Boost Staff Morale

Putting one's thoughts down on paper often stump many writers. These risks are inevitably higher when work time is in the drowsiest hours of the day. Here are some strategies to build staff morale and create an engaging newsroom atmosphere.

1. Food

Writing takes a truckload of brain power, and food is a fantastic way to motivate writers and celebrate achievements.

The Jets Flyover has "Snack Fridays," which come around every two weeks. We choose a staff member to get the entire newsroom snacks. Since our deadline is Thursday evening, we chill and munch on snacks for the first 15 minutes of class.

The Na Pueo, the student newspaper of the Mid-Pacific Institute, has pot-luck parties after each deadilne to celebrate a cycle of hard work and prepare for another successful issue.

2. Staff Camaraderie

In the newsroom, it's easy for writers to hole themselves up in their mindspace. These practices break writers out of their box and allow staff to bond in the newsroom.

The Jets Flyover shouts out journalism-related achievements. For example, when a writer wins Best of SNO, we congratulate the writer and any other contributors all together as a class. We also highlight these achievements at whole-school assemblies.

The Pinion – the student news site of McKinley high school – celebrates staff birthdays. They also keep a sticker tracker for achievements.

3. Fun in the newsroom

Especially for newspapers that operate as clubs, working for the publication should be enjoyable. Although a publication needs its on-campus news stories and in-depth features or editorials, it also needs fun pieces.

Every winter, the Jets Flyover puts together "Staff Picks" – a Top 5~10 list of anything ranging from pet photos to movies. Throughout the semester, we also put together behind the scenes social media posts and fun staff polls with questions such as, "What's the most stupid mistake you've made when writing/ illustrating."

4. Staff shirts

The Jets Flyover also made staff shirts to boost a sense of togetherness. Each of our media programs – yearbook, video production, and journalism – has its own shirt, and students can wear them to school when they take photos for events or on Fridays.

There's more to a thriving publication than writing – use these strategies to bring out the people behind each article and form bonds within the newsroom.

Thank you to Dan Golub and Cheska Orias for sharing staff motivation strategies. If you want to contribute, join our Discord server.