Section Alumni Coaching

Daily Bruin Alumni Network

DB Section Alumni
Coaches Program

Introduction: At the request of the 2022-23 DB student-staffers, DBAN is launching an alumni coaching program for individual DB sections. DB Alumni coaches will have the opportunity to share our experience, as well as institutional memories of The Bruin (some of which were lost during the pandemic) with a staff eager to bust out of pandemic-mode and reinvigorate the Kerckhoff newsroom.

During the 2022-23 academic year, coaching programs for Arts, Sports, News, Design, Copy and multimedia sections have been successfully underway. We are currently recruiting across sections as we plan for next year.

Program:

• At least three (3) DB alums will be assigned to your home section per quarter.
• Read your section, monitor associated social media, and provide substantive feedback in weekly critique memos.
• This can vary by section, but you will typically attend one (1) all-editors meeting per month via Zoom (or in-person if you’re able / located in Los Angeles).
• Be a section-specific spot advisor to reporters and editors as needed, e.g. in DB Sports, how do I get the most out of an SID or interview, how do I develop a coverage plan for my beat, how do I manage school and travel on the beat, etc.

Expected time commitment: 6 to 8 hours per month, usually spent on critiques of current coverage and monthly mentorship readings. Tasks include reading and talking about the UCLA or Westwood stories we have all covered before, offering insights on new challenges facing student newspapers today, coaching up student-staffers, and sharing the best practices from your days in your DB section, as well as your real world work experience.

DBAN Mentoring Committee:  Alumni section coaches are members of the DBAN Mentoring Committee and are welcomed to attend DBAN mentor-protege virtual gatherings each month to further engage with the staffers. This is also a great alum-to-alum networking opportunity, as you work together with the current generation.

Contacts at DBAN:

Claire Fahy ’17, clairefahy15@gmail.com
Jeong Park 17, Jeongpark52@gmail.com
Mackenzie Possee ‘18, kenziepossee@gmail.com

cog user CLOSE MENU