Ladue Publications Editorial Policy

August 12, 2019 • 340 Views

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Mission Statements

Panorama Newsmagazine

The Panorama Newsmagazine seeks to provide the most accurate, relevant and important information that concerns the Ladue community in a professional and timely manner. The staff will work to ensure the publications are racially, religiously and economically inclusive, and that the publications are held to professional standards and employ current design trends within the journalism field.

Rambler Yearbook

The Rambler Yearbook seeks to provide the most accurate, relevant and important information that concerns the Ladue community in a professional and timely manner. The staff will work to ensure the publications are racially, religiously and economically inclusive, and that the publications are held to professional standards and employ current design trends within the journalism field.

ID Magazine

ID Magazine seeks to provide the most accurate, relevant and important information regarding the identities of Ladue High School students and teachers. The staff will work to ensure ID is racially, religiously and economically inclusive, and that the publications are held to professional standards and employ current design trends within the journalism field.

Melodrama Literary Magazine

Melodrama is a literary magazine with the intention of showcasing the art, writing, photography and videography of the Ladue High School student body. Our purpose is to be an outlet for student expression and accurately reflect the diversity and creativity of our school community.

LadueToday.com, @ladue.media

Laduetoday.com is Ladue Media’s website, with the intention of providing timely content for the Ladue community through interactive stories. @ladue.media, Ladue Media’s official Instagram account, aims to provide additional content and reminders relevant to the Ladue community, as well as serves as a promotional tool for the print publications.

Editorial Policy

Establishing Structure

The Ladue High School administration agrees to allow the Ladue Media staff to make content decisions and to operate as an open forum, provided they do not infringe on the rights of other students or create a substantial disruption at school as per the Tinker standard. The adviser will give advice to the students on staff with careful consideration concerning controversial or sensitive material, but ultimately, the students have final say in what is published.

Media-level Policy

Ladue Media is an open-forum for students at Ladue High School. In order to ensure the news we report is accurate, important and relevant to our students, we do not operate under prior review. Students and the Ladue community are encouraged to participate in conversation with the staff by submitting letters to the editor, commenting on laduetoday.com and/or emailing or conversing with the staff.

The Role of Student Media

Ladue Media strives to inform and entertain students, staff and community members and to uphold professional standards of accuracy and fairness. The publication hopes to engage the student body by eliciting dialogue among our readers. It aims to reflect the diversity of the population it serves and observes the journalistic principle of doing no harm.
A Ladue Media editor will write the Panorama staff editorial each month. The majority of the editorial board must approve of the editorial before publication. The editorial board is made up of the members of the Ladue Media staff, with each member getting the same number of votes regardless of position.

Content and Ownership

All stories, photos, art and graphics produced for Ladue Media content are the joint property of Ladue Media and its appropriate creator. Upon submission of the staffer’s work, the publication assumes ownership of the contributor’s copyright interest but the contributor still retains joint control of that interest.
Ladue Media retains the right to enter any material into local, state and national contests.
All media must remain within Ladue Media; staffers may not post or redistribute media unless through official venues.

Name Policy

All students and staff of Ladue High School may choose to be referenced by a preferred name or nickname in Ladue Media content, provided said nickname aligns with conduct as delineated in our editorial guidelines (appropriate, not a joke, etc.). The student or staff member must provide expressed consent (fill out this form) for said accommodation to be made.
All students and staff of Ladue High School may choose to be referenced by preferred pronouns in Ladue Media, provided said pronouns align with conduct as delineated in our editorial guidelines. The student or staff member must provide expressed consent (fill out this form) for said accommodation to be made.
Upon receipt of this form, parents/guardians will be notified that the student has elected to change their name. Parents will have the option to override the name change request if the student is under the age of 18.
The Rambler Yearbook will use students’ names in Infinite Campus under their yearbook portrait, but students can elect to be used by their preferred names elsewhere in the publication.

AI Policy

AI usage is admissible if it is used in an intentional manner. Such methods include: generating story ideas, suggesting headlines, transcribing interviews and providing basic information regarding a story. AI usage is inadmissible if it is used to generate content, whether that be via copy, caption, art, photo or another form.
If AI is used past the clearly denoted admissible category, it will be clarified on the page in which it is used.

Photo Editing

Photo editing is admissible if the edit does not alter the likeness of the image. Admissible edits include but are not limited to: basic tone edits, crop edits.
If a photo is edited beyond the approved boundaries, it must be credited as a photo illustration.

Planning and Gathering Content

Controversial Coverage

Ladue Media strives to better the community by producing relevant and important news, but the staff will not shy away from publishing controversial or sensitive content if the matter pertains to the Ladue community and the community would benefit from well-researched reporting on the matter.
As a courtesy to the Ladue administration, the editors may choose to inform the administration if they decide to cover controversial or sensitive material. The adviser will encourage and help foster a positive and informative relationship between administration and publication staff.
If Ladue Media does decide to cover sensitive or controversial material, the highest standards of journalistic reporting and ethical judgment will be followed. The adviser will help the staff to consider consequences of printing controversial/sensitive material. Students will have the ultimate say over publishing content.
Ladue Media will consider the following when deciding content: timeliness, audience, emotional value, novelty, prominence and the impact the content will have on the Ladue community.
Ladue Media will strive to include a diverse population of students (gender, race and religion considered) in order to accurately represent the Ladue student body.
Anonymous sources: anonymity will rarely be used for sources due to the lack of credibility when quoting anonymous sources. Sources will only be anonymous when naming them endangers them or would cause harm to either the student or someone else in the student body. Ladue Media reserves the right to decide whether or not a source should be anonymous. The majority of the editorial board must agree on decisions concerning anonymous sources. If the Ladue Media staff promises anonymity to a source but the board does not agree to grant it, the source must approve before their name can be used in the story. If the source does not agree, Ladue Media staff agree to not quote the source.
Sources will be treated with the utmost respect and care. Ladue Media staff will not misrepresent a source or partially quote them in order to change their meaning. The staff will practice professional and ethical care when handling sources. Students will strive to be clear and transparent in their reporting.
When interviewing, students will ask permission before recording a source. Staff will take notes regardless of technology used to assist them. Students will allow sources to read over their quotes to ensure the student quotes them correctly.
When sources request to preview their stories, staff members may choose to share the quotes and notes they have from their interview as a courtesy, but will not share the final story or draft.
Staff members will text or email sources as a last resort. If a student interviews over the phone, through email or text, they must include that detail in their story so the audience is aware of the circumstances.
Ladue Media staff will identify Ladue students and adults by their first and last name. Children younger than high school may be identified (first and last name) in the publication with parent permission.
Ladue Media staff will strive to include data and information that is public record when relevant.

Producing Content

Staff writers will contact sources after receiving their story assignments to set up face-to-face interviews or phone interviews when necessary. Staff writers will share rough drafts with their editors. Editors will give feedback and help writers to develop their story further. Once the final draft is complete, the editors will use their own discretion to expand or trim stories as needed to fit their page design.
Writers and editors may add words and short phrases into quotes in brackets to provide context.
Original grammar and language will be quoted provided it is not profane or too difficult to understand.
Links may be shortened to their basic URL address to save space provided the site can be easily found from the shortened URL.
Advertising: Ladue Media staff reserve the right to refuse publishing to any business they do not feel appropriately serves the Ladue community or misrepresents the publication staff and their aim to do no harm to the community. Ladue Media will not publish advertisements that promote the use or sale of illegal substances or anything that would be illegal for high school students (tobacco, alcohol, vaporizers, gambling, etc.). All advertisements must be paid in full before publishing. Advertisers may submit designs, but Ladue Media reserves the right to alter designs to fit space requirements. Advertisers will have final approval of their advertisement before publishing. Ladue Media staff can design advertisements with a minimum of 10 days notice before publishing.
Use of Profanity: Ladue Media staff understands the power of language and the changing of meaning when certain words are altered due to profanity. They reserve the right to censor material they deem offensive or unnecessarily vulgar. In cases of controversial language, the Ladue Media Editorial Board will decide by majority vote whether or not it would be beneficial/constructive to use the original language or image. Ladue Media staff will not use profane language or images without purpose or in a careless manner.
Panorama Obituaries: Panorama Newsmagazine will run an obituary for current student or teacher deaths the next publishable month following the incident in the news section. Cause of death will not be mentioned. Suicides will be treated the same as other deaths. Date of birth and date of death will be included as well as the deceased’s first and last name. The most current yearbook picture will be used.
Rambler Obituaries: Rambler Yearbook will run an 1/4 senior advertisement in the senior ads section the year the student would have graduated for any student who attended Ladue High School with their most recent yearbook photo and their date of birth and date of death. Parents can opt to swap the photo with another of their choosing. During the year the student passed, Rambler will run “in memory of” next to their name in the portrait section. Details on the death will not be included.
All material not created by the Ladue Media staff will be used only if permission from the original creator is granted or if a review of a product is being conducted. If a student would like to use copyrighted works, they must contact the original creator. If they cannot get permission or locate the original creator, the material will not be used. If permission is granted, Ladue Media will cite the original owner in the photo or art credit line.

Letters to the Editor

No profanity/non-protected speech.
300 word limit.
Accurately researched.
Correct spelling and grammar.
Ladue Media reserves the right to edit the letter to meet AP style and our in-house style guide.
Letters to the Editor should be in response to something Panorama has covered in a recent issue.
The use of generative AI is strictly prohibited when it comes to the writing of a Letter to the Editor. All Letters to the Editor are subject to AI checks.

Guest Writers/Columnists

No profanity/non-protected speech.
Accurately researched.
The use of generative AI is strictly prohibited when it comes to the writing of a guest column. All guest columns are subject to AI checks.
Correct spelling and grammar, utilizing AP style.
Signed with accurate names.
We accept guest columns from Ladue students, staff, and families.
Ladue Media reserves the right to edit and/or reject guest columns to meet AP style and our in-house style guide. Guest columns may be published in print or at LadueToday.com.
Ladue Media reserves the right to reject guest columns that are irrelevant or deemed harmful for the Ladue community.

Corrections Policy

The Panorama Newsmagazine will include any corrections in the corrections box in the issue following the mistake. Both the mistake and the page number will be listed.
For mistakes on laduetoday.com, the staff will fix the mistake in the story and at the end of the story, and make a note that the story has been changed from an earlier version and why.
If a student, employee or community member requests that an online story be taken down, the editorial board will make the final decision on a case-by-case basis, provided there was nothing lawfully wrong with the story when it was published. Ladue Media serves as a historical record of the Ladue community and reserves the right to preserve content as part of history.

Melodrama Literary Magazine

Melodrama is a literary magazine created as an extracurricular activity by staffers of Ladue Media and student body submissions reviewers at Ladue High School. Melodrama accepts submissions of any writing, art, photo or video throughout the school year via Google Forms. Detailed submissions guidelines are provided to the submitters throughout the submission process. Submitters are invited to include additional information regarding their submission. Submissions and notes are reviewed by a student editorial board at monthly meetings and accepted, rejected or deferred based on quality, quantity and similarity of subject matter. Melodrama only accepts submissions from current students of Ladue High School. Melodrama reserves the right to edit student writing for grammar errors that are not intentional, stylistic choices, and reserves the right to design the magazine using elements from visual pieces that do not misrepresent art or prevent the unaltered work itself from being featured prominently. Melodrama requests permission from creators before making any image alterations and grammar edits.

Rambler Yearbook

Senior Thank You’s

Seniors have the opportunity to submit a thank you to someone who has helped them during their time at Ladue. In order to submit a Senior Thank You, seniors must get their portrait taken by Wagner Portrait Company before November. Seniors must also submit their thank you before the deadline, usually in December.
Quotes will not be accepted in lieu of a thank you. Yearbook staff and the adviser reserve the right to question or reject any thank yous if they appear suspicious or inappropriate.

Refunds

Students may receive a refund if their portrait was taken and they are left out of the book. The portrait must have been taken during school picture day or retake day. Portraits taken on other dates may not be eligible for a refund.
Seniors may receive a refund for senior ads if an ad is left out of the book, but the book will not be refunded.
If a student purchases multiple books, they can find someone to purchase their book, but Rambler will not reimburse starting 2020.
Refunds will only be given if the book is returned, unwritten in and in the same condition it was received.

Portraits

Students will be placed in their current grade-level section based on graduation year. If a student does not have enough credits to be in a certain grade level, they will not be included in that grade level. If a student has enough credits to graduate early, they will be included in the senior portrait section as long as the yearbook staff has been notified by the student/ family of the student.
Students and staff are not to wear/bring the following in their portraits:
- Shirts with words/writing
- Low-cut/sleeveless shirts
- Hats/comical wigs (unless wig/headcover is worn on a daily basis)
- Props

Group/Team Photos

Group photos must have at least 4 students in order to be covered in the yearbook.
No hand gestures will be allowed in any group or team photo.
If a group or team photo breaks one of the rules, the Rambler staff retains the right to pull the photo from the yearbook.
The yearbook staff reserves the right to not allow props in photos if they are distracting, inappropriate or mess with the photo dimensions.
All group photos need to be taken by the yearbook staff so they are uniform.

Senior Advertisements

Photos will not be accepted that include anything illegal or could be interpreted as illegal (alcohol, red solo cups, drugs, gambling, etc.).
Photos will not be accepted with offensive material/props (Confederate flags, weapons, etc.).
Phrasing included in advertisements must meet the standards of the Rambler yearbook, including grammar, spelling, accuracy, etc. If any quotes are used, they must be appropriately attributed and accurate. No profanity will be accepted.

Technology Policies

Social Media

Social media will be used to promote Ladue Media, content published on laduetoday.com and to inform the Ladue students and community about upcoming and recent events/sports/ news. Posts should be unbiased and factual and should refrain from promoting events/etc.
Only students on Ladue Media staff are allowed to publish to our social media accounts. Under no circumstances is another student to post on our publications’ social media.
Students are to consider consequences and potential risks whenever posting to social media accounts. Use good judgment and remember the ethics of journalism. Ladue Media posts with integrity with the goal of informing our students and community in order to make a positive impact.
The public will be allowed to post comments on our social media and website; however, online comments that are found in violation of the editorial policy will be removed as quickly as possible.
Ladue Media staff members will not engage in conversation on our social media (either on a Ladue Media account or a personal account) unless they are clarifying information or answering essential questions.
All information posted via Ladue Media’ social media is held to the same ethical and factual standards as the rest of our content and should thus be verified through multiple channels before publishing.
Mistakes should be clarified and corrected as soon as possible. Any corrections must acknowledge the error in the previous post so as to maintain our transparency and to continue the trust built with readers. When mistakes/errors are made, both the adviser and editor in chief must be notified by the staffer who posted.
Staff members are expected to follow the social media policy while posting on Ladue Media’ social media. Staff members are also expected to use good judgment when posting to their own social media accounts because staff conduct reflects back on Ladue Media. Students should avoid arguing with others, name-calling, using profanity or publishing anything illegal or inappropriate online.
Students should refrain from posting material produced by/for Ladue Media on their own personal accounts. (Ex: photos taken by a Laude Publications photographer of prom/soccer/etc. should not be reposted on that photographer’s Facebook or Instagram.) However, students may post Ladue Media material on their own professional account, provided that the content was created by the post’s author or that the post’s author has the consent of the original creator. Students may retweet Ladue Media tweets in order to boost awareness.
When posting on the Ladue Media accounts, students should take extra care to ensure they are posting to the correct account and not posting to their own account accidentally. Likewise, when students are posting to their own accounts, students should double check to ensure they have signed out of the Ladue Media account.
Students who post inappropriately to the Ladue Media social media accounts (accidentally or on purpose) risk losing their position on staff. Posting on social media for the publications is a huge responsibility and should be treated as such.
Instagram should be updated daily with sports, clubs and class activities covered. When photos are included, student names and grades should be identified. On Instagram, the description should be written as journalism style captions.
Students should avoid sounding biased when posting for social media and should maintain the journalistic integrity of Ladue Media.

Posting Procedures

The website editor in chief(s) maintains final control over publishing to laduetoday.com (apart from the adviser). Other students may write stories and post drafts, but final publishing will be left to the website editor in chief(s).
Only the students assigned to work social media have permission to post to these accounts. Students with access to the social media accounts are not to share the passwords with other students.
Students should check their facts and ensure the information they are sharing is accurate before posting. If mistakes are made, corrections should be made as soon as possible.

Ladue Media Staff Job Descriptions

Editor in Chief

To be an editor-in-chief, you must be on staff as an editor for at least one year; in addition, you must be extremely detail-oriented, as you are responsible for editing all sections of the paper (along with the copy editors). You must be present for 99% of staff meetings and production nights, and you must stay on final production night until ALL pages are complete and the paper is sent to be printed.

Executive Editor in Chief

Lead all staff meetings
Lead editors through content decisions during story pitch day
Review and provide feedback on all content before publication
Begin class with announcements and jobs for the day
Handle conflicts within the staff and editorial board
Oversee workflow of all publications
Ensures publications are finaled and up to expected quality
Communicate extensively with advisers on all publications
Edit and approve all pages before printing
Maintain a positive environment amongst the staff

Managing Editor in Chief

Plan yearly Ladue Media schedule
Manage the staff (distribute assignments, help staffers with stories and design)
Lead editors through content decisions during story pitch day
Responsible for notifying staff of any changes or events involving Panorama
Edit and approve all pages before printing
Stay at production until everyone is finished
Ensure paper is up to date with style and design trends
Maintain checkpoints for deadlines
Maintain grades/points on a spreadsheet
Oversee extensions for stories
Create schedules for the year and update Google Calendar
Ensure that everyone is aware of worknights

Design Editor in Chief

Create all pages for Panorama Newsmagazine
Lead editors through design decisions
Edit and approve all pages before printing
Stay at production until everyone is finished
Ensure paper is up to date with design trends

Copy Editor in Chief

Edit pages/copy
Give writers advice and suggestions for improvement on their writing
Ensure stories are written in AP style and meet journalistic standards

Website Editor in Chief

Edit website and ensure everything is running smoothly
Run social media (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook)
Edit writers’ work for website
Post galleries for photographers
Help other students to post media to website
Keep website up to date (polls, calendars, announcements)
Track writers and story progress

Photography Editor in Chief

Must have experience dealing with professional photography equipment (DSLR and mirrorless cameras, memory cards, and lenses)
Must take Photo or Art I class or be able to provide a portfolio of work proving photography skills, must have worked as a staff photographer for at least one year
Have advanced photography skills, basic photo-editing skills and knowledge of InDesign and Photoshop software
Be able to assign photos and download them from Google Calendar, communicate with staff photographers through GroupMe
Read and grade photo staff’s story ideas, review photo section story ideas and pitch/decide on ideas for photo page during Story Pitch before each issue
Be able to interview people, write captions, write short pieces to introduce the spread

Art Editor in Chief

Assign art to artists and manage artists
Create any last-minute art needed on production week or special pieces needed throughout the month
Design the Senior Issue

Editor

Editors are held to a higher standard than staff members. Expectations are as follows. Do not be late on any deadline. Make comments on staff members PDFs until the section is fully finaled. Be at production every day until the section is fully finaled.

Business Manager

Update the ad contract with current dates and pricing
Teach staff how to sell ads and give them ad contracts and sizing guides so that they can visit businesses and sell to them
Contact previous clients along with new potential clients to secure sales
Deal with clients in a professional manner through email, make sure you have payment and art ahead of time
Track money sales and stay organized

In-Depth Editor

Come up with a timely idea for the center In-Depth spread
Design a layout complete with infographics and copy
Complete interviews and research thoroughly
Ensure spread represents the diversity of our school (interview a diverse groups of students: racial, gender, religion, etc)

News Editor

Keep track of school events and make sure we cover the ones that will matter most to our community
Assign art and photos
Write stories as needed
Manage writers and give advice/suggestions as needed

Health & Sports Editor

Stay up to date with athletic activities around the school
Plan every part of spread as early as possible
Develop unique angles on sports stories
Push staff members for quality photos
Plan recurring elements
Be prepared to write timely stories

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Construct interesting layouts — vary the sizes of recurring elements in order to accommodate stories
Plan every part of spread as early as possible
Develop unique angles on sports stories
Push staff members for quality photos
Plan recurring elements
Be prepared to write timely stories

Features Editor

Construct interesting layouts — vary the sizes of recurring elements in order to accommodate stories (Double takes/ Humans of Ladue/ Teacher Spotlight)
Keep track of writers (check in with them)
Ensure a variety of students (grades, gender, race, religion) are featured throughout the year
Edit writers’ stories and make sure you get the hard copy and electronic copy of the stories

Opinions Editor

Manage opinions writers
Come up with topical topics to cover (this is difficult for opinions!)
Assign opinions stories for writers– at least one pro/con per month
Edit opinions stories
Layout and design pages

Social Media Editor

Publish daily updates to TikTok, Instagram and Facebook
Ensure sports scores are live tweeted whenever possible
Stay up to date with Humans of Ladue (weekly posts on Instagram)
Post links to website stories/galleries
Organize social media coverage of school events
Ensure social media posts are appropriate, unbiased and journalistic in nature
Complete story idea sheets on time

Staff Member

Staff members are expected to follow school rules. If you are suspended from school, your position on staff may be revoked. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case by case basis.
Staff members are expected to follow the law. If you are arrested, your position on staff may be revoked. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case by case basis.
Staff members who are caught plagiarizing, fabricating quotes or making up information may be immediately dismissed from staff. This is subject to the adviser’s discretion and will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
Staff members are expected to treat all staffers with respect and to complete their work on time. If a student is constantly causing a disruption, turning in assignments late or not turning them in at all, the adviser reserves the right to dismiss them from staff.

Staff Writer

Complete story pitch sheets on time
Have rough drafts and final drafts in on time
Interview at least 3 people for each story; no more than 1 teacher or adult
Follow AP style guide and our in-house style guide
Edit drafts until publishable

Staff Artist

Complete art assignments as needed

Staff Photographer

Complete story idea sheets on time
Complete photo assignments as needed (2 per month minimum)
Upload photos onto Google Drive
Edit photos for printing

Adviser

Teaching and Advising

Teach sound, professional journalistic standards and practices.
Look out for the best interest of her students and guide them as needed.
Create a welcoming and all-inclusive environment where students can discover and fulfill their potential.
Give advice and guide students as they write, design and create for the publication.
Challenge students to produce their best work.
Teach students about and help guide students through legal issues, such as copyright infringement, liability, invasion of privacy, etc. and will not knowingly allow students to break the law.
Help to recruit new students into the program and provide information to students interested in the program.
Select editors and adjust as needed with the publication and the students’ best interests in mind. Adviser maintains final say in deciding all editor positions and staff set up, regardless of editor’s class experience or accomplishments.
Work to develop and foster a positive relationship with the administration and the publication staff.
Teach students about advertising and prepare them to help sell advertising space so the publications can continue to print quality papers and books.

Classroom Materials and Technology

Provide students with the tools needed to be successful.
Stay up to date with the current journalism trends and technology.
Provide opportunities for students to compete and publish their work on a grander scale.
Provide information on summer camps and journalism programs to interested students.
Ensure technology works correctly (printers, cameras, computers, etc) and communicate with the school technology team regarding issues as needed.

Grades and Classwork

Communicate clearly with students what expectations are and hold students accountable for their work.
Grade students fairly and consistently based on the quality of the work they turn in and the amount of effort they put forth.

Senior Edition

Get started early.
Honor the seniors in the best way possible.
Include all seniors (plans after high school). Question should be “What are your plans after high school?” in a Google Form. Divvy up to the writers to get these details.
Editor in Chiefs make the Google Form and include the superlatives, senior memories, senior favorites (class, restaurant, tv show, actor, movie, randomness, culture staples of HS), etc. Seniors can voluntarily submit an essay. Editors reserve the right to trim essays with permission.
At least half of the senior class needs to participate in senior superlatives for them to be published. The seniors on Ladue Media staff will decide what superlative categories will be included.
Senior editors on staff all write a column. If there is room to include, senior writers may be allowed.
Coaches are allowed to select one senior and write 1-3 sentences dependent on space.

Staff Policies

Deadlines

Deadlines are an integral part of journalism and missing them is not an option when it comes to producing content in a timely and consistent fashion. All staff members are responsible for ensuring they reach their deadlines and that their content is consistent with Ladue Media standards.
Extensions are rare and will be handled on a case by case basis. Any staff member who thinks they may need a deadline must inform their section editor, EIC and advisor by the deadline so alternative plans can be made.
Missing a deadline will result in a 0 for the monthly deadline grade. Missing two deadlines will result in a 0 for the monthly deadline grade, and a meeting with the adviser, student and parents. Missing two deadlines may result in the dismissal from staff for the student. If the student is enrolled in the class, they will be given alternative assignments to work on outside of the publication.

Worknights

Worknights are an essential component to ensuring Ladue Media is printed with high standards, ensuring mistakes are caught before publishing. It is also an important time to work as a staff and to help each other be successful. Students must attend work night if their work is not complete and signed off by both the section editors and editor in chiefs.
If a student knows they will not be able to attend work night one month, they must ensure their work is complete before worknight or they will risk receiving a lower score on their deadline grade. Because so much of work is contingent on the work of others (the designer can’t finish the page without the story, the cover can’t be sent off without the photo, etc.) worknight is an important time for the staff to collaborate and ensure everything gets completed when it needs to be.
If a student participates in a sport, they must attend work night after practice or before their game unless their work is complete and signed off by the section editor and editor in chiefs.
Having to work is not an acceptable excuse to miss a worknight. Worknights are scheduled months in advance, so the student has plenty of time to request off or to switch schedules with someone.
Sudden occurrences and emergencies will be handled on a case by case basis.

Staff Communication

All staff members are expected to check their email daily in order to ensure they don’t miss any important announcements. All staff members must sign up on the cell phone list in case there is an urgent matter regarding pages, stories, photos or content, especially if a student is going to miss worknight. If staff members feel comfortable using the cell phones to communicate with their editors, they are free to do so. If an editor or adviser emails a staff member, the staff member is expected to respond within 24 hours. Part of being responsible is being reachable.
Any staff member who has the adviser’s cell phone number may not give that number to other students. If there is an emergency, the student may contact the adviser via text, but email is the preferred method of communication.

Story Pitch Procedure

Each month, every member of the publications staff will come up with potential story ideas for the upcoming issue and fill out the story idea Google Form in completion prior to the class that story pitch will take place on.
With access to story ideas from all staffers, students will collaborate with their sections to work out a rough draft of their coverage. Then they will present these ideas to the EICs and advisers in a Shark Tank style pitch..
Editor in chiefs will lead story pitch and help to guide the staff towards stories that are relevant, timely and important for the Ladue community. EICs will keep track of coverage and make sure the publication remains unique and cohesive.
Once stories are solidified, editors will assign stories to writers and will notify them as soon as possible.
Sections will work collaboratively to mock up and think out a standout design page for their section. This idea will be presented during story pitch.
Helpful Story Idea Brainstorming

Equipment Checkout Procedure

Ladue Media has a variety of useful equipment ranging from cameras, video cameras, batteries, lenses, tripods, memory cards, flashes, recorders and bags. These are available to Ladue Media students only. Under no circumstances are staff members to check out equipment for other students or allow other students to use the equipment.
When a staff member checks out the equipment, it is their responsibility to take care of it and bring it back the following day. All equipment is to be returned the morning after the shoot (Monday morning for Friday shoots) and put neatly and carefully back in the correct drawer/file cabinet. When returning, sign the equipment back in and take personal memory card.
Students checking out equipment must wait until the end of the day to get their equipment. If there are multiple shoots occurring in one night, the equipment will be checked out on a first-come first-serve basis (unless there is a special event such as homecoming or prom). Students may only check out one camera, and may need to limit the number of lenses they check out depending on how many other shoots are scheduled for the day.
Equipment is not to be left alone on shoots (in the stands, by the bleachers, etc.) or in cars. Cameras can be severely damaged by hot/cold weather. Cameras and equipment should not be taken or used in the rain. They are not waterproof. Cameras are not to be left with friends or family members. They are the staff member’s responsibility.
If a staff member follows all of the guidelines and something still happens to the camera, the staff member will not be liable for damages. However, if the camera is broken or stolen due to negligence, the staff member who checked it out will be held responsible for replacing it.

Advertising Information

All students on Ladue Media are expected to sell 3 advertisements or $300 worth of advertisements or sponsorships by October 1. At the start of the summer, the staff will meet to plan out who will go to which businesses. Students will also pair up and go to sell advertisements together.
Ladue Media will typeset and design all ads if so desired to fit our standards.
The advertising contract, once signed by both parties, shall constitute a binding agreement. Either party may break this contract through written notification. This must arrive at Ladue High School no later than two weeks prior to publication.
No advertisements may include photos of alcohol/illegal substances or images that may be construed as alcohol/illegal substances.
Ladue Media staff may review or reject any copy or illustration that does not meet the standards of acceptance. No advertisements for products illegal for the majority of high school readers will be accepted.
When an advertisement contains an error which is not the fault of the advertiser, Ladue Media staff will publish a correction in the issue following the error as well as an additional print of the corrected ad.