The Cavalier Daily | Spring 2024 Recruitment
Objective Literary
News
The news desk covers state, local and University news. Our award-winning desk has covered stories such as the impact of COVID-19, the University's use of an admissions "watch list" for applicants connected to donors, sexual misconduct allegations, racism within University yearbooks and how the local community responded to the violent white supremacist rallies in August 2017. We encourage staffers to pitch ideas they’re passionate about at our weekly meetings, and we also welcome staffers to engage in investigative reporting. If you’re looking to pursue journalism professionally, love to write or just want to learn more about the community, news is the section for you!
The expected time commitment for News Staff Writers is about 3-4 hours per week.
Life
The Life desk tells the stories of the University’s diverse community. Feature Writers cover cultural and student-led events and human interest stories, while Columnists share their personal experiences throughout their time at the University. Food Writers review restaurants and outline recipes, while Top 10 writers give our readers important advice. There are plenty of ways to get involved, as the Life desk is focused on highlighting the diversity of the University's events, food and individuals. This spring, we’re looking for writers ready to share their stories, showcase the school's cultural diversity and advise students through life!
The expected time commitment for Feature Writers is 2 hours per week.
The expected time commitment for Life Columnists is 2 hours per week.
Sports
The Sports desk is looking for passionate writers to help tell the stories of the University’s student athletes, coaches, teams and more with full press access. Beat Writers preview and recap a specific sport for the entirety of a team’s season, while Feature Writers and Columnists dive into long-form stories and analysis of Virginia Athletics. No matter what you’re interested in, Sports wants you as a part of its desk.
The expected time commitment for Beat Writers is about 2-5 hours per week, depending on the sport you cover.
The expected time commitment for Columnists and Feature Writers is 2 hours per week.
Arts & Entertainment
The Arts and Entertainment desk wants to bring on writers who are passionate about music, art and culture in both the local and national spectrums. We are especially seeking writers interested in coverage of local Charlottesville artists and events in addition to national music, literature, television and film releases. Because of the broad spectrum of Arts & Entertainment coverage, staffers can write about content varying from reviews of Netflix shows and music releases to feature pieces on Charlottesville bands and the newest collections at the Fralin Museum of Art. So whether you’re a film buff or an a cappella groupie — or maybe just obsessed with The Weeknd's newest album — Arts & Entertainment can surely provide you a place to share your love of art with the University community and beyond.
The expected time commitment for Arts & Entertainment Writers is 2 hours per week.
Podcast
The Podcast desk is made up of both writers and producers who receive training upon joining staff. Podcast Writers have the opportunity to compose podcast scripts, conduct investigative research, interview sources, and host! Podcast Producers are responsible for recording and editing weekly podcast episodes using Adobe Suite.
The expected time commitment for Podcast Writers is 2 hours per week.
The expected time commitment for Podcast Producers is 2 hours per week.
Copy
Copy editing is one of the most integral jobs on The Cavalier Daily. Copy Editors are responsible for ensuring the stylistic and factual accuracy of all articles published by the paper. Each week staffers have the opportunity to spend two hours reading a variety of articles in our copy editing chain — from the most recent breaking news article or album review, to the latest opinion hot-take or feature on a student-athlete. Because of the wide range of articles editors get to read, Copy is a great place to start if you know you want to get involved but aren't sure which desk to join, because you can see every type of story we publish and hang out with the awesome editors leading your shift.
The expected time commitment for Copy Editors is 2 hours per week.
Focus Desk
The Cavalier Daily’s focus desk (investigative journalism) has two branches — the focus section and the special project section, both of which fall under the focus desk. Focus section writers will work individually on an article they pitch, to be completed over the course of many weeks. The goal of the focus section will be to have writers with a strong interest and passion for investigative journalism follow a single topic of their choosing (pending approval from the desk editor). Special project writers will be working in teams, assigned to a specific project over the course of the semester. The goal of the special projects section will be to create small teams of reporters to tackle larger investigative projects that exceed the working ability of a single reporter. This semester’s special projects are an in-depth, interactive Board of Visitors profile and a comprehensive report of the University’s endowment
The expected time commitment for Special Project Writers is 2 hours per week.