PAGE TWO

TH MJ~Tu ll"R A NU 11U1L3Kkj


'PAGEaTWO TJit' 1UI'TNaA LIT UbANU.lJ

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1965

r

The

Daily's

Secret:

'It

Takes

All Kinds.

0@

By W. REXFORD BENOIT
The Michigan Daily is the
fraternity ultima of the University,
e.g. it is the home of "campus
misfits" (as one Daily staffer put
it two years ago), jaded campus
socialites looking for a vehicle of
self-expression, and usually three
or four brilliant thinkers who
lead the way for the others.
Yes! All these diverse types and
more coexist under the same roof
at 420 Maynard St. Some even
move in permanently, as did one
night editor three summers ago
who slept on a couch in a lava-
tory in the Student Publications
Building and took his showers at
West Quad.
What's the attraction? Are
ideas so strong that they keep
people awake discussing ideologies
until dawn? Is it that the misfits
who found it impossible to par-
ticipate in more structured cam-
pus activities were welcomed as
minds, not as clothes dummies?
Perhaps the chance to cause a
University vice-president to choke
on his morning coffee while read-
ing his supposedly "secret" memo
on page one is overwhelning.
Can't Pin It Down
Actually, no one has ever pin-
pointed the appeal of The Daily,
but pride in the newspaper's ex.
cellence is certainly a factor. Many
top American journalists consider
The Daily the top college news-
paper in the country, and the
Associated Press 'and Collegiate
Press Service concur. Both have
termed The Daily the "New York
Times" of the college newspaper
world.
Also, The Daily has carried' off
with top honors in every college-
press competition it has entered
and has won many awards in com-
petition with professional papers
of its size.
But the simple fact that stu-
dents are solely responsible for
the day-to-day operations of the
paper is probably The Daily's best
drawing card. Though ultimately
responsible to the Board in Con-
trol of Student Publications, The
Daily ha senjoyed virtually com-
plete ' freedom of criticism (and
praise) and engenders a policy of
keeping the editorial page columns
open to the opinions of each staff
member under a signed editorial
policy.

the compositor who is placing the
galleys of type in a life-size form,
fitting in headlines and pictures,
calmly informing the assistantf
night eidtor that he needs four
more inches for this story andj
must cut about 22 from that one.~
Nothing else to do! By 11 or 12
the page is laid out-it better be
by that time - but a veritible
mountain of copy still awaits edit-
ing and headlines, captions to pic-
tures must be written, the AP
still hasn't sent over the final
roundup on the lead story and the
staff member writing your biggest
local story tapping away, single-
finger style, on the typewriter.
Finally finished locking the in-
side pages, the assistant night edi-
tor ascends from the shop to the
city room and plunges right into
the melee between the night editor
and his page. The assistant night
editor, those unfortunate souls
who were caught wandering the
building five hours ago, and quite
a bit of luck all contribute to get-i
ting the last story down to the
29 linotypists by one o'clock.
WAIT!! Do not rest yet. Im-
mediately it's downstairs for the
whole crew to catch up on proof-
reading and assemble all the copy'
Sinto neat piles-so that when the
compositor is locking page one
urt an Editorial and asks for five more inches on
the lead, something can be found
the current 15 beats cover a spe- to print.
cific area, from culture to Uni- About three minutes to two
versity research policy. o'clock, proofs of page one are'
The Daily's shop, manned by rolled and while the night editor
professionals, is one of the most hunches over one of them, a ran-
complete in collegiate pressdom. dom assortment of sidewalk sup-
Built from The Daily's profits dur- erintendents sprawl around him,
ing the roaring twenties, the shop already tearing apart the night'
includes five linotypes, a Ludlow editor's efforts.
(headline-setting) machine, an As if this weekly ordeal weren't
electric and ahand-operated proof enough, the more experienced '
press, and assorted other para- staffers below the senior level also
phenalia. head The Daily's beats, and it is
How It's Done in this year that he does his
Here is an outline of how The largest amount of writing and
Daily is put out each day. hopefully his best, as he preens
Page two copy should have gone for a coveted senior editor posi
down the dumbwaiter to the shop tion.-
by seven, at which time the assist- In March of his junior year, the
ant night editor turns to reading staff member submits a petitionK
galley proofs of copy or helping to the present seniors indicatingi
the night editor, the position he would like, why!
By eight or nine o'clock, page he should get it and what he
three goes down, then work on plans to do with it if he is ap-
page one commences: dig out the pointed. By this time, of course,
nn n il sn ita ccn o n.

functions are those an individual
editor selects for himself, such as
campaigning for campus reforms,
writing editorials which usually
set the pace for other staff writ-
ers, and taking time to sit back
and confront the Board, long-run
problems that face his paper, his
university and his society.
Day-To-Day
The day-to-day operations of
The Daily's news pages are han-
dled by a managing editor, an as-
sociate and an assistant. Their
rigorous schedule includes gather-
ing story ideas, putting out as-
signment sheets, making sure
beats are covered and supervising
night desk work, plus writing out
criticisms of the newspaper.
The editorial director and his
associate put out each day's edi-
torial page--a job requiring diplo-
macy, patching up of bad gram-
mar and clarifying foggy think-
ing-without injecting their own
opinions into what the writer
wants to say.
The personnel director is The
Daily's mother hen. Her functions
entail running part of the trainee
program, placating housemothers '
whose girls have stayed out too
late and keeping the quittings and
unhappiness down to a minimum.
The magazine editor is respon-
sible for The Daily's all-under-
one-cover contribution to culture,
The Daily Magazine, which is pub-
lished about once a month on Sun-
day mornings. The magazine in-
cludes articles by both staff' and
outside writers, , and provides a
vehicle for longer and more in-
tensive writing than the regular
Daily pages allow.

0
4

'Two More Minutes and We're Overtime ...'

A Little Carefl Copy Reading Never Ht

regular school year) papers and
writing editorials, the trainees re-
discover their original meekness-
even though their wits have been
sharpened, their skills developed,
their knowledge expanded and
their critical faculties honed to
a fine edge-for the gap between
their present abilities and the
final perfect product they had
sought will still exist.
Some Regrets
There is probably not a single
highly-placed University official
or student leader who has not re-
gretted the Dailyites' freedom to
hone his typewriter to a razor
edge to loose a blast at the, ad-
ministration or student activities,
for almost all have felt the flat of
The Daily's blade at one time or
another. But of course The Daily'
is not simply Ann Arbor's devil's
advocate. Staffers also spend long
hours researching stories that
point to the University's achieve-
ments.

sports, one for state news (em-
phasizing the Legislature), and
the other for national-interna-
tional news. Given The Daily's
deadline of 2 a.m., latest in the
state, subscribers are often the
first in town to know about late-
breaking news - both local and
otherwise.
How it's done never ceases to
amaze everyone from the rawest
recruits to the most seasoned sen-
ior editors. Indeed, utter amaze-
ment is generally the most per-
vading reaction of freshmen
trainees who get their first taste
of The Daily as "desk help."
The night desk is the nerve cen-
ter-and nerves center-of each
day's paper. From beneath its lit-
ter of obsolete layout sheets, text
books, old papers, useless AP copy,
empty Coke bottles, ringing tele-
phones and frazzled chaos a co-
herent newspaper emerges each
morning by two o'clock.
Plus his weekly ordeal on desk,
the trainee passes through many,
other trials by fire-getting and
submitting his first story, finding
out} about the odd people who are
his Daily colleagues and will be-
come his friends for the next four,
years, answering the telephone
and submitting to the ignominy of'
fetching dinner from the local
restaurant for the night editor..
Finally he is given a beat, and,
will be assigned stories regularly.w
The term "beats" refers simply to
a division of labor and each of

t
t
t
t
a
i
1
i
E
X

change them in unusual cases
there may ensue a whole host of
resignations, incriminations and
declarations of "violation of edi-
torial freedom."
The night of the Board meet-
ing, with the whole staff milling
about the building and the hope-
ful juniors decked out in suits, ties
and heels for perhaps the first
time, the announcements are
made. Backs are slapped and tears
wiped away, and a skeleton staff
plugs away at the next morning's
paper while the rest scurry for the
traditional party.

So, with a mixture of pride and
terror, the senior editor finds
himself behind his own desk (atop
The Daily hierarchy) and his
time-consuming job - around 60
hours a week - requires all the
knowledge of the University, of
The Daily, and of people'in gen-
eral that he can muster.'
Atop the senior staff is the edi-
tor. Freed from day-to-day re-
sponsibilities, the editor largely
defines his -own job. Among his
functions are representing The
Daily to the administration, fac-
ulty and students. Beyond these

*1

SALES, PROFITS:
This Staff Means Business

#
1
1
i
r

By ADA JO SOKOLOV

i

No Pre-Censorship But even if the brickbats some-
This means no pre-censorship of times outweigh the laurels, the
newspapers or editorial copy, a benefits to Daily staffers in learn-
situation very rare among the ing the ins-and-outs of University
country's college and university operations, and the high quality of
newspapers. It also means any the paper in ,general more than
freshman reporter on The Daily balance out the occasional anger
staff can disagree with any of his of The Daily's "victims," and jus-
superior's editorials, even the edi- tify The Daily's freedom to print
tor's, in his own editorial-if he without prior checks on its copy.
can justify his opinions. Associated Press
But in three or four years of In addition to staff writing, The
reporting news, putting out daily Daily uses three Associated Press
(six mornings a week, during the I wire service machinies: one for

copy, can up intransigent report-h knw noolyautes
~UjJ, '~ai U~II1I~i~1 ~ t- he knows not only about news
ers, dream up picture ideas, edit but also about newspaper policies
copy carefully, write headlines, de- and organization.
cide how important each story is, But also by this time, the staff
carefully place everything on a member is under considerable
page layout. p'ressure. Increasing academic de-
But a headline comes back from mands, the innumerable activities
the shop too long-rewrite. Pic- a d di srt in th TMn

tures come from the AP-unus-
able, so remake the page. Famous
lecturer says nothing worth print-
ing, so remake the page again and
dig up more copy. Then lightening
strikest-he nickel Coke machine
runs out-and switch to cigarettes
(The Daily probably runs on cig-
arettes anyway). Female night
editors often cry at this point.
Still Alive
Somehow, by 11 or 12, you're
still going. The shop buzzes and
the assistant night editor goes
downstairs to "lock" pages two
and three. He will. stand next to

{ acAU ucaIII etk;I L)Ilb bi1C L1111Ver"i1Gy

I

offers, and his Daily work vie for
the student's time. At this stage,
almost all Dailyites wonder if
their commitment tothe paper is
wise,
Some resign, some let their
studies deteriorate, some cut down
their class load to spend an extra
year at the University.
Meeting sometimes for 20 hours
straight, the senior editors debate
the appointmentsand, in secret,
finally make their recommenda-
tions to the Board. Usually the
Board simply approves the recomn-
mendations, but when it seeks to


i


'. I


f
C
fl
t7
C]
t2
V
l
3+
;
I
;
I
C
d
n
IT
5l
a
W

In addition to being a news-
paper reporting the news of the
world and the University, The
Daily is a business.
For 74 years it has built up
assets of over $420,000 through
subscriptions and advertising,
while at the same time remaining
financially independent of the
University.
The Daily is probably as well
equipped as any other paper of its
size in Michigan. It has a build-
ing all its own with an up-to-date
and efficient printing shop boast-
ing top notch machinery: five
modern linotype machines, two
monotype machines, a hand-set
headline machine, and a speedy
12-page press.
The Daily has almost $200,000
revenue during the school year,
and pays $17,000 yearly in student
payrolls. It operates at a profit.
In the Minority
Since The Daily is financially
independent, it is among a pri-
vileged minority of college news-
papers: it is one of the few papers
which is not controlled or cen-
sored by its school's administra-
tion or journalism department.
rhe continued solvency of The
Daily is a prerequisite to its long
tradition of editorial freedom.
The - curators and managers of
The Daily's financial matters-
and those who must run The
Daily as a business from day to
day-are the members of its busi-
ness staff.
The business staff has a train-
ing program for new members de-
signed to familiarize them with
all aspects of the business side of
the paper's operation. For the
work it does is allocated to many

r
a.
Y
r
r
i
.!

I

Calls and a Bulletin. Board Signal Business

DANCING

CARTOONS


It's

0

MADNESS


SATI

AUG.

28,

8:00-1200
in the
UNION BALLROOM
DANCE to the MUSIC of

ORIENTATION
--ALL CAMPUS MIXER

Mon., Aug. 23

8:30-1 1:30 P.M.

wr

departments, each handling its
part of the operation.
Among these are layout and
proofreading, billing, circulation,
aational advertising, classified ad-
vertising, and promotions. The
trainee spends at least one day
in each department observing and
assisting operations, thus gaining
a working knowledge of the entire
business staff.
Arrange Ads
Those in the layout and proof-
reading department are responsi-
ble for arranging the adds into
pages, as well as checking for
typographical errors in the ads of
the next morning's paper.
The billing department handles
the financial aspects of display,
advertising, including checking
ads that have run and contacting
local merchants. In becoming per-
sonally acquainted with the mer-
chants, the members of the busi-
ness staff have an opportunity to
give the Ann Arbor community a
better impression of the students,
as well as to ring up sales and
profits for The Daily.
The subscription accounts de-
partment handles the financial
aspects of circulation. Most of the
work is done during the first few
weeks of the semester, but stu-
dents are still needed for billing
and crediting subscribers during
the rest of the semester.
To the circulation department
falls the responsibility of makingI
sure that almost 7000 Dailies getI
to their purchasers. Students who.
begin a training program in this
department should plan to have+
their afternoons free and spendi
the first few weeks of the semes-
ter on duty calling prospective
subscribers and answering theI
telephone.
The national advertising de-
partment has continuous contact
with several national advertisers,
.ncluding companies who con-
stantly seek employes from amongf
University students. National com-
panies that are now not advertis-s
ing through The Daily are con-
tacted from time to time by the
department. This department isI
more flexible when it comes toI
hours for trainees; the work can#

be done at almost any time during
:he day.
Classified advertising involves
handling the many classified ads
phoned into The Daily each day.
Members of this department, in-
1luding trainees must be available
from 1 to 3 o'clock, since during
;his time the phones ring for
placement of ads in the next day's
paper. A pleasant and occasionally
amusing diversion for the mem-
oers of this department and as
well as for the whole Daily staff
is inserting classified ads free.
Anybody on the staff can do it.
The promotions department's
main task is soliciting ads from
advertisers for special features
and supplements. It has direct re-
lations with the display advertis-
ing department. Special innova-
;ions such as the "Apartment Ap-
peal in Ann Arbor" and the Fash-
ion Supplement are mostly the
work of the promotions depart-
:nent.
Familiar
All of these sections of the
ousiness staff become familiar to
the trainees. The next step after
trainee is a position on the sopho-
more staff. Assistant manager, a
sophomore position, is paid a salary
of $15 a month. Sophomores are
isually in the building about 12
to 15 hours a week.
At the end of their junior year,
most business staff members pe-
tition for one of the five impor-
tant senior staff positions: busi-
ness manager, associate business
manager, finance manager, ad-
vertising manager and personnel
manager.
With the business manager lies
he final responsibility for any-
thing his staff does; he serves as
3oordinator between the staff and
,ampus activities, and often
speaks for the staff.
The associate business manager
acts as an organizer and structur-
er of work programs while the
finance manager concerns himself
with efficiency, costs, service and
profits..
Advertising manager controls
4he three advertising departments
and the personnel director runs
the trainee program.

+

4

The

VANGARDS

Featuring the Vagrants
-COKE BREAK

Wed., Aug. 25

3:30-5:30 P.M.

I

GAMBLE FOR FUN AND PROFIT
ENJOY TOP CARTOONS!
nnd it's nl

Cool off with a Coke, warm up to the Darts
-UPPERCLASS MIXER

*R

Wed., Aug. 25
Dance to the exciting

8:30-11:30 P.M.
I guanas

.



I I

II Eii