“We teach you the theory of publishing, you put it into practice,” says Denise Schon, Program Coordinator of the Publishing-Book, Magazine and Electronic program here at Centennial. This program places a high value on experiential learning, which can be found in its truest form based on the work that is put into their Storyworks project, On the Danforth, a student-run magazine that is published bi-annually. Students have the opportunity to create, design, write, edit, and publish the magazine for their Storyworks course, with little to no guidance from instructors during the entire process. The result is always a beautifully orchestrated product that shines a light on the skills the students have developed throughout the program.
When Schon started coordinating the program in 2004, Dean Nate Horowitz suggested to her that students should create a lifestyle magazine about the Danforth. Since Schon has more experience on the “book side” of publishing, she enlisted help from Wade Ivan, an instructor she had hired for the program, who happened to have his own magazine. Fortunately, this equipped him with the skillset required to teach students to do the same, and as a result, On the Danforth was born. The first issue came out in the same year, and following that, they released a spring and summer issue (which has continued every year since then). It has “morphed and changed," as Schon describes it, and it is such a great asset to this program. She says, “We’re really lucky to have the terrific students that we have, who can take this bare-bones framework and turn it into these fabulous products. I’m always amazed at the work they do and how good it is.”
Just like any magazine, there are executive positions that help to organize and keep track of who is doing what. “The faculty hires within their expertise, so the design teacher hires two art directors, the magazine writing instructor hires the editor-in-chief, and so on,” says Schon. Each executive position has to be applied for through a solicited application, and once assigned, those who are selected then hire everyone else in the class who also apply for various positions.
“We pretend it’s a re-launch every year so they can redesign it. They do all of the editorial, stories, writing, design, layout, printing, and sell all of the advertising,” says Schon, “and they have to balance the budget, as they can’t spend more than they bring in.” Advertising is a major part of the magazine, which every student takes part in. “Everybody has to go out and sell. They don’t have to make the sale, but they have to try,” she adds.
A word from some of the execs
Chantelle Cho, this year’s publisher, was the one to oversee the whole process. She says, “as the Publisher of On the Danforth, I was responsible for publishing and managing the production of the Spring and Summer issues from start to finish. I had the opportunity to collaborate with my fellow students in a leadership position that required compassion and careful attention. My tasks varied from facilitating communication and mediating conflict, to maintaining the budget, to coordinating with external business partners. I worked with each of the four departments and got to oversee the entire process. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, one that I’m sure will aid me as I begin my career in the publishing industry.”
Joseph Cicerone, this year’s Editor in Chief for the Spring edition of the magazine says, “The assumptions made of such a title are somewhat true, working as an Editor in Chief does offer a great amount of power and control within the editorial department of a magazine, among other departs. With such power comes a great deal of responsibility, indeed. Though one of the best advantages of this role has been the freedom it offers. At On the Danforth, I held the freedom to create a thematic vision for the spring issue. I worked alongside the creative department to execute that vision and align it with the written content produced by the editorial team, which I hired, myself.”
He adds, “Other assigned tasks include hosting weekly meetings, overseeing the writing and editing processes, working closely with sales and advertising, as well as contributing in ways that I found responsible and unique. For example, I chose to write and include an Indigenous Land Acknowledgment for this year's issues, which had never been done before. Writing a "letter from the editor" was also an example of my direct contribution to the magazine. As Editor in Chief of On the Danforth, you genuinely have the freedom to make this publication anything you'd like it to be. With the support of Centennial College's Publishing program, this project has been an incredibly unique and exciting addition to my postgraduate studies.”
Sameen Nabipour, Editor-In-Chief for the Summer issue of the magazine, says, “Producing On the Danforth was the most exciting, exhausting, and rewarding part of this program for me. I built friendships, learned a great deal, and challenged myself. I was able to work with my classmates and colleagues and create something we can all take pride in. It was also very exciting that whatever we learned in our program was directly related to what we did for On the Danforth.” Some of her tasks included coming up with the theme for the magazine, deciding what each section of the magazine would include, hiring the editorial team, taking part in meetings, and acting as a liaison between the editorial, sales, and creative team, amongst many other responsibilities.
On the Danforth is just like working on any magazine, which makes it a real example of experiential learning. “It’s really an un-graded, volunteer experience that the students own themselves,” says Schon. “When we’re looking to place interns, everybody asks about the magazine, and everybody knows about it. It has reached beyond the people who live in the Danforth area, which is who the magazine is for, and has reached into the book and magazine industry. It’s a really nice calling card for them.”
By: Alexandra Few, Communications - Professional Writing Student