Job Description

co-Director of Rubicon Online

May 2021 to present

The co-Directors of The Rubicon Online facilitate the vision and structures for creating and publishing media content for The Rubicon’s website, including incorporating ever-evolving reporting forms from traditional storytelling to multimedia and social media journalism. These people need to be comfortable in a leadership position, as the rest of the staff will look to them for guidance. They collaborate to complete all management tasks evenly and based on each other’s schedules.

  • Supervising Rubicon Online leaders and coordinating web publication and regular web updates with chief responsibility for quality control.
  • In concert with other Rubicon Online leaders, the co-Directors sets agendas for future Rubicon Online content for all media, plans and coordinates new initiatives, and oversees the constant improvement of Rubicon Online.
  • Meeting with The Rubicon adviser to develop weekly class plans to complete training and production goals and sending weekly communication to the staff.
  • Preparing and presenting presentations to the staff on skills they can improve; empowering editors with specialization to peer train.
  • Troubleshooting issues that may arise, including with WordPress.
  • Developing policy centered on ethical journalism practice and understanding press law related to decisions made by a free press.
  • Reviews all published stories to correct mistakes or incomplete work. Keeps track of published stories and who has turned in drafts to provide accountability to staff members.
  • Communicates with community members to answer questions and receive criticism.

Skills:

  • All Adobe Creative Suite programs (Spark, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.)
  • All Google Workspace programs (Docs, Slides, Meet, Calendar, Drive, Forms, Sheets, etc.)
  • WordPress: managing stories (using the story editor, scheduling stories), using SNO Design Options, Widgets, editing photos, and troubleshooting
  • All social media platforms under Rubicon Online (YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok)
  • Video and photo editing basics
  • Strong writing/editing skills, knowledge of Rubicon Online style and AP style

Interpersonal attitude:

  • Positive and supportive with the staff to create a healthy and welcoming environment for all staff members
  • Strong communication skills: often communicates, erring on more than enough, and effectively with the staff
  • Good work ethic: sets a good example and ensures that other staff members adhere to online deadlines
  • Problem-solving
  • Eager to learn new mediums and improve the quality of Rubicon Online and The Rubicon on social media through studying other news organizations online and learning from workshops
  • Actively engages staff in online participation and strives to fully integrate staff into the online process on social media, uploading stories online, and thinking about journalism through an online lens

Director of Rubicon Online

May 2020 to May 2021

The Director of RubicOnline supervises the creation and publication of media content for The Rubicon’s website, including text-based news stories, photographs, video and other content.

Duties:

  • This person should be prepared to work with writers to figure out how to best present a story online and recognize that content will be treated differently depending on whether it is published in the paper or posted online, or both.
  • Along with other RubicOnline leaders, provides a vision for RubicOnline content.
  • The Director supervises other RubicOnline leaders and works with them to coordinate coverage.
  • Reviews all published stories to correct mistakes or incomplete work.
  • Keeps track of published stories and who has turned in drafts to provide accountability to staff members.
  • Meets regularly with The Rubicon adviser(s) to offer regular up-to-date information on RubicOnline activities.
  • Delegates responsibilities to other leadership team members but retains final approval on assignments for RubicOnline content.
  • With chief responsibility for quality control, coordinates web publication and regular web updates. 
  • In concert with other RubicOnline leaders, the Director sets agendas for future RubicOnline content for all media, plans and coordinates new initiatives, and oversees the constant improvement of the RubicOnline system.
  • Presents class plans to the advisor weekly and sends weekly emails to the staff.
  • Works with all leaders to recognize what skills the staff needs to improve on and encourages editors to coach writers to improve.
  • Prepares and delivers presentations to the staff on skills they can improve on.
  • The Director of RubicOnline should be comfortable communicating with community members to answer questions and receive criticism.
  • The Director of RubicOnline should be comfortable in a leadership position, as the rest of the staff will look to this person for leadership regarding online content.

Technical skills:

  • All Adobe Creative Suite programs (Spark, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.)
  • The Director should also be familiar with WordPress and be able to troubleshoot issues that may arise.
  • All Google Workspace programs (Docs, Slides, Meet, Calendar, Drive, Forms, Sheets, etc.)
  • WordPress: managing stories (using the story editor, scheduling stories), using SNO Design Options, Widgets, editing photos, everything else
  • All social media platforms under RubicOnline (YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok)
  • Able to fluently use all digital media devices and accessories owned by RubicOnline (recorders, memory storage, cameras, camcorders, microphones, tripods)
  • Video and photo editing basics
  • Strong writing/editing skills, knowledge of RubicOnline style and AP style

Interpersonal skills and attitude:

  • Positive and supportive with the staff to create a healthy and welcoming environment for all staff members
  • Patient, firm 
  • Strong communication skills: often communicates, erring on more than enough, and effectively with the staff
  • Good work ethic: sets a good example and ensures that other staff members adhere to online deadlines
  • Ambitious but realistic
  • Willing to give and receive help
  • Problem-solving
  • Eager to learn new mediums and improve the quality of RubicOnline and The Rubicon on social media through studying other news organizations online and learning from workshops
  • Actively engages staff in online participation and strives to fully integrate staff into the online process on social media, uploading stories online, and thinking about journalism through an online lens

Rubicon Online News Co-Editor

May 2019 to May 2020

Job / What the News Editor Does:

The News editor maintains the News section and facilitates all conversations surrounding school news. This includes… 

  • Brainstorming news ideas
  • Choosing stories for the section (includes full stories and News in Briefs)
  • Writes News in Briefs when necessary
  • Editing news stories
  • Working closely with other editors to manage content
  • Talking often to print editors to keep the Rubiconline up-to-date, timely, and fresh, in terms of news coverage
  • Taking photos of important and newsworthy events in the SPA community
  • Posting on social media on assigned dates and when there is an important event that should be documented

Specific Skill Set:

The News editor must have a keen eye for news and good organization and management skills. This means…

  • Being able to tell the difference between straight news, news analysis, feature, and opinion 
  • Being able to edit stories effectively and efficiently (and timely) for news must-haves (W.W.W.W.W.)
  • Being involved enough in the school community to know what is happening that is news-worthy and to know where to find news-worthy topics
  • Being able to adjust the News section at the last minute (because news needs to be timely and up-to-date)
  • Understanding of WordPress and how to troubleshoot
  • Know how to properly format social media posts on multiple platforms 

What an Ideal Candidate Would Have:

An ideal candidate would genuinely care about the school community and the people in it to report accurate, honest, and fair news each month. Characteristics would include…

  • A love of news and an understanding of why it’s important to our readers and community
  • Organizational skills
  • Strong morals
  • Time-management skills
  • Ability to effectively edit a specific news story (as opposed to any other section’s story)
  • Fair photography skills
  • Ability to talk to writers in a positive, helpful, engaging, and specific way

Staff Writer for The Rubicon

August 2018 to May 2019

Once a student in Writing for Publications understands AP style and the ethics that The Rubicon and RubicOnline follow, they become staff writers. Staff writers assist editors in brainstorming and developing story ideas for the upcoming issue of The Rubicon and articles on RubicOnline. The editors will assign the staff writers with a story idea, and the writers will develop the article entirely. Their job is to research the topic, gather interviews and photos, and write the article while maintaining a high standard of ethics. Writers collaborate with their editors on the story, with edits on AP style, the angle of the story, content, balance, and more. Staff writers are in charge of the complete look of the article, from the words to the images and sometimes social media posts and the layout of the article. After multiple drafts and due dates, the writer has completed the article, and it is ready for publishing.

Staff Writer for Ibid

August 2018 to March 2019

All staff members have the responsibility of reporter, as do staff writers in Writing for Publication I and II. This includes coming up with story topics, writing questions, interviewing people, writing at least three drafts of their stories, taking photos, and placing and designing the story into the yearbook while following the templates and the style of the yearbook as a whole.