The Oregon Daily Emerald’s board of directors has named Jennifer Sudick as the newspaper’s next editor in chief to replace graduating editor Brad Schmidt.
“The challenge is to remain relevant to today’s readers,” Board Chairman Chris Frisella said. “I think Jennifer has a great vision for the direction of the newspaper.”
Frisella, who has been the chairman of the board for five years, said that turnover of editorial staff can be a problem specific to university newspapers, but he said it’s a problem that can be overcome by choosing a good staff and maintaining enthusiasm.
“She was full of ideas and very passionate about journalism and the Emerald in particular,” Frisella said. “She has had a wide range of experience here at the Emerald and has developed a good reputation.”
Editor in chief applicants must submit a lengthy written application, which is followed by an interview with the Emerald department heads. Next, applicants must make a presentation to the Emerald staff about the direction they would like to take the newsroom. Both the department heads and the Emerald staff then make their recommendations to the Board.
In the last selection stage, applicants must endure a lengthy interview with the board of directors.
“Intense,” said Sudick of the interview process. “It helped me solidify my goals for the paper.”
Sudick got her start at the Emerald as a copy editor her freshman year. She rose through the ranks of the newsroom, achieving the position of copy chief last year and this year, followed by a promotion to freelance editor in winter term.
“I’m genuinely committed to this newspaper,” she said. “I’ve invested more than two years of my life to the Emerald because it is so important to me.”
A collection of ideas for the newspaper fills a file at Sudick’s home, written on anything from scrap paper to restaurant napkins, she said.
“Every suggestion I hear, whether it’s from someone in one of my classes to another Emerald staff member, I write down,” said Sudick, “I think it’s really important to listen to peers.”
Juggling a full-time class load while working long hours at the Emerald has been a challenge, but she said it has helped prepare her for the editor in chief position.
Following graduation next year and the completion of her editorship, Sudick said she’d like to work at a large metropolitan daily newspaper such as The Oregonian, and eventually be an editor. But for now, she said she’s focused on her new duties at the Emerald.
Sudick said she’d like to focus on making the Emerald more readable for busy students who may not always have time to read every news story.
“We definitely have the design staff necessary to make the newspaper better visually,” she said.
Sudick, a junior, is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in business and communication studies. She hails from Sandpoint, Idaho, where she worked as an intern at the Bonner County Daily Bee. This summer she will intern at the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon.