While some may say it’s best not to see how the sausage is made, we at The Observer believe it’s your right to see beyond the curtain of secrecy into our behind-the-scenes process. In five simply reductive steps, I’ll explain to you everything that goes into creating our weekly newspaper. 

Step 1: Pitch stories and find sources. 

One of the more nerve-inducing parts of class, where reporters have to share (out loud) ideas for what they want to write about. They receive story assignments from section editors and reach out to sources (professors, random students, mad scientists, it varies wildly). With a click of the send button, our staff is on its merry way to a full set of pages.

Step 2: Edit drafts. 

After stories are assigned, buckle up because it’s time for some brutal honesty. The Associated Press Style guidebook is our holy grail, and the Google suite is our wine. Copy and section editors leave comments on story drafts in Google Docs, letting reporters know what information they are missing and make format suggestions per AP Style rules (which change every year and seem behind the times, if you ask me, so we take some liberties.)

Step 3: Design the flat plan.

This is where the magic happens, if magic was made out of frustration. The lead editor draws up the flat plan every Friday, a mockup layout of the upcoming issue. Fitting the right stories on the right page is always a puzzle. I was known to burn through seven or more drafts for each flat plan, until I realized this is a job better left for graphite than ink. Erasers are the unsung hero of step three. 

Step 4: Cry. Simple as that.

It can be hectic trying to stay on top of reporters and their deadlines as well as my own deadlines, not to mention the occasional public apology for a typo made at 1 a.m.. No matter how much we obsess over editing during design night, some mistakes are bound to slip through. Crying is a healthy way to release the pressure of needing to be perfect, which is impossible. I don’t always shed a tear for The Observer, but maybe I should more often.

Step 5: Design Night, for final edits and laying out pages.

Where it all comes together or falls apart. Our newsroom gets most of our work done on Monday and Tuesday evenings, when graphic designers lay out all 8-12 pages, depending on how many stories were written that week. Sometimes we throw costume parties and eat muffins, other times we exchange stories with our favorite night-time custodian, Gary. Drop by Lind Hall 115 on a Monday night if you have story tips or want an office tour.