This Changes Everything: Moving a student publication to Medium

Class Title

This Changes Everything: Moving a student publication to Medium (working title)

Class Description

Print is dead. Any journalist who does not accept this is fooling himself or herself. Students are no longer picking up print newspapers; they are using the web and their phones to find out what is happening in the world. So what now? How does a college publication adapt to the new face of journalism and media? Go digital.

One of the easiest and efficient ways is to move your publication to Medium. This free platform allows for an innovative and fun way to produce journalism that students care about. It also allows for a more versatile style of writing and publishing. Making the switch will not only change the newsroom environment but also create an atmosphere of excitement and friendly competition.

Learn how one college moved all of its print publications over to the platform. You will learn step-by-step how to transition your own college publication over to the platform by creating or reestablishing your brand, developing a staff, building an audience, and establishing a strategy of success. This course is perfect for any college journalism program looking to change the way students read and report the news. It is also great for those newsrooms looking to focus on long form reporting. Fortunately, there is no coding required to create your publication on Medium, and design is really straightforward. After you’ve completed the class, you will be well on your way to having a top-notch college publication with an ever expanding audience.

This course is also good for independent writers looking to develop an audience, or to simply share their work with the world. It is also good for groups of writers, reporters, and photographers to collaborate and create a space of shared interests.

Project Title

Build your Collection

Project Description

ASSIGNMENT

Create a college publication on Medium. This assignment will teach you the basics of how to establish your online publication, create a set-up that works for you, and create a publishing schedule that engages readers. There are many ways to set up your collection and many ways to suit your preferences for design.

DELIVERABLE

Upload and share your new Medium publication with:

• A masthead and logo
• Catch phrase to accompany your title
• Layout of featured and trending stories
• Publication bio
• Publishing schedule
• Bio and information on writers
• Four stories (min.) for launch
• List of people/orgs to promote stories to

Video Lessons

Get Started   

Introduction:

Talking Head, Physical Demo

2 min.

• Who am I? What do I do?
• My favorite past projects
• Why I love what I do
• How I got where I am

Project: Develop concept 

Physical Demo

1 min.

• Explain what students will create
• What a school needs to set it apart from everyone else
• Choose an audience and direction of your publication

Project: Move it over

Surveying your Audience:

Talking Head, Physical Demo

6 min.

• Reach out - Survey your audience, what do they want?
• How will you catch their attention, do it.

Building your staff:

Physical Demo

9 min.

• Scope your available talent
• Identify potential editors and writers
• Determine who is capable of execution
• Explore possible roles of each writer/editor
• Tips for selecting talent

Prepping for launch:

Physical Demo

8 min.

• Hold editorial board meeting to explore launch plan
• Create a schedule of publication dates/stories
• Develop a que of stories
• Create a plan/criteria for submissions

Smooth transition:

Physical Demo

8 min.

• Identify strongest stories/students to lead the launch
• Media campaign for awareness
• Encourage student involvement
• Hit ‘em where it hurts: find relatable topics
• Slow move from print

Advice: The next few months:

Physical Demo

7 min.

• Develop plan for healthy competition/motivation
• Make it fun, keeps students excited
• Tips for avoiding stagnation
• Create long term plan

Closing

Final Thoughts:

Talking Head

4 min.

• Original reporting is a must
• Make sure stories hit main target audience
• Understand promotion and how to get stories out into the web