About

The Carroll Charger Online Staff Manual

MISSION: The mission of The Charger Online is to unite the Carroll High School community and tell the complete story of Carroll High School. Our staff produces a high quality publication for students, about students and by students in a learning environment while adhering to the standards of professional journalists who preserve history, relate stories, and capture memories.

Staff Positions:

Editor-in-Chief: Hanna Fox

Sports Editor: Landen Traylor

Staff Reporters: Anna Layden, Gwen McCleary, Shep Pablo, John Ziegler, Keagan Mould, McKenzie Elett

Code of Ethics:

All students working for The Charger Online must sign the following Honor Statement before beginning work on the newspaper after having read through The Charger Online Staff Manual and must sign the statement again at the start of every new school year that the student continues to work for The Charger Online.

Honor Statement:

On my honor, I swear to uphold the ethics and virtues of The Charger Online as stipulated in The Charger Online Staff Manual as established by the tradition of The Charger Online including those of academic and journalistic honesty, impartiality, objectivity, accuracy, and service to the educational community of Carroll High School and beyond.

I swear to abide by all procedures stipulated in the document including those dealing with the content and presentation of material in The Charger Online and decisions over such content. I will carry out the responsibilities of my position on The Charger Online to the best of my ability and will work agreeably and in coordination with my higher editors if there are obstacles in the production of my needed material. On my honor I swear that all of the work that I produce will be my own and that I will always abide by the merits of respecting the work of others, abiding by paraphrasing plagiarism rules and rules regarding internet content or courtesy content. I realize that working for The Charger Online is a great responsibility, and I will commit myself to supporting its historic reputation through the addition of my own, unique voice.

Grievance Procedures

When a complaint is received from a reader or a source, the editor will discuss the complaint with the staff member involved. If the editor is not satisfied that the reporter accurately stated the facts or accurately quoted the source, the editor may order a correction in the next issue.

All complaints should be referred to the editor, who will determine the method of handling the problem. Staff members should never raise their voices or become abusive to a complaint. If the person should become abusive, transfer him/her to the advisor immediately.

In Case of Reporting NACS Community Deaths

When a death or tragedy occurs within the NACS community, the newspaper will address the situation with caution and compassion. Staff members will understand some information should be withheld due to personal grievances. Also, the newspaper as a whole will understand it will evoke certain feelings of discomfort from the audience. For each death we will appropriately address the situation with an obituary format with the maximum of 100 words. Therefore each name will be covered.

Bylines/Credit

This paper wishes to recognize the work of its practicing journalists, as well as inform the readers who is delivering the news to them. Any story (longer than 300 words), artwork or photograph will be bylined at the beginning of the article. The artist will sign artwork.

Anonymous Sources

The Charger Online reserves the right to use anonymous sources. Though the use of anonymous sources is highly discouraged, they may be used under special circumstances in a published article. In these cases, only the reporter, newspaper adviser, and the source themselves will know the source’s identity. However, in the article which uses the anonymous source will not reveal its source. 

Staff Dismissal

If a student becomes detrimental to the production of the newspaper, the adviser reserves the right to seek the student’s dismissal. If a student continually fails to meet deadlines then dismissal is possible and probable.

Letters to the Editors

When receiving complaints or suggestions the editors will handle each situation with respect and diligence. Each particular suggestion will be taken seriously and addressed with respectful comments.

Coverage Ideas:

School News/ Features:

School Fundraisers (ex. The 50 different Moe’s fundraisers)

Dance Marathon

Relay for Life, etc.

Play Previews

New Teacher Profiles

Promoting New Classes (ex. Tech Support)

Semi-Formal

Prom

Major events for elementary and middle schools

Spirit Weeks

“People of Carroll High School”

Student of the month

Pop culture (ex. Rapid growth of 13 Reasons Why, Eclipse hype, etc.)

Band/Choir

Dance team

Fashion Shows

School Sports:

Homecoming Football

Boys/Girls Soccer

Boys/Girls Tennis

Swimming

Boys/Girls XC

Hockey

Rugby

Bowling

Lacrosse

Rifle Team

Difference between club sports and team sports?

Athlete Features (preferably ones with egos)

Baseball/Softball

Track and Field

Boys/Girls Golf

Wrestling

Playoffs (sectionals, regionals, state, etc.)

Importance on Junior Varsity teams.

Job Descriptions/ Staff Outline

Editor in Chief:

• Make sure every story has been edited
• Correct any layout mistakes
• Keep communication between members
• Organize the agenda
• Write the annual staff editorial
• Develop the theme of the month

Social Media Editor:

• In charge of choosing what to publish on the paper’s social media sites
• Responsible for posting/tweeting out stories when they become available online
• Spreading awareness about newspaper site via social media to increase traffic

Features Editor:

• Develop stories for monthly focus
• Assign headlines
• Assign photos and art
• Develops the student of month

Sports Editor:

• Selection and interview of athlete of the month
• Assigns headlines
• Goes to important sport events and doubles as a reporter
• Meet deadlines

Opinions Editor:

• Assign headlines
• Find a topic that you can run a poll on
• Focus around the theme of the month

Staff Reporter:

• Take part in the development of articles
• Contribute to brainstorming sessions
• Conduct appropriate research for articles
• Finish drafts on time

Photography Editor:

• In charge of pushing through edited photos
• Creating the photo story for each issue
• Making sure that every photo is appropriate for each story it is for
• Give photo assignments to staff photographers

News Editor:

• Assign headlines
• Assign two people to peer edit
• Doubles as a reporter
• Helps keep the newspaper updated