Alright, here’s how this whole Terrapin Times team story came together for me today. I figured folks might wanna know who actually puts the paper together, so I dug right in.
Getting Started: Just Curious, Y’Know?
Honestly, the idea just kinda popped into my head while grabbing my third coffee. “Who are these people writing the campus news?” I scribbled it down real quick – “Who Publishes Terrapin Times? Meet Your Campus News Team”. Felt like a solid angle.
Step one: track down a current copy. Sounds simple, but I walked past three empty stands before finding one still stuffed with papers near the library basement entrance. Snagged one.
The Real Work: Digging and Connecting
- Flipped straight to the masthead. You know, that little box usually tucked on page 2 or 3 with all the names? Found it. Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Section Editors (News, Features, Sports, Arts), Photographers, Staff Writers… the whole gang was listed. Sweet!
- Now came the fun part: actually finding them. Campus emails were listed for the big roles (EIC, Managing Editor). I fired off some short, hopefully-not-annoying messages. Basically: “Hey, loved the latest issue! Mind if I ask a couple quick questions about the team?”
- Waited… and lucked out. Got a reply back from the Managing Editor in like, an hour. Said they were cool with it! Set up a quick chat over Zoom later that afternoon.
- Prepped my questions. Wanted to keep it chill but get the good stuff:
- What made them join the paper?
- What’s a regular production night actually like?
- Biggest challenge running a student paper?
- Funniest typo/mistake that almost went to print?
Just stuff real people would wanna know, right?
Putting the Pieces Together
The Zoom call was gold. The Managing Editor was super open. Talked about late nights fueled by cold pizza, last-minute panic when sources ghost, the pure joy of holding a fresh print copy. Shared some hilarious near-disasters (apparently someone once spelled the university name wrong in a draft headline… oof). Got some great quotes.
After that, I just started writing. Focused on making it feel like you were just meeting these dedicated, slightly-sleep-deprived students. Lead with the EIC’s story – journalism major, joined as a freshman writer “just to try it,” got totally hooked like a turtle in… well, you know. Worked through the different sections, weaving in quotes and those little behind-the-scenes details from the chat.
Drafted it fast, let it sit while I walked the dog, then came back to chop out the boring bits. Read it aloud – that always catches clunky bits. Made sure it flowed easy.
Hitting Publish and That Feeling
Finally, copied the whole thing over to my blog platform. Did a quick proofread (twice!), added a pic I took of the newspaper stand for flavour. Took a deep breath, hit ‘Publish’.
Honestly? That moment when you see it live… kinda feels like seeing your name in the Terrapin Times itself. Hope it lets folks appreciate the faces behind the newsprint a bit more.
