One of the toughest parts of being an editor is creating and balancing content, in every sense of the word. The responsibilities weighing on a section editor can cause large uncontrollable mood swings, so a sense of peace is sometimes hard to find. Boohoo, poor me.
It’s also difficult to make decision about what stories are the most relevant or what events deserve the most coverage. Choosing what stories to run and which articles don’t quite make the cut can be a decision full of uncertainty. There’s a lot to consider, such us thinking about how much weight to give towards Portland State athletics compared to national news. We are the sports section for the PSU Vanguard, so certainly a majority of our coverage should be on Viking sports, but there are times when a national story or perhaps a local event not related to Portland State breaks into the news cycle, then decisions must be made.
Advertisement space can also be an issue. Let’s say, we’re dropped with more advertisements than usual, meaning we then need to create more add space by cutting articles. What story gets the axe? Which sports team doesn’t get coverage this week? Whose feelings am I hurting? Hopefully not my writers, as they probably understand that these things just happen in the news business. Also, they still get paid regardless if the story they wrote is actually printed or not, so that helps a lot, I’m sure. Any story that doesn’t get put in the printed edition is either moved back to a later date if possible (rarely viable for sports) or is posted as an online exclusive article. So those options all temper my anxiety.
Mainly, I just hope that I am doing my job well and giving enough coverage to the sports and events that deserve the Vanguard’s attention.
On a side note, the content on my cubicle walls is still lacking. I guess I did pin up a handful of medical pamphlets to the back wall, so if you have any health issues feel free to see if they can help. Besides that there’s just standard news stuff on the walls – contact numbers, AP style guides, sports schedules, and other required junk. I wonder if anyone would get angry about a little graffiti art on the walls?
