Page 6
THE BATTALION
TUESDAY. DECEMBER 12. 1978
The business of making
By LIZ NEWLIN
Battalion Managing Editor
The Batt does it daily—publishes,
that is.
Each issue involves about eight
hours of work, a paid staff, a com
puter system, at least one professor
and a printing press.
And money. For the fiscal year
ending in August, the Battalion
spent $419,785. It received $75,000
from student service fees and
$300,613 from advertisers. That
makes a net loss of $44,172.
But the Battalion is not operated
to make a profit. Instead, its func
tion is to inform people and train
journalists.
Students run the 22,000 circula
tion newspaper without interfer
ence from faculty or administrators.
Editors sometimes consult their
professors, but even the head of the
Department of Communications
cannot control what goes into the
newspaper.
The Battalion staff works Sunday
through Thursday, and the routine
goes like this:
2:30 p.in.--The news editor
comes into the office and begins to
select stories from the United Press
International wire service. She uses
one of eight video display terminals
(VDT) that is directly connected to a
computer. A telephone line brings
the UPI “feed” from Dallas into the
computer.
3:30 p.m.—The news editor up
dates the calendar, “What’s up,”
and estimates how much copy and
how many pictures will be needed
to fill the paper.
4 p.m.--The managing editor
(M.E.) comes in and looks over the
day’s news from the wire. She is re
sponsible for day-to-day operation of
the Battalion. She also checks
stories coming from the Journalism
204 class, which is the main source
of Battalion reporters. Staff writers
also contribute to the paper. Some
articles are from beginning or ad
vanced journalism classes, but most
of those articles are features.
4:30 p.m.—The managing editor
gets a list of incoming stories from
the campus editor, who is responsi
ble for coordinating coverage for the
University. The city budget is also
prepared for the M.E. by the city
editor. The city editor is responsible
for seeing that city stories and pic
tures are being taken care of. He
makes staff and 204 assignments,
and edits copy. The assistant manag
ing editor is in charge of daily edit
ing, as well as some 204 story as
signments. He assists the M.E. in
story selection and helps with
night-time production. He also edits
stories from the University public
relations department, the Office of
Public Information.
5 p.m. — The M.E., news editor
and campus editor decide which
stories and photographs will appear
on the inside pages of the newspaper
and which will appear on the front
page. The news editor begins to
"lay-out the inside, decides how big
the headlines will lie and where the
photographs will appear. Dummies
with ad layouts already have been
prepared by the advertising de
partment.
7 p.m.--The news editor is
finished, and Journalism 310 stu
dents come in. They edit stories and
write headlines for them, usually
using a VDT. A professor manages
the class and checks what they do.
The M.E. comes in after the class
and gives copy a final check. J-310
V V V ^ v m ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
CARROLLS BASKETS
AND WICKER
unusual gift ideas
wall decor hammocks
furniture Christmas ornaments
mens gifts adult games
693-7007 Hours:
► WOODSTONE CENTER (HWY. 30)
10-9 Mon.-Sat. ^
We Buy All Books!
,
^ WE NEED TWICE
AS MANY USED
BOOKS BECAUSE
OF OUR NEW STORE
IN CULPEPPER PLAZA!
Bring your out-of-date books,
iuith your new books & we'll
make you an offer on all your
books (including paperbooks).
UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE
Now 2 Locations
NORTHGATE and CULPEPPER PLAZA
ATTENTION
GRADUATING SENIORS
IF YOU HAVE ORDERED
A 1979 AGGIELAND, PLEASE
STOP BY THE STUDENT PUBLI
CATIONS OFFICE, ROOM 216
REED MCDONALD, AND PAY A
$2.00 MAILING FEE ALONG
WITH YOUR FORWARDING AD
DRESS SO YOUR AGGIELAND
CAN BE MAILED TO YOU NEXT
FALL WHEN THEY ARRIVE.
MSC
V Cafeteria V
Now Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With
These Carefully Prepared and Taste Tempting Foods.
Each Daily Special Only $1.69 Plus Tax.
“Open Daily”
Dining: 11 A.M. to 1:30P.M.— 4:00 P.M. to7:00 P.M.
MONDAY EVENING
SPECIAL
Salisbury Steak
with
Mushroom Gravy
Whipped Potatoes
Your Choice of
One Vegetable
Roll or Corn Bread and Butter
Coffee or Tea
TUESDAY EVENING
SPECIAL
Mexican Fiesta
Dinner
Two Cheese and
Onion Enchiladas
w/chili
Mexican Rice
Patio Style Pinto Beans
Tostadas
Coffee or Tea
One Corn Bread and Butter
WEDNESDAY
EVENING SPECIAL
Chicken Fried Steak
w/cream Gravy
Whipped Potatoes and
Choice of one other
Vegetable
Roll or Corn Bread and Butter
Coffee or Tea
THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL
Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner
r( PH n SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE
Parmesan Cheese - Tossed Green Salad
Choice of Salad Dressing - Hot Garlic Bread
Tea or Coffee 1
FRIDAY EVENING
SPECIAL
BREADED FISH
FILET w/TARTAR
SAUCE
Cole Slaw
Hush Puppies
Choice of one
vegetable
Roll or Corn Bread & Butter
Tea or Coffee
SATURDAY
NOON and EVENING
SPECIAL
Chicken &
Dumplings
Tossed Salad
Choice of one
vegetable
Roll or Corn Bread & Butter
Tea or Coffee
SUNDAY SPECIAL
NOON and EVENING
ROAST TURKEY DINNER
Served with
Cranberry Sauce
Cornbread Dressing
Roll or Corn Bread - Butter -
Coffee or Tea
Giblet Gravy
And your choice of any
One vegetable
a Batt
students also condense news stories
for the “Top of the News” column.
10 p.m.—The 310 class is over and
usually the inside of the newspaper
is finished, except for late-breaking
stories and changes. The other news
editor is usually in by this time and
working on the front page lay-out.
She checks the wire for late stories
and decides with the M.E. where
stories should be placed on the front
page. She also edits front page copy
and writes front page headlines.
10-midnight—The sports editor is
the only editor who lays out his own
pages. He gets most of his copy from
two staff writers and the wire. He is
responsible for all sports pages-
-makes story assignments, edits
copy, designs the sports page and
writes some of the sports stories. He
also supervises production of the
sports pages. The editor, by this
time, has completed lay out of the
editorial page, selecting “Letters to
the Editor” and syndicated features.
She also writes most of the local
editorials.
Midnight-bedtime — VDT opera
tors put articles and headlines into
the computer system and con
vert the information to 6-level com
puter tape with a punch machine.
These tapes are taken to the Univer
sity Printing Center, and are run
through a typesetting machine by
professional printers. This usually
begins about 6 a.m. the day of pub
lication.
Bedtime—The M.E. checks over
page one, reading all stories, head-
not mucli
jCiv-
i§
Newspaper editors arom.
with green visors to keen ti l
out of their eyes and garter
sleeves to keep
cuffs.
in Ui| (
Editors and reporters at The!
talion generally wear blue jea,
tennis shoes.
They are students ^che30
other Aggies, struggling with 2
and exams — and deadlines "
i Th ^ e 1 d 1 itor ‘s elected bvthev
dent Publications Board Th P L
consists of three students J!
ulty members and two a 4
trators.
Staff reporter Scott Pendleton
play terminal (VDT).
types a story into a vi<
lines and captions. She also writes
the promo box for the top of the
page. This semseter, the M.E. has
“put the paper to bed” (that’s news
paper talk) usually about 2 a.m.
Front-end production of the paper
is complete.
7:45 a.m.—The computer tapes
have been converted photo
graphically into print that is pasted
onto a full-size page. The editor
1 he Batt goes to press between 11 a.m. and noon. The paper
usually is on the stands by noon. Circulation is 22.000.
Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschpcr Jr.
9(C 9|e 9fe 9(e 9|c 9|e »fc 9fc 9|c 3(c dfc 9fc 3|c 9fe 9|C 9(C 3|e 9|c 9|c 9|c 9|c>fe 9{c »(c 3|e dfc 9|c
I ATTENTION SKIERS f
■¥. ju.
* Ruidoso condominium for rent starting Jan. 1, £
* 1979. There are two bedrooms with beds Feb. 6, *
-X- but there is plenty of room to sleep a dozen ^
* skiers. It has a color TV, cooking utensils, & bed *
* linens supplied. Minimum rental time is one ^
* weekend for $100. Stay as many weeks as you *
HAMMUM IAN*
APARTMENTS
ALL UTILITIES INCLUDED”
Furnished & Unfurnished
Efficiency, 1, 2 & 3
Bedroom Apartments
No Escalation Clause or
Fuel Adjustment Charge
Professional Maintenance Staff
(24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE)
Two Beautiful Swimming Pools
Tennis Courts
Party/Meeting Room with Sundeck
Health Spas, including
Saunas for Men & Women
Three Laundry Rooms
On Shuttiebus Route
Rental office open Monday through Friday 9-5
Saturday 10-5 Sunday 2-5
693-1110 1501 Hwy. 30 693-1011
Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschpcr Jr.
supervises paste-up and makes one
last check on headlines and stories
for mistakes. Proofreaders also
check the copy.
10 a.m.—The paper due to be
complete and ready to be “shot” and
made into the metal plates for the
presses. This deadline frequently is
not met.
Presstime — The 22.000-copy
press run usually takes lietween two
and three hours. First copies ol the
Battalion usually are on the stands
by noon.
It is hard to fit staffers easily into
an hour-by-hour job description.
The time they spend on the job is
squeezed around class, study, sleep
ing and, occasionaly, a social life.
All of the staffers are communica
tions majors, but they are not re
quired to be.
The Batt editor acts as a liaison for
the newspaper, answering calls
about policy, as well as supervising
over all make up of the newspaper.
The editor is responsible for staff
organization, hiring and firing staff
members and starting new pro
grams like “Focus.”
And specifically, the editor is re
sponsible for the daily editorial page
and supervising morning produc
tion.
The “Focus” editor assigns stories
and pictures for his section. He also
writes, edits and lays out the weekly
tabloid. In addition, he supervises
paste-up and overall production for
the section.
I here is no requirement that
editor he a communications
hut most of them are. QualfaJ
are a 2.0 GPR, overall and in j
candidate s major; at least ones,
of experience in a responsible eii
rial position in The Battalionotl
lar student newspaper; or ones,
experience on a professional pa#
or 12 hours in journalism inclul
J-203 and J-204 or equivalent !
12 hours must include Joumai
402, a course on communicatio
law.
The new editor, selected i
spring, chooses the rest of thestd
This year's staff includes a n
ing editor, campus and city,
sports editor, Focus editor,
editors, reporters and p
graphers.
Vrl'v
Staff wages total $182 each:
the Batt is published — five dan
week during the school year.
The editor is responsible
budgeting and policy on thene
paper.
The managing editor oven
coverage of the campus and city
production of the Batt.
Salaries are computed on ap
issue basis. For example, thedi
makes $17 per issue. Other saki
are managing and sports ed
$16; assistant managing editor
campus, city and Focus edit
$11-12; full-time reporter, ST
photographer, $4.
* like at only $300 a week; that’s about $7 a day
* per persons for a nice condominium only 40 *
^minutes from the slopes. For more information £
*dial 405-722-2997. *
t****************************l
The Batt is pasted up in the composing room every
Saturday and Sunday. About 20 percent bigger than i ^
last year, it averages 12 pages a day. The Focus sec * ,0 " ? j |ie
added this semester as a special weekly feature Ilia ^ a |
Lowell Hodges and Margie Wisniewski “build the pages
morning of publication.
Battalion photo by Lee Roy
Leschptf \ l
DO YOU WANT TO FLY?
Face it. . . you've always wanted to fly! Many of us hav
had the feeling . . . and for some it has never gone owoV
If you have that feeling, then you're in luck. Air Force R
Flight Instruction Program (FIP) is available to you. Its de
signed to teach you the basics of flight through flying lesson
in small aircraft at a civilian operated flying school.
The program is an EXTRA for cadets who can qualify to oe-
come Air Force pilots through Air Force R0TC. Taken dun g
the senior year in college, FIP is the first step for the cadet wn
is going on to Air Force jet pilot training after graduation.
This is all reserved for the cadet who wants to get his life
the ground . . with Air Force silver pilot wings. Check it ou
day.
AFROTC Det 805
Military Science Bldg, TAMU
845-7611
back
dei
Gateway to a great way of life.