Midterm conferences

Thanks to everyone who came in for 10-minute midterm conferences this week. It was great getting to know those of you who are new to the paper and gratifying to hear how much the staffers are enjoying their time at The Orion.

I learned a few things I'd like to share:
• Almost everyone I talked with said they're part of The Orion because they want the experience of working on a newspaper rather than because they needed the credits or that the class is required for graduating as a journalism major.
• No one said they weren't enjoying their time at the newspaper. That doesn't mean some people don't feel overwhelmed or that everything is wonderful, but it tells me working at the paper is worth the time and effort.
• The Orion continues to have problems with missed deadlines, which leads to people sitting around sometimes with nothing to do or being rushed to finish work. It also is making the paper late to press, which means the printers in Marysville have less time to make the paper look great.
• It sounds as if communication among reporters, editors and photographers is getting better but could still stand some improvement.
• More than one person said they'd like to see the paper become more visually appealing.
• Editors, and section editors especially, got a big vote of confidence from the people who work for them.

Overall, I think the conferences were a success, and I'm planning to keep them as part of the journalism lab classes. If you didn't get a chance to stop in and talk, feel free to stop during my office hours Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I'm in Tehama 345.