When journalism publications publish articles that spark praise, usually the writers get any and all notice. Nevertheless, there’s more people that work on a singular piece than one would maybe think. Give or take, the average story is touched or assisted by at least five people.
Within the process of a piece being published, the staffs that most often get forgotten by readers and other journalists are the creative teams. No journalism piece would be the same without the photos, illustrations, coding work and multimedia that come with it. In fact, if the headline of an article isn’t the first thing someone sees, it’s most likely the art that leads the narrative.
As journalism transforms with the digital age, the need to stand out alongside the multitude of websites and articles out there is now more important than ever. As much as journalists would like to deny this, the written word isn’t everything. Visuals matter, and appreciating the people behind those visuals matters as well.
At The Post, our reporting and journalism have always been the utmost priority. But right beside that is having great photos and illustrations, new and innovative ways to code pieces, fresh design within our print publication and multimedia packages to supplement narratives.
After COVID-19 drove Ohio University online for the fall, our creative staffs were stretched thin. For a while, the majority of page design for print was being done solely by our art director, photo assignments could only be picked up by our director of photography and her photo editor, the majority of coding assignments were tackled by our web development director and multimedia pieces were few and far between.
While these responsibilities are all in those job descriptions, our creative staffs didn’t have the manpower that most of our editorial staffs did. Nevertheless, people stepped up to the plate, and the few staff members that helped lead despite the chaotic semester received real world, experiential learning—something The Post always has strived to provide staff members.
In a very convoluted way, I’m trying to say thank you to The Post’s creative staffs. Without the dedicated work of these people, The Post wouldn’t look half as good as it does. Without their artistic abilities, sharp eyes, intuitive coding skills and more, The Post wouldn’t be the award-winning publication it is.
So, if you run or work at a publication, do your part and celebrate your creative teams. Because without them, your newsrooms wouldn’t be complete.
Molly Schramm is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Molly at ms660416@ohio.edu or tweet her @_molly_731.
