The Vantage is the student newspaper at Newman University. It's published weekly, and new issues of the newspaper appear on campus every Thursday during the semester.
The Vantage is completely run by students. The newspaper's staff, composed of student editors, makes all the decisions regarding what to cover and how to approach the story. Students write all the stories, take all the photos and lay out all the pages. Even the business side of the newspaper – selling, advertising, billing and budgeting – is organized chiefly by students. A faculty adviser, a professional journalist in the Wichita community, offers the student staff guidance on how to approach stories in the best way.
Working for The Vantage may be one of the most rewarding activities on campus. Your work is seen by the entire campus; you have the opportunity to meet people from every department on campus, as well as visiting speakers and athletes. If you're interested in journalism as a career, your work for The Vantage can open doors to internships at newspapers and broadcast stations and can help you build the experience you'll need to become a professional journalist.
To get started at The Vantage, all you need to do is volunteer. No experience is required. We're always looking for people to fill the following jobs:
- News reporters
- You'll cover events on campus - everything from unusual class projects, to campus renovations, to visiting dignitaries
- A great job if you like to talk to people, are curious and write well
- Sports reporters
- You'll cover athletic events on campus - and sometimes off
- You'll talk to coaches and players about their performance and their strategies
- You may be asked to do a feature profile about an interesting athlete or coach
- You'll be good at this if you understand sports, like asking questions and are a good writer
- Arts and entertainment reporters
- The Vantage covers not only fine arts events on campus, it also tries to stay on top of nightlife in Wichita
- If you try to stay involved in the arts, in local music, in current film - and you like to write about it - this may be the job for you
- Photographers
- If you like to take pictures, we can give you some practice. We have a black-and-white darkroom, too, if you prefer shooting on film
You can bring your own digital camera or use one of ours
- This is real photojournalism - not only do you need to be good at shooting pictures, but you should also be comfortable photographing strangers and then interviewing them about what they're doing
- Illustrators and cartoonists
- Can you draw? Do you have a sense of humor? Are you a self-starter just looking for a way to broadcast your work? We've got a place for you
- Copy editors and designers
- Sticklers for proper spelling and grammar are always needed to help us edit the paper on Tuesday nights
- We'll teach you how to lay out pages, too, using QuarkXPress, the leading page-layout program used by professional newspapers
- Columnists
- If you're opinionated, funny or both, particularly when it comes to writing about campus life, you could become a regular columnist on our Opinions page
- The best way to get started? Just write a column for us - about 500 words
- If it's good, we'll get it published and talk to you about a regular gig
Once you've volunteered for a semester or two at The Vantage, you're eligible to apply for a paid position on our staff. We grant stipends to our top editors, including the editor in chief, managing editor, news editor, sports editor, arts and entertainment editor, opinions editor and photo editor.
If you're interested in working for us, just give us a call or drop us a line. The Vantage editors can be reached at 316-942-4291, ext. 2215 or [email protected].
For more information, contact Associate Professor Audrey Curtis Hane.
And if you'd just like to sit back and observe, to see what you might be getting into, drop by. You'll find the editors laying out the paper every Tuesday night in De Mattias Hall, room 266. You'll find the entire staff meeting every Wednesday at noon in the second floor De Mattias conference room.