Junior named IDS editor in chief

Junior Adam VanOsdol was named spring semester editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student by the IDS publications board Tuesday afternoon.\nVanOsdol will replace the current editor in chief, senior Cory Schouten.\n"He has good news instincts, plus he's a thoughtful and talented editor and writer," Schouten said. "I think people are going to enjoy working for him."\nVanOsdol, the only candidate for the position, was named editor by a nine-member board made up of three professional journalists, three students and three members of the faculty.\n"Adam was my boss last spring (as campus editor) so I know how capable he is," said junior Colin Kearns, an IDS senior writer who served on the publications board. "He may be a little shy at times, but I have no doubt in my mind that he can make a decision on deadline. He'll be a good fit for the job."\nVanOsdol, a journalism major, has been on staff since his freshman year and is currently a senior writer. He also interned with the Kokomo Tribune in the summer of 2002. He said one of his goals is to focus on upgrading the paper's Web site.\n"I plan to do a few things differently," VanOsdol said. "I'll be working to improve idsnews.com. I want to try to add some things to make the site more interactive."\nThere will also could be changes behind the scenes.\n"He wants to look further into the business aspect, like the wages of editors and writers, which from my standpoint is a good thing," Kearns said.\nUsually IDS editors are seniors, but the board was impressed with VanOsdol's commitment to journalism.\n"It's a little unique to have a junior as editor," publisher Dave Adams said. "I know it's happened before, but probably not in the past five or six years. Though he's a little younger than many recent editor in chiefs, he has a special passion for journalism. I believe that will make him an excellent staff leader."\nOne quality that especially impressed Adams is VanOsdol's drive to scoop competitors.\n"He has a passion for making sure the paper has everything that interests the IU community, even more so than other local media," Adams said. "He seems to get a special joy and glee from that. It's a nice passion to have."\nKearns said VanOsdol plans to stay in competition with local media.\n"Adam has a strong competitive side to him," he said. "He's committed to the IDS staying on top of breaking news, and ahead of its competitors."\nBut VanOsdol said he's really just out to learn.\n"Journalism is a way to seek out knowledge," VanOsdol said. "It's a way to learn about anything I want."\n-- Contact staff writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.