As a student-run newspaper, much of the Tribune's content comes from what we as students see and hear happening on campus. We receive press releases from student organizations, utilize the university's online calendar, follow up student and faculty tips and maintain relationships with various sources at all levels of campus.
Many of our staff members are involved in other university groups such as Jesuit Students Together in Concerned Empowerment, band and Univeristy Ministry. Campus news editor Celia Downes said staff members in campus organizations help keep the Tribune up to date; however, she said a reporter never covers issues regarding the organization to which he or she belongs. This is to make sure a reporter is as objective as possible.
The Tribune news desks have two kinds of reporters — beat reporters and general assignment reporters.
Beat reporters follow a specific news area and cover anything that happens in regards to that beat, according to editor in chief Andrew Johnson. A beat reporter draws story ideas from new developments within the beat and by establishing relationships with sources, or people who are involved within the beat.
The Marquette Student Goverment beat, for example, involves covering weekly Senate meetings, elections and staying on top of current initiatives.
Ideas for a beat reporter can be also be found in the previous years' coverage. Downes said at the beginning of this semester, there had been no decision on a spring 2005 MUSG bill to purchase information kiosks for campus. She directed the MUSG reporter to find out the status of this proposal, and the resulting article brought to the forefront the costs of creating and installing kiosk. On March 28, MUSG reporter Eric Lombardi wrote about the Senate's rejection of the kiosk proposal.
"Looking at past issues in stories can sometimes spark new investigations into those topics," Downes said.
General assignment reporters, on the other hand, do not always have weekly meetings or set sources from which to generate story ideas.
Word of mouth is important, according to general news editor Will Ashenmacher, as well as noticing trends on campus, such as a Nov. 29 article on T-shirts with risque phrases.
Ashemacher said though general assignment reporters do not have a specific beat, their stories should be focused in at least one of three areas — college life, religion or the metro Milwaukee area — in order to be relevant to the Tribune's readers.
"When brainstorming, we focus on Marquette students," he said. "What about the story will interest them?"
Jackie Palank is managing editor of the Marquette Tribune. She can be reached at (414) 288-5610.