Emerald Media Group’s Board of Directors has selected Jack Pitcher as the Emerald’s 2017-18 Editor in Chief. He will take over the position in June. Pitcher has worked with the Emerald as a senior news reporter since September 2016. He started as a copy editor before moving into his position on the news desk. …

Emerald Media Group’s Board of Directors has selected Jack Pitcher as the Emerald’s 2017-18 Editor in Chief. He will take over the position in June.
Pitcher has worked with the Emerald as a senior news reporter since September 2016. He started as a copy editor before moving into his position on the news desk.
Pitcher is a sophomore business administration major and media studies minor at the University of Oregon.
“I’m really excited to work on building next year’s staff in the coming months,” said Pitcher. “I have a vision for the Emerald and want to make it the best it can be.”  
Pitcher was running against two other candidates who EMG Board Chair Ben Schorzman said were smart and impressive, but Pitcher stood out.
“What set Jack apart in one respect was his maturity. We really loved his realistic approach,” said Schorzman. “Even though he’s a sophomore he comported himself well to the board.”
Schorzman and the board think Pitcher’s background as a business major will be helpful in leading the newsroom.
“You don’t need to have a degree in journalism to be a journalist. He’s got great instincts,” said Schorzman. “As an editor, you also have to have a focus on the business side … So, he’s already got a leg up on that.”
One of the elements Schorzman liked most about Pitcher was his attunement to investigative journalism. “[Pitcher spoke about] growing the investigative reporting that the Emerald does and, in the changing news environment, thinking about what makes good journalism,” said Schorzman.
Some of the plans Pitcher wants to work on involve “expanding the news desk and our content output from there,” he said. “[And] having a rigorous copy editing system.”
Emerald news editor Noah McGraw has worked with Pitcher closely and has seen his growth as a news reporter first-hand. “Jack has in my opinion a really, really strong idea of what news is and how a newspaper should function,” said McGraw, “and he’s constantly demonstrated that to me.”
“He was the star reporter for us when he first came on and he moved over from the copy desk, and within a term he was a senior reporter,” said McGraw.
Until June, Pitcher will continue working on the news desk and will shadow current Editor in Chief Cooper Green.
“I’m just excited to work with everyone next year and get us started on a great note in the summer,” said Pitcher.