Cranking up the critiques
August 28th, 2007 by Jim KillamThe first week of publication each fall means, for me, getting back into the routine of doing a daily critique. The critique is my most important, day-to-day teaching tool. Every adviser does it a little differently, but for me it consists of a marked-up newspaper, a written sheet or two stapled on top, and then the same written material placed online so students can access it from anywhere. I try to view the paper and Web site as a typical reader, raising questions and comments the public might have.
A thorough critique takes time – particularly when done over the course of a typically busy newsroom day. I try to make myself start early and be mostly done by noon, before the newsroom fills with students and everyone’s occupied with tomorrow’s paper instead of today’s.
If the critique isn’t done and placed in the newsroom by early afternoon, students start asking about it. They read it religiously; I always tell them it’s one person’s take on that day’s product and that they shouldn’t put too much stock in it. But they do. Creative people – writers, photographers, designers – crave feedback on their work. I’ve realized over the years that the daily critique is often the only constructive feedback our students get.
I’ve also realized that, once they graduate, it may be a long time before they get thorough feedback on their work. At small dailies and weeklies, only the best editors find time for regular critiques. The rest starve their staffers, who end up leaving because they aren’t growing.
My process has become more complicated over the years, as more and more students have wanted feedback. Our Web site has lots of unique material, so I need to comment on a few items there each day. Our online radio station produces daily podcasts; those need attention, too. Most days, there just isn’t time to focus on everything. So I’ll direct most of the comments to the most prominent issue that day. Most often, I focus on good reporting and writing. Sometimes it’s grammar and style problems. Sometimes it’s photo composition, or good design. But I do try to include at least one daily comment on each major aspect of the paper: reporting, writing, editing, design, photo, online. The critique needs to relevant to every student every day.
I’d be interested to see comments from other advisers / students / alumni about different forms critiques can take. What works for you?
September 1st, 2007 at 2:42 pm
At my college paper top editors were each assigned a day of the week to write the critique, which we sent to the staff listserv. I just looked up one of the old critiques to find the sections:
**What’s the most helpful or informative piece we had in the paper?**
**What’s the most distinctive story aimed at our college audience?**
**Something I learned from today’s paper.**
**A lede that really works.**
**A risk with design, photography or writing.**
**A photograph that tells a story in itself.**
**Eye-catching design in the newspaper.**
**A headline that grabs readers into a story.**
**Mistakes to learn from and avoid next time.**
**Other special praise.**
The only problem we ran into is, as students and top editors we were busy, and as you mentioned, doing the critique every day was time consuming, so sometimes (like during midterms) we would miss a day or two because there simply wasn’t time. Other than that, remaining positive and constructive was sometimes a challenge. We had a steady stream of staffers who were quick to point out any and all errors, and the critique could probably have degenerated into a list of what we did wrong and some days it did. But as you can tell by the headings, the ideas was to remain upbeat and give constructive feedback.
At my paper now (about 40K daily), the editor and managing editor take turns on a daily memo similar to the DKS daily critiques. It starts with discussion of stories/design/photos/whatever worked or didn’t. Then picks out examples of good ledes, photographs and sourcing, etc. Sometimes its more negative than others — you can almost gauge the mood of the newsroom that day by what the memo says.
I’m glad we have the memo though, even when I get called out for a story that could have been better or a dumb mistake. Because good AND bad, that memo is pretty much the main source of feedback the newsroom gets on its work.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Great ideas on format, Meranda. I tried this yesterday as a change of pace and liked it a lot. Especially on days when time is limited, this is a good approach. - jim