The form of the book
is made up of styles and rules for consistency, from fonts to theme, all
which will bring the book together for a polished finish. The staff needs
guidelines to be the best it can be and has a style manual that combines
Echo standards, the Associated Press rules for writing, and instruction
in the art of photojournalism. The staff combines
knowledge, experience, ideas, and talent; they work together and produce
a book that they will be proud of and that is valued by those who come
into contact with it.
The yearbook has four functions.
1) It is a history book. Yearbooks give a complete history of one school year. The activities and issues of the year that made up the year are related through the stories. The photos capture the appearance of the way thing were, the styles of hair, clothing, cars, even the appearance of the campus itself. The yearbook is the only permanent record of the entire year; therefore, it should be as complete and accurate as possible.
2) It is a memory book. Yearbooks strive to tell the story not of the yearbook staff, but of every person on campus. The yearbook does not represent one small group but, ideally, all the diverse groups. In that way, each person comes to be represented in the book. Each story and picture in the Echo should represent something unique to this campus and the students residing here.
3) It is a reference book. The yearbook should hold the facts and faces of the year and make the information available through an organized table of contents, a logical arrangement of each section, and a complete and accurate index.
4)
It is a public
relations tool.
The yearbook can make a wonderful university seem
very boring or make a small, rural high school appear like an amazing
place. Everyone who looks at the Echo yearbook will have an opinion
of Truman State University. The ads are a twofold aspect of public relations
and the yearbook: Students who sell ads represent the university to the
community, and the community leaders who purchase the ads judge the university
by what they see in the book.
Our
publisher is Walsworth Publishing
Company.
Our
group and individual photos are contracted with
Jostens.
