Beverly Horvit | Texas Christian University
An idea I use is requiring students to visit a professional copy desk – either at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram or Dallas Morning News – for four hours and then write a short paper about their observations. They have to help edit the student paper as part of the class, but this assignment lets them compare and contrast their experiences in school with how the pros operate.
Michael A. Longinow | Biola University
Have students shadow editors. Require them to spend at least two hours on-site at a publication they'd love to work for. The two hours count for one skipped regular class session.
Before the students go, they have to read the publication online and in print for one week and turn in photocopies of what they read when they turn in a final paper on the project. The students also have to turn in an overview of what surprised them and what didn't about seeing the inside of an editor's operating world.
This has actually led to successful job interviews for a few of my students.