To put it simply, Technician is my life.
I have spent the majority of my college career either in the field reporting or in Technician’s third floor Witherspoon office, dealing with trials and triumphs, hard workers and slow learners.
I remember tip-toeing into my dorm room at 1 a.m ., trying not to disturb my sleeping roommate. I remember forgetting about my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary while working on a Saturday to create the Exam Issue. I remember stepping off the plane from Spain and automatically checking my email work account to see what I had missed in the last 24 hours.
All of those memories have led me to where I am now, writing this letter to you, the fantastic readers who will hopefully pick up the paper for more than just the sudoku and police blotter.
I am constantly told that the Student Media Board of Directors is not my boss — my readership is my boss. I’m taking that to heart this year. I want to hear from the community — the good, the bad and the ugly. If you loved an article or a photo, let me know. If you hate my guts because I misspelled your name, send me a nasty email. Send me your story ideas — the staff is not omniscient.
My goal for the year is to produce a high-quality paper every day that includes fair and accurate coverage on topics important and interesting to the campus community. But that’s the goal of every editor that works in our office.
I want to employ social media to distribute our content, get feedback from our readers and create a strong network of journalists and the community. I want to take risks — even if that means making people angry. I want to focus on in-depth, investigative stories to bring transparency where obscurity reigns. I want to experiment with different visual elements, including interesting graphics and new designs. I want to create a special edition each month, ranging in topic from the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks to a presidential candidates guide in the spring.
I also want to pass my classes. Wish me luck. Please.
The Technician staff this year is full of bright, creative individuals with cool ideas and crazy antics. This is a good thing — they want to talk to you and take photos of you to create a product for you. We all want to make you proud, and we’ll be spending more than eight hours each day for the rest of the year making that happen.
I encourage all of you to stop by our office some time this year — just to chat, to inquire about open positions or to witness the madness of a production night. You’ll likely hear the intense notes of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” blasting from our computer and see me bundled up in my leopard-print Snuggie .
We’re an interesting bunch of folks, but we’re all here for the same reason — to give you 154 issues of our finest work. Let’s begin.