Maris Toalson will be the Ethos Magazine’s new editor-in-chief for 2023-2024, starting summer 2023.
Toalson is a third-year journalism student with minors in political science and science communication. She started as a fact-checker for Ethos over the 2021 summer after she discovered Ethos through her media and social action Academic Residential Community student mentor. While holding the position of fact-checker, Toalson wrote for Ethos occasionally. She officially became an Ethos writer in spring of her sophomore year. In summer of 2022, Toalson became one of the two associate editors for Ethos.
“I see journalism as a public service,” Toalson said. “I hope that in the editor-in-chief position I can continue to empower people I work with and cultivate a strong sense of a supportive community.”
Current Ethos EiC Abby Sourwine describes the job as a very outward-facing role. The EiC has the final say for all magazine decisions and sets the vision for the year. The EiC also participates in all hiring decisions and handles all internal personnel issues. The EiC ensures that everything runs smoothly while supporting the Ethos staff, she said.
Along with her work with Ethos, Toalson has been working towards a certificate in Outdoor Leadership through the UO outdoor pursuits program since 2022, has worked at Writing Central — an SOJC-specific writing coach program — since fall of 2022, and has been a member of the UO competitive alpine ski team since 2020 of her freshman year.
“That’s been a really rewarding experience,” Toalson said of the outdoor pursuits program. “I think it taught me a lot about leadership, including how my leadership style impacts how I work with other people.”
Toalson notes that her previous busy schedules taught her key skills in time management and learning how to best balance different responsibilities. Toalson plans to be an EiC who approaches people as “whole people” and not as just the work they do. Toalson defines her approach to leadership as “empathetic and holistic.”
Looking back on her time writing for Ethos, Toalson says that she is proudest of her work on Actively Ignored: The Fight for the Urban Farm because of how she was able to see the story impact the community that the story represented.
Toalson said she started to feel like a true journalist while working on this story.
“I think it’s one of the most rewarding parts of journalism is receiving positive feedback from the people you represent and them telling you that you’ve represented them accurately,” Toalson said.
Sourwine said she’s seen Toalson’s growth over the past and appreciates how she has always been willing to try new things. She remembers times when Toalson was off campus for a skiing competition but still logged into and engaged with the weekly Ethos Zoom meeting.
“I think Maris is one of the most level headed people I’ve ever encountered,” Sourwine said. “She’s calm and just has this aura of compassion around her — she really cares about people. She’s also very dedicated and determined in the things she cares about. She always gives 100%.”
Toalson said one of her goals is to highlight the Ethos mission statement: “elevate the voices of marginalized communities who are traditionally underrepresented in the media landscape.” She wants Ethos to focus on non-extractive and collaborative journalism that doesn’t just focus on the negatives of life, but instead elevates communities and gives them a positive spotlight.
“I’m a big proponent of solutions-based journalism because I think that journalism that focuses on important issues doesn’t have to be super down, harsh or depressing,” Toalson said. “It can also be about really happy stories, which are so important to tell.”
The Board of Directors, who selected Toalson for the EiC position, said that Toalson demonstrated calm and effective confidence in her leadership. When presented with scenario-based questions Toalson responded quickly and thoroughly with answers that ensured the publication of quality journalism.
“Not only were her curiosity and story ideas reflective of that Ethos mission but her want to tell the stories of success and joy of marginalized communities and not just focus on the ‘common narrative being the plight’ of these communities, which is often the case, showed a really introspective and positive way to tell stories and put her own mark on how to elevate a community, and evolve the publication,” Board member Jenn Casey said.
Toalson has begun shadowing Sourwine and will officially take the EiC role in early June.
