Observing a student newsroom

One of the challenges of reproducing simulations like epistemic games is to prepare those who will conduct the game in an authentic way. To help Padraig prepare first-time editors (in a game situation) to run a journalism game this spring, he recently has been observing one of UW-Madison’s student newspapers. Watching first-time editors work with first-time reporters has been instructive. While he’s not ready to draw any firm conclusions quite yet, some phenomena are already striking him as important. The extent to which editors rely on each other for support suggests that, in the absence of formal training, informal affirmation and sympathy from one’s peers are crucial to one’s ability to manage the inevitable struggles of the job.