Major: Journalism, Sociology
Class standing: Sophomore
General information: worked at IU Student Media for 3 semesters; lived in Bloomington for 2 years; expected graduation May 2014
Staff positions held: IDS reporter for arts, campus and region desks, 2011-12.
Jobs performed in IU Student Media: reporter for IDS/Weekend and Arbutus.
Other media experience: Internship with McHenry County Living magazine, summer 2011.
Organizations: Hutton Honors College, Society for Professional Journalists, Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Career plans: would like to be a reporter and/or editor for any magazine in the Midwest.

1. Your skills. It's no easy task to edit an award-winning, 432-page collegiate yearbook that has served the Bloomington campus for more than 120 years. In short, why are you the best-qualified candidate to lead the Arbutus?

2. The book. The Arbutus has a rich heritage of serving students while commemorating IU history. Describe your vision for the next edition, including coverage, content and sourcing. If the budget improves or worsens, how will you respond? What online presence should the Arbutus have?

3. Marketing and finanaces. The editor works in tandem with Student Media marketing team and advisers to promote portraits, book sales and advertising. Why should an IU student buy an Arbutus? Get a portrait in the book? Why should a business advertise in it? How will staff members contribute to marketing and sales?

4. Personal. Staff. Describe your proposed management team. How will you organize, moticate and empower your editors? Recruitment. How will you recruit veteran staff members, new staff members and diverse staff members? Training? How will you capitalize upon training opportunities in August and September? Time management and deadlines. how will you manage meetings and electronic communication? After consulting with the adviser on deadlines, how will you motivate your staff to meet those deadlines?

5. Visibility. How will you strengthen Arbutus ties to these groups — 1) the IDS and the rest of IU Student Media, 2) the School of Journalism, 3) IU organizations, with their likely sources, portraits and group photos, and 4) the IU community?

CANDIDATE'S ESSAY

As the Editor-in-Chief of my high school yearbook, I assumed the responsibilities pretty easily. During my junior year, I had often found myself already taking on some of the required duties when I noticed the named Editor-in Chief was slacking on her part. I have always been one to put work at the top of my priorities, giving 100 percent at all times. That being said, I know what it takes to work with difficult people and tight deadlines to produce a successful yearbook. Furthermore, transitioning from my top dog status in high school to the bottom of the editorial chain as a reporter for the Arbutus was also easy for me. One of my biggest strengths is my ability to balance my roles; whether I take on a leadership position, as seen in my role as a Resident Assistant, or assume the role of a follower as an integral workhorse. This balance is enhanced further with my ability to humble myself and admit I need help or guidance.

Choosing to attend Indiana University was a no brainer because I knew from the start I wanted to work for IU Student Media. Having never made contributions to a newspaper before, I felt that working my way in through familiar territory would be appropriate. Any aspiring journalist would like to end up on the top; therefore, I envisioned becoming Editor-in-Chief of the Arbutus while at IU. Given the opportunity to obtain a sneak preview of the way the publications are run at orientation, as well as viewing the quality of the products, only added to my desire to take the reins at the Arbutus. With an opportunity to be the Editor-in-Chief of an award-winning yearbook in the Arbutus, I will be able to exhibit my strengths and continue to develop my journalistic ambitions in a new leadership role.

As a staff writer for the 2011-2012 yearbook, I have both witnessed and been a part of a well-rounded staff full of ambitious members with unique story ideas and incredible creativity. The important thing to remember about the Arbutus is that our job is to capture the details of the IU campus and community as they exist today. Our hope in doing so is for students to someday look back and recollect some of the richest memories their four years at IU had to offer with vivid detail. My goal, therefore, is to hire a staff that will have the same drive as previous years in order to find the most exciting news and produce it in a way that will ingrain it in their peers' memories. This includes not being afraid to expand on story ideas used in the IDS or covering controversial topics among students of various organizations. Photography plays a pivotal part in capturing the essence of Bloomington, so I am prepared to enter the position with fresh design ideas and the intention of using more photos. With riveting news coverage and extended emphasis on permanently captured images of IU and surrounding Bloomington, the Arbutus will become an invaluable tool to keep the 2012-2013 school year alive for decades to come.

The budget obviously plays an important role in the success of the Arbutus. If there were to be a cut in the budget, while I envision photography to take the Arbutus to new heights, we can do without the increase in photos. It will also be essential to filter story ideas to only include those most desired by the students, if the book must cut down on number of pages. I am not worried about a budget cut because producing the best possible product does not rely on money. Simple communication with the marketing team would help me gauge what deserves the most focus and what we can do without. Because the issue cannot be spoiled as production is in progress, the Arbutus presence online will be less content-based than the typical news source. However, I will ensure all staff members' contact information and even social media outlets, like Twitter handles and Facebook pages (if agreed upon) are linked to the page so inquiring students can be well-informed about the Arbutus's recognition and prestige.

Buying a copy of the Arbutus is not merely purchasing a time capsule to preserve our IU memories; a purchase of the Arbutus gives students a sense that they are part of a great tradition. The yearbook helps narrow down the most important campus or community events, meetings and topics for discussion. Classmates, professors, and researchers alike are given a voice through the various articles featured in the book. Essentially, the Arbutus brings IU to life in print form. With knowledge and recognition, anyone can become a part of history just through having their portrait taken and included in a 432-page staple of IU history. With a few motivated staff members spreading the word to their friends, there is no reason that news of the Arbutus cannot spread to half the student population like yesterday's gossip. As an active culture, students often frequently select Bloomington businesses, and so by featuring these businesses' advertisements, the Arbutus will further keep 2012-2013 alive in print so students will be able to recall their favorite restaurants for a study break, their favorite coffee shop, or the best place to see a band perform. Businesses help to make up the tradition of Bloomington, so it is only right that they take part in the Arbutus.

As previously detailed, the ideal staff would include motivated members who are willing to put extra time into making the 2012-2013 Arbutus something truly special. I will ensure the management team and editors are aware I trust them, and I will often delegate crucial tasks in order to empower them with responsibility. While recruiting members, I will be sure to directly call on those with previous experience, provide timely feedback to recognize exceptional work, and enforce when and if I would like to see them continue with the Arbutus. In order to gain a younger following for future generations of the book, I will ask to visit the lower level journalism classes in the fall. This visit would allow the opportunity to make the new students aware of the presence of the yearbook on campus, and provide answers to questions any student may have. This simple introduction will allow everyone an equal opportunity to become involved and begin their journalism career with the Arbutus.

Before fall classes begin, I will use the summer to organize the ladder and outline my goals for the year so I can be prepared to relay my vision to the rest of the staff. Deadlines will also be set accordingly to ensure they are met with precision and accuracy. Workshop opportunities in August and September will allow new members to become acquainted with the differences between a college yearbook and yearbooks they may have worked on in high school. These workshops are crucial to help them feel comfortable in their new environment. Maintaining communication with the staff will not be difficult, as we will exchange phone numbers and email addresses immediately. I also plan to send a weekly email update in addition to weekly meetings to keep everyone on the same page with the entire publication process, and allow production to run smoothly.

In the case that interest in editor positions is scarce, the IDS and INside staffs will be the first places I will turn for help. As a daily publication, it is inevitable that more students recognize the IDS than the Arbutus. However with a slight overlap in staff members or ideas from current IDS or INside articles, the ties to the Arbutus can start to widen and we can begin to bridge the gap in IU Student Media. With the wide range of coverage in the Arbutus, the best way to involve different organizations and the community continues to be to feature them in stories. With social media ever changing, new ideas can and will undoubtedly arise with every passing experience, existing story, or new movement. Arbutus ads in the IDS and increased use of the website, as previously mentioned, will help to create widespread awareness of the Arbutus tradition. I will ultimately bring a fresh vision to the Arbutus and look forward to implementing my ideas, as well as working with a phenomenal staff, to fully capture IU in 2012-2013.

Major: Journalism with a secondary concentration in music
Class standing: Senior
General information: worked at IU Student Media for 8 semesters; lived in Bloomington for 4 years; expected graduation 2012
Staff positions held: managing editor, region editor, campus editor, campus culture/minority issues beat reporter, Bloomington Police Department beat reporter
Jobs performed in IU Student Media: covered a beat, edited copy, taken photos, assigned stories, edited a desk, edited proofs, worked for IDS/Weekend.
Career plans: crime reporting for a major newspaper in a sizable city with enough interesting crimes to keep me busy.

1. Write an essay outlining your ethical, philosophical and professional goals as editor. In short, why are you the best-qualified candidate to lead the Indiana Daily Student? Describe your management style and cite examples that illustrate it. How would you approach a difficult management decision? Also, describe your approach to recruitment, training and management across departments in the newsroom.

I'll keep this brief.

I'm the best-qualified candidate for the job because I have eight semesters worth of experience at the paper in a variety of positions, including two during the summer. I understand the difficulties and expectations of a GA reporter, a beat reporter, a desk editor and a managing editor. I understand the importance of our designers, photographers and copy editors, as well as the significance of strong communication between those creating the visuals and those creating the words.

As it's summer, recruiting will be difficult, but I understand that going in and know how to work with a tiny staff. Additionally, I plan on reaching out to many of my old sources from when I was a campus culture reporter to find new, diverse talent.

If there are any other concerns, I will be happy to address them during pub board.

2. Strengths and shortcomings. Build a list of IDS strengths. Then build a list of IDS shortcomings. With each item, include a concise reflection on how you would approach it as editor-in-chief.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

As most applicants usually note, we have great features and narrative works in the IDS. It's kind of our thing. Something we've seemed to struggle with is the relevancy of these features. Sometimes, a news hook does not seem to be there.

I found out last summer that even a 500-word story about a campus greenhouse confuses some readers when there's no news hook. Imagine how the reader must feel when she comes across a 2,000-word story about a local bouncer. There has to be a news hook. If we have a great story about Lauren Spierer, it needs to be published on an anniversary, for example. Most great stories have a news hook hidden inside them already. It just needs a little extra planning.

While not a regular issue, we do sometimes lag a little on breaking news, particularly if it's off campus. The slower pace of the summer can make this even worse. It's pretty easy to get complacent. Every now and then a huge story can electrify the newsroom like last summer, but that's not often the case. We can stay on top of the news by staying on top of sources who are going to know of the breaking news before we do.

Mark Land, of IU Communications, once said he talked to me more than his own wife. Sources at BPD and IUPD have given me their cell phone numbers in case of breaking police stories. Even just going to press time at the police station can lead to breaking news as the officer will often say if something important is about to go down. Treating your sources with respect and showing a genuine interest in wanting to know what only they can tell you will go a long way.

We always have fantastic designs at the IDS (when talking to people at other student publications, this is the one thing I always hear them praise), but I would like to see us try using those design skills to get more pick-ups. Let's start thinking of different ways to present stories. Every now-and-then, let's think of the top half of P1 as a separate entity from the bottom.

3. The summer IDS and its staff. IDS coverage adapts to the different pace of summer on campus. At the same time, the staff is typically smaller and its priorities different. How will you adjust print coverage from daily to twice weekly? How will you edit a 24/7 site and social media with a small staff? How do you plan to handle the special sections produced by the summer staff?

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

As I have worked as a member of the summer staff twice now, both as reporter and editor, I already have a handle on how the pace and priorities differ. The website will function much more as a separate publication. We publish a paper only two times a week, but the website is still a 24/7 news source. Desk editors will have to come in five days of the week for office hours and will be responsible for daily web updates. The paper will contain more in-depth articles, longer-form features and stories that expand upon our breaking news coverage.

The summer paper often has a tiny staff. The word "small" doesn't quite do it justice. The summer staff is essentially just management , desk editors, design chiefs and copy chiefs. You're lucky to have two reporters write consistently for any desk. As a desk editor last summer, I quickly realized how important it is to simply step up and do whatever needs to be done to get the paper out or update the site.

When an IU student went missing, we were late on the story. We had really great coverage the rest of summer and really earned the trust of the community during that difficult time, but it will always stick with me that we were late on that first story. The reason this happened was because we did not have a cops reporter. If you don't have a reporter at press time every day, these are the kinds of things you risk missing. So, for the rest of the summer I went to press time as a cops reporter. I was still campus editor, but I was also a beat reporter for the region desk.

Even as a desk editor in the fall, my co-editor and I only had one beat reporter. At a daily pace, we were still able to fill the page and cover stories that needed covering. I am not a stranger to a small staff. You just have to work like you're more than one person. I will expect my desk editors to have the same attitude.

4. Improving our connections to readers. Like other newspapers, our print readership declines while our online readership grows. Describe how you would improve a) online coverage, in both breaking news and social media, and b) print coverage that enhances pickups at our circulation points.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

Pick-ups and readership have been a constant concern in the newsroom as of late. Every time I pass one of our stands, I am compelled to check inside to see how many papers remain. I often wince at the sight of it. We sometimes hear from members of the ad staff that pickups are down. Sometimes we'll get vague tips such as "basketball gets pickups" or "make sure you get the game's score above the fold." Solid advice, but we don't have basketball all year round.

What we really need are numbers.

Even when we experiment (filling the entire above-the-fold with one story or photo for example), we really have no clue how our pickups might or might not have improved that day from this experimentation. If something we do proves to be successful, we should be aware of that success and tuck that method into our back pockets to pull back out when it's useful.

I am completely for more communication between the newsroom and the ad staff. They're part of the same team and I would love to be able to talk to them more. I bet they have some great advice to give us if we can just ask.

I understand the concerns here. This could be a slippery slope to appeasing advertisers rather than telling the stories that need to be told. But I see it as appeasing our readers. I see it as having a better idea of what stories they like to read. If a story's important but might not get us a large number of pick-ups, I am still going to run it (and prominently), but our P1 has to have something on it that we know will get us pick-ups, too, be that in the form of a story or a proven design technique. Otherwise, who's even picking up the paper to read that important story?

Additionally, it's become standard practice to use the paper to plus to online-only content when we have it. We should use the website in the same way for paper-only content. If we have a guide or special section inside one of our paper editions, I think we should hold it back from the site and tell our readers online that you can find it on the stands. When the paper is no longer on the stands, then put the section up on the site. It adds a level of importance and immediacy to the paper edition.

As for our online presence, I think social media has been great this semester. We've gained hundreds of new followers on our Twitter account. My primary goal would be to just keep this up, hiring a Social Media Editor who is as excited about the medium as our current editor. I would also require all of my editors and important beat reporters to create professional Twitter accounts or make sure their current accounts are professional. I would like to see more live-tweeting of events. Letting our readers know that our reporters have Twitter accounts that are just as reliable as our main feed would allow us to do this without overdoing the output of the IDS account.

Maintaining and improving our social media output will help drive readers to our site, as will maximizing the use of keywords in our online headlines.

Major: Journalism, minor in psychology
Class standing: Junior
General information: worked at IU Student Media for 4 semesters; lived in Bloomington for 3 years; expected graduation May 2013
Staff positions held: managing editor, region desk editor, midterm election/health beat reporter, IU/Bloomington Police beat reporter, copy editor, photographer
Jobs performed in IU Student Media: covered a beat, edited copy, taken photos, created multimedia, assigned stories, edited a desk, edited proofs, worked for IDS/Weekend and Arbutus.
Other media experience: Tampa Bay Times Poynter Intern (by start of fall semester), San Diego Union-Tribune Business reporting intern, B97 radio intern.
Organizations: Society of Professional Journalists, Indiana Collegiate Press Association.
Career plans: work at a daily newspaper as a reporter or editor for social media. I am applying to law school as a backup, but that path is highly improbable.

1. Write an essay outlining your ethical, philosophical and professional goals as editor. Describe your management style, with examples to illustrate it. How would you approach a difficult management decision? Describe your approach to recruitment, training and management across departments in the newsroom. Tell us why you are the best-qualified candidate to lead the Indiana Daily Student.

The title of editor-in-chief should not ring hollow. It is a title that implies trust, worthiness, responsibility and respect. Thus, I have a number of goals for the future of the Indiana Daily Student, both in print and online, and for hiring management for Inside Magazine.

My main concerns for the IDS will be to ensure that I, my managing staff and all desk editors and designers are comfortable with Associated Press style, IDS style and the code of ethics using a positive, educational managing style.

I have had many opportunities to improve my leadership abilities. I micromanaged when I began as a managing editor at the IDS in fall 2011, but I have since learned to place far more trust in my staff members. Though I will always be aware of what they are working on and planning, I also will trust them to know what their desks need within my broader goals for the newspaper. I showed this change in style midway through last fall, when I often asked desk editors their plans and trusted them to execute them properly. I was rarely disappointed.

I plan to work very closely with my general assignments editor and Ruth Witmer in recruitment. Miss Ruth knows what students can find at IU Student Media. I am excited to do class visits, and I will help my general assignments editor execute any plans to recruit.

I want to build a sense of mutual respect and trust among my staff. That is why, in addition to two days of workshops at the beginning of the semester that will cover ethics, style and staff management, I am planning a retreat for the editors. I want to show the editors they can work together early so they will work as a team when they are in the high-stress newsroom.

I have already made several difficult ethical decisions at the IDS, both as a daily desk editor and as a managing editor. My response has been to refer to our code of ethics, which I helped revise last year, and, when our code is unclear, the ethical recommendations written and reviewed by the Society of Professional Journalists. My response is also to be fair and understanding, minimizing harm to sources while maintaining our credibility. For example, in fall 2011 a member of Occupy IU became infuriated when I told him the IDS would not remove his name from an article published online. The article had covered a meeting in a public setting, and the reporter had correctly identified him. There was no ethical reason to remove his name. It was difficult to listen as he berated me, but I did not change my decision.

I am the best-qualified candidate because I have the experience required to lead a staff and run an entire newspaper and news website. I have already recruited and managed reporters and editors. My experience has given me the knowledge to manage every facet of the newspaper, which those with less experience cannot claim.

2. Strengths and shortcomings. Build a list of IDS strengths. Then build a list of IDS shortcomings. With each item, include a concise reflection on how you would approach it as editor-in-chief.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

The following is a numbered list of strengths and shortcomings, with a short response listed under each item.

Strengths

1. Feature writing
The IDS is lauded for its in-depth profiles and feature news stories. I plan to continue to work long-term with reporters, editors and their experienced professors. I will also make sure the focus of our features is on newsworthiness, timeliness and information, not just entertainment.

2. Recruitment of qualified staff
We routinely recruit designers, reporters, photographers and editors who are very knowledgeable about the issues important to each desk. They do not always immediately know how to present news covering such issues, but training and guidance can easily fix this. I will work to recruit a qualified staff with interviews and an application that includes a résumé, set of essay questions, list of in-house references and IDS style/ethics test.

3. Deadline reporting
The IDS has had strong deadline reporters for several years. Our reporters know how to quickly gather information and organize it coherently. I plan to encourage this and will help desk editors educate their reporters in doing it well. I will not shy away from a story simply because it happens close to our midnight deadline. Our audience craves breaking, original news, and I plan to give it to them. Breaking news and original reporting drive our pick-ups more than any other content we produce.

Weaknesses

1. Adherence to ethics
Spring 2012 has proven a weak semester for ethics at the IDS. For example, the creation of Collegiate Brand News, the satire page, has confused and even angered many of our readers. I have spoken with several journalism and non-journalism students about the page, and most have said they didn't realize it wasn't true news and didn't understand why a newspaper would want to write fake stories. In addition, several editors from other desks, including management, have contributed to the satire page, which is clearly in violation of the code. This will stop immediately if I am selected as editor-in-chief. I plan to meet with as many individuals as possible who were falsely quoted by CBN, including IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash and IU President McRobbie, to apologize for our unprofessional conduct and earn back their trust and cooperation with student media.

All editors will demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the code, which will be assessed at the time of their application and after workshops in the fall, before they are allowed to have responsibility in the newsroom.

2. Teamwork between art desks (photo and design)
One of my main goals is to change the role of art director on the management staff. Currently, the art director is very similar to a design chief. I want the person I hire as art director to have experience in both design and photography, and I want that person to assume more a managerial role, as the managing editors do, and be less of a content producer. This will help the design and photo desks understand one another's needs, leading to better content planning. Since design and photos are the first things our readers see, better content planning will create more compelling front pages, which will lead to more pick-ups, more advertising revenue and a more comfortable budget for the newsroom.

3. Prioritizing multimedia/online content
Multimedia content increased dramatically when Matt Callahan was multimedia editor in fall 2011, and it has gone down again. It should not be the job of the multimedia editor to create all content. That is why I plan to use real-world examples, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, to show our students that they need multimedia and online experience. This will recruit more people committed to online success.

3. Serving all of campus. Every semester, the newspaper strives to cover a diverse community of students, faculty and staff. Applicants for editor can offer lofty goals, but specific, realistic approaches are more likely to take root. How do you recruit a diverse staff? How will you ensure diverse content.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

I am not an expert in recruitment, so I plan to speak with contacts I have made during my time at IU when I try to employ a diverse staff. I have served as teaching assistant for a telecommunications professor and, through various volunteer work, have worked with Eric Love at the Office of Diversity Education and Doug Bauder at GLBT Student Support Services. I have many contacts I can work with to understand what members of each group are looking for, and I hope to use these contacts to reach different students and help them understand how work at IU Student Media can fulfill those needs.

I will ensure diverse content by having a diverse staff. I plan to help editors expand their number of beat reporters. Having beat reporters devoted to different types of coverage will guarantee our content is not repetitive and addresses news that concerns our diverse student population. In addition, individuals will produce less content, ensuring that what they do produce is quality rather than a jumble of words used to fill space.

4. Improving our connections to readers. Like other newspapers, our print readership declines while our online readership grows. Describe how you would improve a) online coverage, in both breaking news and social media, and b) print coverage that enhances pickups at our circulation points.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

Breaking news draws our readers. Our features are wonderful, but the average readers don't have time to read 2,000 words. They simply want to keep abreast of the latest news in an informative, quick and interesting way.

I plan to rework the way we produce online content, particularly in breaking news situations. Currently, online content goes through at least three and often four stages of editing before being mentioned on our website. As editor-in-chief, I plan to limit those stages to two. The first will be either the desk or online editor, and the second will be either a copy chief or a managing editor. The desks of those mentioned that did not view the story before posting will be required to do so as soon as they are in the newsroom. This will improve our speed without sacrificing editing and more closely models the processes used in professional newsrooms.

When I worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune, I managed the business desk's Twitter feed and Facebook page and doubled both followers and likes. Our social media can improve by becoming more consistent. The online editor will not be the only person who can update social media. I and my management team will teach desk editors proficiency in social media use, and they will be encouraged to use social media and our website on a regular basis. Being consistent, as professional news sources are, draws an online audience.

Like online viewers, our print audience craves breaking news, but it also craves compelling design. I plan to work closely with the art director, photo editors and design chiefs to reconsider the way we're applying our innovative style. I want the focus of designers to be on both news value and how pleasant each design is to the eye rather than fitting too much content on the front page. I will make sure breaking news and original content are high on every front page, a compelling design is above the fold and there is a strong, newsworthy centerpiece. These changes will improve pick-ups at our circulation points.

I also want to work with the IU Student Media business staff to improve pick-ups. Our advertising professionals and students know, often better than those of us on the editorial side, what draws readers. I want to put their expertise to use in knowing our audience. These two sides of the IDS will remain separate, of course, but that does not mean they cannot learn from one another.

Major: Journalism and American studies
Class standing: Sophomore
General information: worked at IU Student Media for 4 semesters; lived in Bloomington for 2 years; expected graduation May 2014
Staff positions held: IDS multimedia reporter, web editor, multimedia editor, state and national political beat reporter, Weekend columnist, Inside features assistant.
Jobs performed in IU Student Media: covered a beat, wrote commentary, taken photos, created multimedia, designed pages, assigned stories, edited a desk, edited proofs, worked for IDS/Weekend, Inside and Artubus.
Other media experience: Internships at the Colleyville Courier, The Dallas Morning News and Gannett Washington Bureau, freelance reporter for Alliance Regional Newspapers.
Organziations: Indiana Collegiate Press Association, HopJockeys homebrew club.
Career plans: I hope to write and produce online content for a mid-sized news or feature publication. Ultimately, I'd like to earn a graduate degree and teach full-time.

1. Write an essay outlining your ethical, philosophical and professional goals as editor. Describe your management style, with examples to illustrate it. How would you approach a difficult management decision? Describe your approach to recruitment, training and management across departments in the newsroom. Tell us why you are the best-qualified candidate to lead the Indiana Daily Student.

Journalism at Ernie Pyle Hall has been important in my family from an early age. My grandmother shared fond memories of attending the High School Journalism Institute with Gretchen Kemp and Nelson Poynter in the early 1950s. My father was a photographer for the 1981 and 1982 Arbutus, and I loved to leaf through old yearbooks in our garage. I grew up in Texas, but summers with my grandparents in Bedford, Ind., were never complete without a trip to Bloomington to see Assembly Hall, stock up on Hoosier gear at T.I.S. and grab a copy of the Daily Student.

I have always respected the tradition of excellence at the Indiana Daily Student. As editor-in-chief, I would keep that tradition strong through an inclusive management style and solid, realistic goals to keep us not just living, but thriving in the 21st-century newsroom.

My management style is one of interactive inclusion. I take responsibility for every management decision, but in making those decisions I try to get input from as many parties as possible. I will seek counsel from desk editors and reporters to solve disputes that arise. For example, in working on this application, I wanted to make sure I knew as much as I could about the various IDS publications to avoid conflicts in the future. I've worked for WEEKEND and Inside as well as the IDS, but I took the time to talk with current and past editors to better understand the issues they deal with and how to best improve those sections of the IDS brand.

One of my biggest goals is to turn the IDS into a truly online newsroom. I highly respect the tradition of the printed product, but in 2012 we have the resources and ability to move from a print model that posts online to an online model that creates a quality printed product five days a week. I want my editors and reporters to produce content throughout the day. The daily rush of stories coming in midday is unnecessary. Instead, stories should come in as they are finished, no matter how early or late. At the end of the day in our evening budget meeting, editors should choose their best stories from the day to run in the paper.

We need to improve communication between desks and individual reporters. Writers and photographers too often have no communication. I want to find a new way of sending photo pitches, whether with emailed forms or printed slips of paper. Photo editors complain week after week that other desk editors send incomplete photo pitches. Desk editors must communicate fully and completely with editors, and photographers should be put in contact with writers (and vice versa) to make sure we are telling complete stories visually and in words textually. We should think through how we will present stories online when they are pitched to writers and photographers. Would it work with a video? Will an audio slideshow convey the information better? Will there be enough images for a photo gallery? These questions must be asked as soon as stories are pitched.

2. Strengths and shortcomings. Build a list of IDS strengths. Then build a list of IDS shortcomings. With each item, include a concise reflection on how you would approach it as editor-in-chief.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

STRENGTHS:

TRADITION — The tradition of excellence at the IDS is one of the greatest strengths of the paper. From the press plates on the walls of the newsroom to Ernie Pyle's desk adorned with the signatures of past editors, we work amidst greatness. I would be honored to have the opportunity to continue that long line of excellence as the IDS faces new challenges and finds new solutions.

LONG-FORM WRITING — Our long features make readers laugh and cry with emotional, compelling writing. They challenge the belief that our generation wants news fast and incomplete. We have the ability to show off our award-winning writing, and I think it is one of our biggest strengths we need to keep around and keep strong.

PAGE-ONE PACKAGE CONTENT — We always have room for improvement, but when we give it some thought, we pull off great page-one centerpiece packages and above-the-fold design. When we forget to check our above-the-fold line or don't plan centerpieces, our page one suffers. As long as we keep quality design and content packages in mind, I consider our page-one packages a strength.

SHORTCOMINGS:

INSIDE CONTENT — As great as our section fronts are, we suffer when it comes to consistent quality inside. All stories should be interesting, informative, well-researched and well-written. Freedom of space online means we should produce as much content as possible while still maintaining quality, but only the best and most important stories should be allowed in the IDS printed product.

WEB REPORTING — We struggle with getting things online quickly and with correct information. We've tried implementing breaking news reporters, but no one expressed interest. We tried having web editors update the website, but they end up overwhelmed with other responsibilities. I suggest instead that desk editors create a calendar to be posted at the desk showing the availability of each beat reporter so editors are better prepared to send out reporters when breaking news hits. An even bigger problem we have is improving a story once it goes up. We cannot settle on a single brief. We cannot settle on a single print story. We need to keep reporters working until the story is finished. When a Pizza X driver was shot south of town, I drove out and was at the scene before the police investigators had time to tape off the crime scene. I tweeted from the scene and updated online throughout the night as police released more information. Over the next few days, I wrote follow-up stories as a suspect was arrested and the driver was mourned. This fall, I hope to continue to cover the story as the suspect is brought to trial in early October. This commitment to continuing coverage is how breaking stories should be treated.

VISUAL CONTINUITY — Photographers and writers on assignment rarely see each other. This is not acceptable. Writers and photographers should work together, and I will make sure each writer has the photographer's contact information and vice versa. Along the same visual lines, visual GA needs to be reinstated and redefined. If writers and designers have to go through a specific and defined training sequence, photographers should do the same. This training must include video experience. As multimedia editor I've seen failure in our photographer and videographer training. We can teach new photographers how to shoot stills, but they must learn multimedia to create content of superior quality for idsnews.com and be better prepared when they leave our newsroom.

3. Serving all of campus. Every semester, the newspaper strives to cover a diverse community of students, faculty and staff. Applicants for editor can offer lofty goals, but specific, realistic approaches are more likely to take root. How do you recruit a diverse staff? How will you ensure diverse content.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

Too many campus leaders and students believe we only accept journalism majors. In conversations with cultural center directors, I have been surprised by the lack of relationships we have built across campus. To recruit a diverse staff, I would ask cultural center directors to help us by sending out notes to their students through weekly emails about our fall open house and application process. I would also empower our marketing staff to create a targeted ad campaign to tell people in Kelley, SPEA, Jacobs, in fraternity and sorority houses, at cultural centers and elsewhere on campus that they are welcome to join our staff.

To ensure diverse content, communication is key. When I have spoken with campus leaders, their biggest complaint is they do not know how to get coverage of their important events. I want beat reporters to contact their sources before they even write a story so that both parties know what to expect from each other. As editor, I would continue to meet with other campus leaders to make sure our reporters are treated fairly. For example, I'm planning to meet with leaders in the greek community very early in the semester to make sure our reporters are treated well and that we cover the 20 percent of campus involved in the Greek system in a complete and fair way. Too often we ignore the greek and diversity beats and do not give them the attention they deserve. I would make sure our strongest reporters are encouraged to take those positions and foster quality reporting during the semester.

4. Improving our connections to readers. Like other newspapers, our print readership declines while our online readership grows. Describe how you would improve a) online coverage, in both breaking news and social media, and b) print coverage that enhances pickups at our circulation points.

CANDIDATE'S ANSWER

(A) Our web presence could always improve. Our breaking news coverage is not bad by any means, but updating the web needs to become the priority. When a reporter first gets to the scene of a breaking news story, they should be calling in quotes and facts so the website can be updated. They should be tweeting from their accounts so that the official IDS account can re-tweet or update based on reports. In a breaking situation, 30 to 45 minutes without an update is unacceptable.

Our social media accounts also need concentration on reporting updates, not just posting links. This goes beyond simply live-tweeting a press conference. When shots were fired north of campus on Halloween weekend, the @idsnews Twitter account became a place for students to check on the most recent updates, ask where police were looking for the suspect and how to stay safe. We beat the official IU Bloomington account in updates from IUPD and IU Notify. What is more important, however, is that we started a conversation with students and didn't simply post links to find information. We forget that social media is inherently social and that it is best used when we engage with readers.

(B) The best way to strengthen pickups is to consistently produce a better product. We are good at creating solid page-one packages and above-the-fold presentations when we take the time to think about the way the product will look to readers passing by. We need to plan our above-the-fold content cohesively and completely every week in a way that is captivating in the newsstand. Inside content is also vital to the strength of the IDS, our reputation and the number of pickups we get each day. I know we have the tools and the talent to excel and produce quality stories, photographs and design that will engage a wide variety of readers and encourage pickups. I'm excited to lead the paper in that direction.