Behind the Scenes

Inside the SWR

P. P. Zhang

MUCH OF HOLTERMAN’S COLUMN AUDIENCE, IN PARTICULAR YOUNGER READERS, MAY BE CURIOUS AND UNAWARE OF THE PROCESS BEHIND PUBLICATIONS THAT HAPPENS EVERY WEEK. This article takes a look into the work that goes on behind-the-scenes to ensure consistent, quality journalism. The publication, available each week, is composed of two parts: the student journalism known as the Holtermann Columns, and articles and notices from the School. With regard to the former, it all starts with the creativity and genius of individual writers. The specific crafting of an article varies from person to person, as well as section to section.

Personally, during the week, I keep an eye out for interesting news stories or topics I’m passionate about, to get a broad idea of what I want to write about. In the Holtermann Columns, there are three main sections: Insights (international current affairs that traditional newspapers would cover), Sport (sport-specific news, usually centred around Australia), and Shore News (everything that happens concerning and within the school). Special section editors ensure that there exists at least one article per week in their respective sections. Apart from this, the Editor and Secretary, Justin Gao and James McCreery respectively, write weekly for the ‘Editorial’ and ‘Secretarial’ sections located at the beginning of each Holtermann Columns. Overall, the Senior Committee is composed of around ten to fifteen Year 12s, who all contribute to the Holtermann Columns (to a varying degree).

Outside of the Senior Committee, junior writers also often feature in the Holtermann’s Columns. Their writing process is likely similar, with the main difference being mostly independent journalism, which is submitted to the Editor or Secretary upon completion. There is no quota or restriction on who can write, so if you’re an aspiring young writer keen to try your hand at journalistic writing, feel free to type something up and send it through. Publications also can include ‘creative spotlights’, which come in the form of comics, poems, and so on, as well as fun activities such as crossword puzzles.

You may have noticed that there’s usually a lag of about a week from your traditional news sources reporting on current affairs, and that of the Holtermann Columns. This is due to the extensive work that occurs to ensure the quality of articles is acceptable, as well as holding the general design and aesthetic of the publication to a high standard. Following the submission of articles by the deadline, which is the Sunday night before, the individual articles get proofread multiple times to ensure that they are appropriate, as well as to fix up any spelling or grammar mistakes. When the articles are deemed acceptable, they get passed on to the Graphics Editor, Liam West. Liam formats and compiles all the articles into the layout that you see in hardcopy versions, in addition to choosing a publication and cover design. After this, the finished product is sent to higher-ups, including Dr Mansfield and the Shore Communication Team, who authorise the articles. The Holtermann Columns is then combined with the teacher directed section of Shore Weekly Record, run by the Shore Communications team, and is then printed out into hardcopy form, ready for distribution, as well as uploaded to the website format for electronic viewers.

Each year, in a long standing tradition (as this is the longest running student newspaper in the Southern Hemisphere), the students section of the Shore Weekly Record, which is renamed according to each Senior Committee, (Our’s is Holtermann’s Columns) is composed of different members, with a change in the Senior Committee after Term 2. Additionally, since the newspaper is mostly student run, each new group personalises their legacy through the choice of name and design elements, among other things. All in all, the Shore Weekly Record takes a village to run, but this process has been occurring for decades, cementing the Shore Weekly Record as the longest (and greatest) running form of student journalism in Australia.