THE MICHIGAN DAILI
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27. 1965
THE ICIIE3A fl~tA PIDA.. ATCIT4T
1.lV1 N/, IOVI1
r
'he Dailys
W. REXFORD BENOIT
Secret:
'I
he Michigan Daily is the
ernity ultima of the University,
it is the home of "campus
its" (as one Daily staffer put
wo years ago), jaded campus
alites looking for a vehicle of
expression, and usually three
four brilliant thinkers who
the way for the others.
es! All these diverse types and
e coexist under the same roof
420 Maynard St. Some even
e in permanently, as did one
.t editor three summers ago
slept on a couch in a lava-
in the Student Publications
,ding and took his showers at
t Quad.
hat's the attraction? Are
s so strong that they keep
>le awake discussing ideologies
1 dawn? Is it that the misfits
found it impossible to par-
ate in more structured cam-
activities were welcomed as
is, not as clothes dummies?
rhaps the-chance to cause a
versity vice-president to choke
zis morning coffee while read-
his supposedly "secret" memo
age one is overwhelming.
Can't Pin It Down
ctually, no one has ever pin-
ted the appeal of The Daily,
pride in the newspaper's ex-
nce is certainly a factor. Many
American journalists consider
Daily the top college news-
r in the country, and the
ciated Press and Collegiate
s Service concur. Both have
ed The Daily the "New York
es" of the college newspaper
d.
so, The Daily has carried off
top honors in every college-
s competition it has entered
has won many awards in com-
ion with professional papers
s size.
it the simple fact that stu-
s are solely responsible for
day-to-day operations, of the
r is probably The Daily's best
ving card. Though ultimately
onsible to the Board in Con-
of Student Publications, The
y ha senjoyed virtually com-
freedom of criticism (and
se) and engenders a policy of
ing the editorial page columns
to the opinions of each staff
iber under a signed editorial
t Takes
the compositor who is placing the '
galleys of type in a life-size form,
fitting in headlines and pictures.
calmly informing the assistant
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-7
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-
ting the last story down to the 'Two M
linotypists by one o'clock.
WAIT!! Do not rest yet. Im- change them
mediately it's downstairs for the there may en
whole crew to catch up on proof- resignations,
reading and assemble all the copy declarationso
into neat piles-so that when the torial freedom
compositor is locking page one The nighti
and asks for five more inches on ing, with the
the lead, something can be found about the bui
to print. ful juniors de
About three minutes to two and heels fo
o'clock, proofs of page one are time, theE
rolled and while the night editor made. Backs a
hunches over one of them, a ran- wiped away,
dom assortment of sidewalk sup- plugs away at
erintendents sprawl around him, paper while ti
already tearing apart th-e night traditional pa
editor's efforts.
As if this weekly ordeal weren't
enough, the more experienced
staffers below the senior level also
head The Daily's beats, and it is P5
All Kinds.
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-
died 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.
.@
4
ore Minutes and We're Overtime . . .'
A Little Careful Copy Reading Never Hurt an Editorial
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
llours researching stories that
point to the University's achieve-
ments.
a in unusual cases
sue a whole host of
incriminations and
of "violation of edi-
1."
of the Board meet-
whole staff milling
lding And the hope-
eked out in suits, ties
r perhaps the first
announcements are
are slapped and tears
and a skeleton staff
t the next morning's
he rest scurry for the
rty.
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
sports, one for state news (em-
phasizing the Legislature), aid
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.
The term "beats" refers simply to
a division of labor and each of
the current 15 beats cover a spe-
cific area, from culture to Uni-
versity research policy.
The Daily's shop, manned by
professionals, is one of the most
complete in collegiate pressdom.
built from The Daily's profits dur-
ing the roaring twenties, the shop
includes five linotypes, a Ludlow
(headline-setting) machine, an
electric and a hand-operated proof
press, and assorted other para-
phenalia.
PROFITS:
his Staff Means Business
No Pre-Censorship But even if the brickbats some-
his means no pre-censorship of times outweigh the laurels, the
papers or editorial copy, a benefits to Daily staffers in learn-
tion very rare among the ing the ins-and-outs of University
itry's college and university operations, and the high quality of
spapers. It also means any the paper in general more than
hman reporter on The Daily balance out the occasional anger
can disagree with any of his of The Daily's "victims," and jus-
rior's editorials, even the edi- tify The Daily's freedom to print
in his own editorial-if he without prior checks on its copy.
justify his opinions. Associated Press
it in three or four years of In addition to staff writing, The
rting news, putting out daily Daily uses three Associated Press
mornings a week, during the I wire service machines: one for
How It's Done V in this year that he does his
Here is an outline of how The j 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 petition
galley proofs of copy or helping . to the present seniors indicatingv
the night editor. the' position he would like, whyf
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-a
page one commences: dig out the pointed. By this time, of course,3
copy, call up intransigent report- he knows not only about newsv
ers, dream up picture ideas, edit but also about newspaper policiesf
copy carefully, write headlines, de- and organization.t
cide how important each story is, But also by this time, the staff'
carefully place everything on a member is under considerable
put a ladline comes back froyotpressure. Increasing academic de-
t a t h n c mands, the innumerable activitiesi
the shop too long-rewrite. Pic- and distractions the Universitya
tures come from the AP-unus- offers, and his Daily work vie fori
able, so remake the page. Famous the student's time. At this stage,r
lecturer says nothing worth print- almost all Dailyites wonder if
ing, so remake the page again and their commitment to the paper ist
dig up more copy. Then lightening wise.1
strikest-he nickel Coke machine Some resign, some let their
runs out-and switch to cigarettes studies deteriorate, some cut downr
(The Daily probably runs on cig- their class load to spend an extra
arettes anyway), Female night year at the University.t
editors often cry at this point, Meeting sometimes for 20 hours
Still Alive straight, the senior editors debate
Somehow, by 11 or 12, you're 'the appointments and, in secret,
still going. The shop buzzes and finally make their recommenda-t
the assistant night editor goes tions to the Board. Usually theK
downstairs to "lock" pages two Board simply approves the recom-t
and three. He will stand next to mendations, but when it seeks to
By ADA JO SOKOLOV
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.
The continued solvency of The
Daily is a prerequisite to its long
tradition of editorial freedom.
'S.
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Calls and a Bulletin Board Signal Business
.
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MADNESS
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
SAT
AUG.
28
1 7
*.I
8:00-12:00
in the
UNION BALLROOM
DANCE to the MUSIC of
ORIENTATION
MIXERS
WALL CAMPUS MIXER
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 me -
chants, the members of the busi-
ness staff have an opportunity to
;ive 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 making
sure that almost 7000 Dailies get
to their purchasers. Students who
begin a training program in this
department should plan to have
their afternoons free and spend
the first few weeks of the semes-
ter on duty calling prospective
subscribers and answering the
telephone.
The national advertising de-
partment has continuous contact
with several national advertisers,
.ncluding companies who con-
stantly seek employes from among
University students. National com-
panies that are now not advertis-
ing through The Daily are con-
tacted from time to time by the,
department. This department is
mnore flexible when it comes to
hours for trainees; the work can
be done at almost any time during
she day.
Classified advertising involves
handling the many classified ads
phoned into The Daily each day.
Members of this department, in-
,luding 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-
hers 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-
tations 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-
:ment.
Familiar
All of these sections of the
business 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
)f $15 a month. Sophomores are
xsually 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
the final responsibility for any-
thing his staff does; he serves as
oordinator 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
3he three advertising departments
and the personnel director runs
the trainee program.
7The
VA
GARDS
Mon., Aug. 23 8:
Featuring the Vagrants
-COKE BREAK
30-11:30 P.M.
30-5:30 P.M.
Wed., Aug. 25
3:
GAMBLE FOR FUN AND PROFIT
Cool off with a Coke, warm up to the Darts
- UPPERCLASS MIXER
1
ENJOY TOP CARTOONS
"
Wed., Aug. 25
Dance to the exciti
8:30-11:30 P.M.
ng Iguanas
11
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