organised by one of the first years and a couple of us
tagged along to help film. We got a variety of different shots from various
angles, in particular the stunning visuals from our first experiment with the
Go Pro (below), along with two other individual cameras at ground level (we
were unable to film from above due to health and safety issues).
We came away with approximately
four hours of good quality footage, so admittedly the first edit was a little too long. I’d also forgotten the non-linear
“Drop Intro” (Tarzan Swing) at the start
of the piece that intended to immediately grab the audience’s attention; the
main criticism being that the piece was too chronological. When re-editing, I
also remembered to match the music to the pictures (‘stings’). So far, I believe this to be one of the most successful
pieces of content for the magazine, picking up approximately 100 views in less than a week.
As part of the Production Team for
the WINOL Budget Special, I was volunteered to book the guests. This was
crucial as it meant the bulletin would be legally safe and balanced. Baring in
mind I had little knowledge of Politics and the Economy; I was tempted to pass
the role to someone else. Instead, I accepted the challenge and managed to get
the contact details of a Labour Party Member from one of the News Team.
With less than a couple of days
to turn it around, I am pretty proud of this achievement. I managed to
successfully mind and brief the guest, feeding back to the scriptwriter and presenter.
As this was a pretty important role, I made sure to do my research. Even though
it went well, it was a reminder that I am still not fully prepared for the fast
paced News environment. I find in Features, the deadlines are slightly more
flexible; there is a lot less pressure and that suits me just fine.
The remainder of my time on a
Wednesday was taken up as part of the Production Team, alternating between roles
such as camera, VT, directing and sound. Although it could be somewhat demanding
on top of all my other responsibilities, I can’t help but feel this hands
on/practical approach will be valuable experience to have in future.
Next semester I would like to
continue my role as Editor, working on the navigation of the site (including a play
and pause button on packages), as well as uploading written
content/photojournalism pieces weekly. I would also like to include a link to
the magazine’s Twitter account on the written site (updated every weekend to
boost viewing figures) and perhaps getting other University students to contribute
on a national scale, much like that of UK Today.
1,308 words.
[1] www.hazny182.blogspot.co.uk
[accessed 24.05.2013]
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