The Power of the Product

When that first issue comes out, watch their faces.

The big box of T-shirts was hauled into the classroom and ripped open.
“The shirts are here!”

So much excitement and energy over cotton! But it was cotton with a meaning. Anyone who’s ever put on a team uniform understands the power in it. The feeling of togetherness becomes tangible. These matching shirts indicating membership in our group – the school newspaper staff – provide a very real status.

This flourish was followed the next day by the delivery from the printer of our first issue of the year. Watch their faces. (The new staffers in particular.) There’s my name! My story! My photo! I laid out that page! Thought of that headline!

The newspaper is a shared product. The creation is shared by the staffers, and then the result is shared by all the school and even the community. Tap into that excitement, to the BIGness of what they’ve accomplished.

As the issue is distributed, you’re sure to get mixed reactions. There may be complaints. There are sure to be some errors. There will also be people who are so excited to have received coverage, to have been quoted or photographed.

Talk about it all. How can we do better next time? What did we do great this time? When a new staffer caught a name misspelling after we published, she came to me and said: “They spelled this girl’s name wrong.” My response was: “No, WE spelled her name wrong.”

Everyone on the staff is encouraged to proofread the pages as we print them out during layout days. Each person – even the most inexperienced – has unique knowledge that is valuable. Yes, the reporter spelled a source’s name wrong, and that is embarrassing. However, it is not only embarrassing to the reporter, but to everyone on the staff who allowed the error through to our finished product.

Following this same philosophy, though, means everyone on the entire staff also shares in the pride of awards or recognition received: "Look at what we all did! It’s ours! This product is partly mine. After all, my T-shirt says so!"