<p>Looks like the Sun is already looking for freshman applications...</p>
<p>Is anyone else thinking of joining? I was heavily involved in journalism in high school, but the thought of publishing a daily paper kind of scares me, lol. Any insight into the average time commitment of a news reporter or layout designer would be great. Also, what program does the Sun use for layout? We used InDesign at my high school (switched over from Pagemaker at the end of my junior year).</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>long hours…fierce competition (for the leadership)…but looks good on your resume if you intend on going into media…</p>
<p>i think the news reporting side is easier…i think the more popular thing is the opinion :)</p>
<p>i’m not sure about the programs used. you also have to remember that the cornellsun is located in downtown ithaca (1-2 blocks past the commons). so getting there can be a pain.</p>
<p>do you have any quantifying information as to how long the hours actually are? </p>
<p>Your description of it doesnt sound to attractive Resurgam.</p>
<p>I ended up applying for the News Department (don’t want to go into layout design until I know for sure what the computer program is)…I figured that, if I’m accepted, I can just drop out if the time commitment is too overwhelming. I spent about three years locked up in my high school’s newspaper office and don’t want that to happen again!</p>
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<p>well i dont know how things run…but i do know a chick who was wanting to run for top editor…and she put in mad hours…</p>
<p>this year should be an interesting year at cornell in terms of news esp. politics :)</p>
<p>Whys that?</p>
<p>She wanted to be a top editor as a freshman, or sometime later down the road?</p>
<p>i write for the sun, in the news department.
the commitment isn’t too terrible as a staff writer. just 1 article/week at 600 words minimum
but what takes time is interviewing people :/</p>
<p>cloche, are you able to choose the articles you want to write, or are they assigned to you?</p>
<p>sometime later down the road…</p>
<p>yeah i guess writing isnt too bad…but the higher up leadership is rough</p>
<p>basically, they give you a list of articles that need to be covered for the week, and then you pick from the list which one interests you the most
but of course, times do arise when editors end up calling you asking you to cover a lecture or something pronto</p>
<p>thanks cloche! that’s the same way we did it in hs…people write better articles when they’re interested in the story :]</p>
<p>Well, one thing to know about the Cornell Daily Sun is that its off campus.</p>
<p>I did not think that this would be a major factor when I joined during freshman year, but as I soon found out, I needed to drop in for the first 4-5 times to edit with the editors for my first articles. That didn’t appear to be a problem either, until I was stuck waiting for the bus at night in Ithaca in the middle of December.</p>
<p>I finally gave up and called a cab.</p>
<p>There’s also a great deal of time to devote to interviewing people and attending events as well. I edited for my High School paper as well, and I can tell you immediately that interviewing people in college is a tad different, mainly because locating the interviewee was as easy as going to the Floor Directory. Once found, however, most of the people I sought out were very friendly and helpful.</p>
<p>Was the Daily Sun worth it? Somewhat. If I had time next year as a sophomore to write for them, however, I don’t think I’d write for the news section. I found myself writing a lot of articles that were already covered in the Cornell Chronicle, and often engaged in wild goose chases when people who didn’t want to be bothered passed the buck down to others. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, it was a good experience, and I recommend it.</p>
<p>Where are the applications?</p>
<p>Also, are there positions open for sports writers?</p>
<p>Finally, what if we want to write more opinionated pieces, such as those on politics, the economy, etc…?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your input, Hemingway! I actually sent in an application to the news section, and received an e-mail response the next day about attending Sun meetings for prospective students during O-Week…but they never said that I was actually accepted. Anyway, I’m glad that you told me about some of the down-sides to working on the paper…I like to be prepared!</p>
<p>I figure that I’ll never know until I try, and if it gets to be too much of a commitment, I can always drop out. How difficult is it to forfeit your position on the paper in the middle of the semester?</p>
<p>ronelad, here are the applications and info about each section: [Join</a> The Sun! | The Cornell Daily Sun](<a href=“http://cornellsun.com/join]Join”>Join me - The Cornell Daily Sun)</p>
<p>My son wrote for the Sun (news) during his freshman fall semester, but found it was a tremendous time commitment-- as mentioned the interviewing, covering events, working with editors and traveling to and from the office (with a bike). He loved the paper, but the amount of time involved adversely affected his grades. He ended up on academic probation, and my husband and I had to demand that he give it up during the spring and focus on school.</p>
<p>Oh no…hoping to avoid a similar situation 
I will make sure that, if I do join, I can easily drop it if I find that it’s too much (does anyone know if that’s allowed)? I know my limits and I’m not ready to let my grades suffer just for a non-leadership position on the paper.</p>
<p>dropping is a piece of cake… just stop responding to the emails from editors lol…
actually, you should send in an email saying that you can’t do it cuz you’re too busy or something</p>
<p>Thank you so much countryangel!</p>
<p>Would some vets like to shed some light onto what type of positions freshman can normally obtain? Also, can you apply for more than one position? </p>
<p>Would it be a waste of time for me to apply for either the business or opinion sections? I noticed a lot of people are doing news, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s the classic starting position. </p>
<p>Also, is there some type of like book review that is part of the paper? Just wondering haha</p>
<p>Can you tell me about the time committment on the Cornell Daily Sun?
I’m applying to Cornell this year and I’m definitely interested in joining the paper</p>
<p>I’d also like to hear more about joining the opinion section…that was my favorite part of editing my high school paper! The application was much more in-depth, though.</p>