Newspaper Critique

Pros of Newspaper this year:

Articles are good, and stories are unique, they represent Akins well, and they're interesting. There are a lot of infographics, which makes the paper a lot more lively and tempting to read. It also presents information in a fun way that readers like to read. There's more hand-drawn cartoons and less "google" pictures, which also makes the paper look good. The "5 things to know", briefs, and etc. catches a lot of people's attention, and makes them want to read on further. The fact that we're doing a lot more investigative-type articles is good for the readers and lets people know that we're serious and not scared to do write about risky stuff. The fact that the entire thing is in color also makes people want to read it.

Cons of Newspaper:

Story ideas are good, but as I read the paper, I noticed that there are way too many grammatical errors and sentence problems. Even though that's only a small thing, it really makes us lose credibility, and readers may not take us that seriously. I think that the opinions pieces could be less cliche. Quotations for some articles could also be less cliche. For me, it seems like some articles seem like they were just copy and pasted from google, like the health article; this article could be more interesting and use more contemporary language.

What I hear students/teachers saying:

I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the paper this year. If anything, most people in my classes want to read it when it gets delivered to the classroom. I think students are most attracted to the Photo Essay section and least attracted to the News section. Most people complain that the FML's aren't that funny, but that's probably the only negative feedback that I've heard.

What we can do to improve:

Get someone good at english and proofreading to read over the article carefully, so that these errors can be reduced, and we'll look more professional. There's a lot of bs going on at this school, and I think more investigative and honest-account type stories should be written about them, even if it takes 2 to 3 people. We should conduct more surveys; readers like them, and it makes an interesting infographic. It also makes us look more professional. More interesting takes on opinions pieces; most of the time, I feel like they're just repeating what everyone already knows.