The Student Publications Committee on Thursday unanimously approved communication and English junior Kelsie Hahn as the next editor in chief of The Daily Cougar.
Hahn, the sole candidate for the position, said her two main goals as editor in chief would be improving the overall writing of the paper and meeting deadline.
"Two things that will help are having an earlier deadline for writers so editors can determine whether they would need additional reporting or any revisions," she said. "The second would be having more copy editors so more people would be able to find errors."
Hahn has worked at The Daily Cougar for four semesters, serving as a senior staff writer, assistant news editor and news editor. This semester she covered the administrative beat and was a copy editor.
Hahn said she plans on spreading the word about the paper and will recruit aggressively for writers.
"I’ll be looking in freshman classes in other departments, political science and English – some of our best writers have been from other departments," she said. "I want to recruit freshmen and sophomores to build the staff."
Hahn said she plans on going into different classes with the managing editor and the section editors.
"I just want people to be aware of it," she said.
Dick Cigler, director of Student Publications, asked Hahn how her "managerial style" will affect the paper.
Hahn said she wants to be a supportive leader for the paper.
"I think the editor in chief’s role is to be available for staff editors," she said. "But I do want to see the editors have autonomy and direction. I will keep a general oversight of the paper, but I want the section editors to have their own personal vision, and I want to be able to help them achieve that."
David Small, assistant vice president for Student Services, asked Hahn how she plans to overcome the idea that people believe The Daily Cougar is "a tool for the administration."
Hahn said the paper has printed stories that have been critical of the administration, but will continue to push the paper to do more.
"Just like any other paper, we try to be a watchdog for the University," she said.
Communication professor Garth Jowett was the only voting committee member absent.
Jonas Chin, one of the committee’s Student Government Association representatives, asked simply what Hahn’s favorite thing about the paper was. Hahn’s response: her colleagues.
"Everyone who works for The Daily Cougar really cares about the paper," she said. "We try to be humble in what we do, but at the same time, we try our best to make the paper the best it can be."
