By Andrea Fernandes
Features Editor
I never thought I’d care much for how the layout process for the newspaper works, but over the past few weeks, I’ve developed an intense love/hate relationship with the program we use to do our layouts (Adobe Indesign). As Features Editor, my battle with the program usually begins on Tuesday nights after our 8 p.m. meeting.
On Tuesday nights, I usually already know how many stories I have to fit on the Arts & Life pages. If writers are on top of their game and have already submitted a story, it makes my job a bit easier because I can better estimate how much space will be needed for specific stories. I recently started putting pictures on the page on Tuesday night to save time for other things on Wednesday night. Trying to do minor things on Tuesday nights allows me to focus more on the layout of the page on Wednesday night.
My friends often ask why I’m in the newsroom on Wednesday from 7 p.m. till around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Thursday. My favorite question is: “How long could it possibly take to put a couple of stories on some pages?” Well, my first week as Features Editor it only took me about 10 hours to do an awful job of fitting the stories on their designated pages. When stories have been edited by editors, and corrected by writers, my next job is to get the stories on the page. With time, I’ve gotten more accustomed to the program.
However, there are nights when my stories don’t fit in the spaces I expected them to fit in even after I move everything around on the page I want the story to be on. On those nights, I become the most frustrated person in the world. The worst is when, for some reason, I’m notified at the last minute that a story can’t be written and I have a big empty space on the page just awaiting a story to be placed in it. Figuring out what to do with the blank space is every editor’s worst nightmare. It sounds a bit confusing but the challenge of figuring it all out can be fun.
Saying that I love being Features Editor for the BonaVenture would be an understatement. I’ve learned so much, and I continue to learn more each week with every challenge I face. The feeling of overcoming the challenges that arise when doing layouts is rewarding.
fernanal13@bonaventure.edu
