The next in the series of Gazette editor profiles.

One of these photos is Aoife, and one is a perfect representation of how she feels when approaching a deadline (snap of a portrait taken at the Vatican last year).

Name: Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon
Editor Area/Title: Ephemera, Aoife’s Links

What made you want to join the Gazette staff?
My service has often been about communication. The Gazette was such a worthwhile endeavor, I couldn’t resist. I just graduated last year with a spiffy communications degree. It’s what I do. When my former Apprentice asked me if I wanted in, I was so very proud to see a little of my legacy come forward into the next era of reenactment communication. It touches my heart.

What do you like most about being on the Gazette staff?
There is a seriousness to the craft, even when we are being funny. We bounce ideas around to be sure we haven’t missed anything important not only in coverage, but in attitudes that might need to be curbed (or promoted) for the benefit of others. We often know about others who have a “mission” in the SCA, and yet that mission is often skewed by the demands of others, the needs of important people, and while we like to talk about those things that impassion us in our articles, we want to be kind, thoughtful, and mindful. There are few, if any, opinion pieces, and that’s on purpose.

We also want to know who won the arts tourney in the Shire, what special projects are being taken up in the Dominion, which group welcomed a new member or a new baby, and how citizens travelled to other lands, and witnessed the traditions of other Kingdoms. The Gazette is the first news source in Æthelmearc that holds no official capacity. Even though that is true, it has grown dramatically in readership because we know we can be trusted not to over inflate, to not pander to personal points of view, and to be respectful. It might be exaggerating to say that we champion the underdog, but I am fairly sure that we represent those who don’t have fancy hats or high ranking titles as well as those who do. The Gazette is, simply, everyman’s SCAdian news source in the Kingdom. We are here to tell you the news, and that’s it.

How has the Gazette been received in your area?
Honestly, I’ve been a little more forward about my affiliation with the Gazette than others, so there’s starting to be some interest in getting the Eastern areas of the Kingdom into the arena, so to speak. I and my fellow editors don’t need to create your content, unless you need help. We want to hear those voices, the folks who might be new to putting together an article. I know there are some fabulous writers out there, so everyone should feel free to write up their own stuff and submit it. Whomever is editing that day we receive it will look it over briefly for simple stuff like spelling and swear words. Don’t be surprised if you get a request for pictures, or more information. If your group is doing it, and it’s interesting, we want to know.

What kinds of articles would you like to encourage people to submit?
We’re all used to shortening the event announcements for the newsletters because we had to do that for so long. The Gazette has no such limitations. If your event has a fun theme or special challenge, we’d like to know about it! The Gazette covers all of the Kingdom, not just the “Golden Crescent” on the western border. That means smaller groups should feel free to use the Gazette as a resource to attract an attendance for their events. Those smaller events are my personal favorite. I hope the Gazette can help preserve and promote them.

Interested in submitting articles to the Gazette, suggesting blogs to feature, or to be put on our roster of photographers whose work we have permission to use? Email us at aethgazette@gmail.com. Check out our submission guidelines here.

The fifth in a series of Gazette editor profiles.

Staff Member: Lord Magnus de Lyons
Staff Title:  Region 4 (Western NY) and scheduling.

What made you want to join the Gazette staff?
The moment I heard about the project I wanted to be a part of it. To keep the SCA alive and vital we need a constant influx of new people and attracting these people in 2015 (and beyond) requires that the SCA keeps pace with modern technology. As the Chronicler for my local Barony I constantly struggle with getting information out to people in a timely fashion. In the hour I spend writing an event report for a monthly newsletter that same information has already hit social media and reached hundreds of people. The Gazette provides a modern user friendly gateway for information. The stories are up to the minute, fast paced, and visually exciting. It is the future and I am excited to be a part of it.

So what do you do for the Gazette?
Primarily I am the scheduler and make up the monthly schedule for the daily editors. Once a month I shoot out a message to the team asking the editors if they have any concerns, issues, conflicts, or days that can’t work. I also scan event calendars and plan the schedule around larger events (in multiple Kingdoms). Early on we set up a system for Holidays and “Event Holidays”. On these days we don’t schedule a daily editor to give the staff a chance to enjoy their families and events. Even with this system I don’t think we have missed a day (holiday or otherwise). The editors are a hard working bunch and often work during events, holidays, and multiple days during the month. I am also the editor for Region 4 (Western NY). Honestly the daily editors do such a great job covering the Kingdom as a whole I have not put this job title to much use.

What do you like most about being on the Gazette staff?
I like being surrounded by such a hardworking and involved group of people. They have a true love for what they are doing and it shows in their work. There is such a diverse set of skills and experience in the group you can’t help but learn from them. The Gazette staff is just another wonderful addition to my SCA family.

How has the Gazette been received in your area?
Honestly pretty seamlessly. My local group is a strong mix of tech savvy and newer people and they took to the idea of the Gazette really well and I don’t think this is unique to my area. Leading up to the formation of the Gazette there was already strong push to include social media in the SCA and the Gazette was just a natural progression of that change. The Gazette was well received because it was long overdue and people welcomed its arrival.

What kinds of articles would you like to encourage people to submit?
If I had to pick just one subject I would like to see more of it would be interest pieces on day to day life hacks for the SCA. Bits and pieces of information geared towards new people to help them grow and survive in the SCA. Subjects like what to do (and not do) in court, at a feast, or when attending certain types of tournaments. There are tons of little tricks and tips that many of us take for granted but might prove useful to others.

Interested in submitting articles to the Gazette, suggesting blogs to feature, or to be put on our roster of photographers whose work we have permission to use? Email us at aethgazette@gmail.com. Check out our submission guidelines here.

This is the fourth in our series of Gazette editor profiles.

Name: THL Ursula of Rouen
Editor Area/Title: Region 1 Editor

What made you want to join the Gazette staff?
When I was presented with the opportunity, I thought that it would be a great way to showcase a lot of what the Kingdom and the SCA have to offer. I like that it’s free and open to anyone, so it could serve as a great “welcome mat” for the society.

What do you like most about being on the Gazette staff?
I don’t consider myself a writer, but being able to collaborate with several great writers to see ideas turn into stories from interesting perspectives is really fun. We all work really well together and have a great time discussing and sharing ideas, finding pictures, and digging up articles.

How has the Gazette been received in your area?
I think Region 1, mundanely West Virginia, has welcomed the Gazette with open arms. We like having up-to-the-minute news from events. Personally, I really enjoy the enhanced Court Reports we’ve been doing; it’s really nice to be able to put names and faces together for some of the regions we don’t get to travel to as often as we’d like.

What kinds of articles would you like to encourage people to submit?
ANYTHING! Seriously. If you have an idea and want to share it, please send it to us. We are really good at working with you to fill in details and find pictures that make it look polished. I really like the How-To articles that show you how simple some things really are to do as well. Even if you just have an idea, we’d love to hear it. We are here to serve Æthelmearc and want to publish articles the populace wants to read.

Interested in submitting articles to the Gazette, suggesting blogs to feature, or to be put on our roster of photographers whose work we have permission to use? Email us at aethgazette@gmail.com. Check out our submission guidelines here.

Next in our continuing series on our Gazette Editorial Staff.

Name: Mistress Arianna of Wynthrope
Editor Area/Title: A&S and Youth Combat Editor

Arianna of Wynthrope, photo by Don Corwyn Montgomery.

What made you want to join the Gazette staff:
I thought the SCA’s newsletter system was outmoded and needed to be replaced with something more relevant to modern methods of communication. I had read and was impressed by the East Kingdom Gazette, and asked Tiercelin about creating one here almost a year ago. I wanted to see a similar venue in Æthelmearc for timely news and articles that people throughout the Kingdom would find valuable and interesting, and I’m thrilled that it’s happened and worked out so well.

What do you like most about being on the Gazette staff?
I get to write about whatever strikes my fancy. As a teenager, I toyed with the idea of being a reporter, but ultimately decided against it as a career that was too much work and not enough pay. Now I get to do it! And it’s too much work with no pay….

But that’s ok because I can choose my topics and work on my own schedule. I really enjoy both the process of writing the articles and the pleasure others tell me they get from reading them. In particular, I’ve learned a lot from the interviews I’ve done, which kind of surprised me — I’ve been in the SCA for 38 years and I thought I knew most of what the SCA is about and how it operates. I guess there’s always something new to learn.

How has the Gazette been received in your area?
Very well. Quite a few people have told me how much they enjoy the Gazette.

What kinds of articles would you like to encourage people to submit?
Really, anything. Most of the submissions we get are more announcements than articles. I’d like to see people submit more opinion pieces, stories about things that have happened to them in the SCA, how they think things could be done differently or better, short A&S how-to articles like the ones THL Deryk Archer does about making archery targets, things like that. There are a lot of people with unique and interesting perspectives on the Society in our Kingdom, and I’d really like their voices to be heard!

Interested in submitting articles to the Gazette, suggesting blogs to feature, or to be put on our roster of photographers whose work we have permission to use? Email us at aethgazette@gmail.com. Check out our submission guidelines here.

Several people have asked us how the Æthelmearc Gazette came to be, how it is staffed, and how we work. This is the first in a series of interviews with the Gazette staff; wonder no longer!

Staff Member: Mistress Ysabeau Tiercelin
Staff Title: Founder and Managing Editor

Tiercelin and her warhorse, Fionnbharr.

Why did you start the Gazette?
During my term as Society Chronicler, I realized that the newsletters weren’t keeping up with the demand for current information; we are content to be period in our other activities, but social media has taken our recreation world by storm, fostering friendships among far-flung people and connecting those people and events in ways that a monthly newsletter can no longer hope to do.

I’d been avidly following the East Kingdom Gazette, and touched base with their Managing Editor, Mistress Catrin o’r Rhyd For to talk about her experiences. I’d also been talking with Mistress Arianna of Wynthrope and Maestro Filippo de Sancto Martino, who were on board with starting something similar in our own Kingdom. Suckered in Emboldened by the encouragement from the EK Gazette, and the overwhelming support from within Æthelmearc, we gathered together a solid core of staffers (scroll down here to see our staff roster) and began publication in December of 2014.

Do you have a mission statement?
Why, yes we do. It’s simple – to connect the Kingdom with a totally accessible blog, covering events, news from officers, and all the various things we do as SCAdians. A secondary, but no less important purpose is its use as a marketing tool; by presenting the best the Kingdom has to offer, new members can easily see what we do – and join in!

How is the Gazette actually run?
Each of the editors is on a schedule roster and becomes editor of the day a couple of time a month – they check our email account to see what has come in, and put up articles that are ready to run. Our intrepid scheduling editor, Lord Magnus de Lyons, works with everyone to put out a schedule each month that takes into account everyone’s conflicts – not always easy when we are all at the same events on weekends! Editors also solicit articles in their areas.

We use WordPress as a platform; we had a bit of a learning curve (I developed our editor’s tutorial as I learned it myself!) but it’s worked well for what we are doing.

You are totally unofficial – does that mean no oversight?
We made the decision in the beginning that the staff will never politicize their positions. However, we will absolutely print things from Corporate or from officers and Royalty that may have political ramifications, just as any news outlet would in the modern world. When something potentially problematic comes over the transom, the editors discuss it on our private FB group before posting. To quote the EK Gazette editor, though, and with my hearty agreement, “We run by consensus when possible, but the final call on articles that may be controversial is mine.  If there is a problem, I want it to land at my feet as managing editor.”

Since it is a private blog, we have more leeway than the official SCA publications; we use common sense in getting permissions for things, but do not use complicated waivers.

What’s next?
We’ve been happy with our success so far! More of the same! We want to encourage our officers to use the Gazette more and more, since it is a great way to reach the populace quickly with announcements. With hundreds and sometimes thousands of page views in a day, we have definitely become the prime information outlet for the Kingdom.

We also encourage more people to send articles and papers for publication – it’s a great way to get your work seen across the Kingdom and around the Known World (strangely, we have a relatively large following in Lochac). Submit early, submit often!

Interested in submitting articles to the Gazette, suggesting blogs to feature, or to be put on our roster of photographers whose work we have permission to use? Email us at aethgazette@gmail.com. Check out our submission guidelines here.