PAGE 4 MARCH 31,1981
MARCH 31,1981 PAGE S
Home-grown newspaper develops through trial and error
When our readers are glancing over their
copy of Spilyay Tymoo — we sure hope
they’re enjoying it. We’re firmly convinced
that nobody but our staff knows how much
hard work, sweat and tears goes into each
issue we bring you.
Those articles and photos don’t just
magically fall onto the pages. During the five
years that Spilyay Tymoo has been in
existence, it’s been a process of learning and
trial-and-error for the staff.
At times we feel like bloodhounds sniffing
around for news, while at other times there is
so much happening that we’re hard-pressed to
do justice to all the activities and projects
going on. u u r lists ot -articles to ao generally
exceed what can actually be humanly
accomplished. So We’re forced to prioritize.
The newspaper business is a strange world
of deadlines and darkrooms, layouts and late
nights. Although the staff works “an 8-5
shift,” there are, in addition, night meetings to
attend as well as weekend community events
to cover. This comes with the territory — but
overtime pay doesn’t.
Getting a story doesn’t mean hauling a tape
recorder around, interviewing someone, then
racing back to the office to type it up. In fact,
we can probably (count on one hand the
number of times we’ve used a recorder. Most
The Typed Word—Priscilla Squiemphen spends her working hours typesetting all the copy
that is to be included in each issue o f Spilyay. Often the stories all come bi at once and the
pressure is high to get the copy out. B ut she faithfully completes the task. Each article is then
scrutinized fo r typos by tired-eyed reporters, whereupon Priscilla sets strips o f corrections
to be pasted over the errors.
Working Together —A fter interviews and research are
his or her own story. Newest employee P at Leno (left)
do), but pointers from assistant editor Sandy Rangila are
write
articles require information from several
sources plus a good deal of thought and
organization.
And some stories involve a significant
amount of research. There was no way any of
us could have written about the hydroelectric
project without first studying the thick,
technical feasibility report prepared for the
Tribes. We wouldn’t even have known what
questions to ask unless we had boned up first.
Although we’re working just as hard as we
were in 1976, the operation is now less
cumbersome and more self-contained. We
originally set up shop in a small, barely
furnished room over at the Old Girls Dorm.
Film was developed in the darkroom
downstairs, but the prints had to be made at
the Madras Pioneer. All the copy (stories) was
driven over to Madras to be typeset where we
did the layout, also.
Our photographs took on a whole new,
more professional look in 1977 when then-
photo specialist Cynthia Stowell set up a
vacuum easel so we could do our own screen
prints for the paper.
Then in 1979, thanks to generous tribal
funding, we purchased our own typesetting
equipment and built in-house layout facilities.
In June of that year we produced our first
’entirely home-grown issue. In addition to
' being much more handy, we’ve saved a lot of
running back and forth to Madras since then.
But in-house capabilities have also made it
easier for us to work late into the night putting
finishing touches on the paper or to proof
read it “just one more time.’r
A number of young Tribal members have
been exposed to (or scared away- from)
journalism through short-term or summer
jobs with the Spilyay. These interns were:
Tammy Kalama, Marla Patt, Greg Smith,
Jolene Estimo and Lyda Scott. Roger Stwyer
started out with Spilyay when he was only 16,
and he’s stuck it out.
One of our goals is to encourage more tribal
m em bers to " becom e inv o lv ed w ith
journalism. It’s not easy work, but it has its
rewards.
Paste-up—/I// stories and photographs come together in the layout room
where they are organized and “pasted-up” in a manner pleasing to the reader's
eye. Reporter/photographer R oger Stw yer is adept at making everything
fit—somehow. Much time is spent by all the staff members in the layout room.
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words—Photographic
specialist Donna Behrend spends much o f her time in the
darkroom developing film and making photographic screen
prints fo r each issue o f Spilyay Tymoo. When printsfor one
issue are finished it is time to start on the next. She also has
to squeeze in some time fo r writing feature stories and news
articles.
All photos by
Spilyay Tymoo staff
Hot Off The Press—Editor S id Miller examines the Spilyay as it rolls off the press at the Central Oregonian office in
Prineville. The paper is typeset, layed out and pasted up at the Spilyay office in Warm Springs and is then taken to
Prineville where the pages are photographed by a huge camera and burnt onto metal sheets used fo r printing. The
newly-printed issues are then bundled and brought back to the Spilyay office in Warm Springs where they go through
one more process.
Final Task—Thefreshly printedpapers arefolded, stapled and labeled by members ofth e Spilyay
staff. Reporter/photographer Marsha Shewczyk shares the task o f getting papers out to the 1212
subscribers. A t one time subscriptions weie lim ited to tribal members. N ow there are 260 p a id
subscriptions going as fa r as Australia and Germany. Over the counter sales total about 200.