I spend most of my time in a single office furnished with a broken filing cabinet, a dirty plaid couch and computers from the turn of the millennium — not glamorous by any means. But the office has one redeeming factor: I’m surrounded by caricatures of former editors and their memories — these are, of course, the famed ducks. I consider these ducks my biggest motivation. The names I recognize from old mastheads and bylines from publications across the world show me why I devote all my time to this paper.

My name is Katie McInerney, and I am the editor-in-chief of The Daily Orange. I’m a junior newspaper journalism major and am wrapping up my third semester on staff. I previously served as presentation director. The managing editor (and essentially, the other half of my brain) is Kathleen Ronayne, a junior newspaper journalism major and former assistant news editor. We feel honored to work in management, and I hope that you’ll follow our staff’s work as we strive to break barriers and publish more dynamic content than we’ve seen in years.

I have a happy announcement to make: After a profitable advertising year, we’ve saved enough money to pay off our last installment of the lawsuit. Finding the money for this took a combination of our general manager Pete Waack’s ability to minimize costs on both the editorial and business sides of the paper, smart spending by our editorial staff and, of course, the generous support of alumni donors. The D.O. can finally move on and do incredible things with more ease than before. Below, some ways we’ve started to do that.

Year in review

Last spring, SU removed another campus publication from dining halls because an employee objected to its content. We wrote a story and an editorial board arguing the ban violated Jerk magazine’s First Amendment rights. The next day, the chancellor’s office informed the magazine’s editors that they could again distribute in the dining centers.

We went all the way to Utah and followed SU’s men’s basketball team on the journey to the Final Four. Although the Orange failed to get to the Big Dance, it yielded some of the best sports writing and photography published all year.

This October, we produced an off-campus feature guide highlighting ways students can get off the Hill and discover something new. This guide represented a collection of planning across the board — from the Feature staff to the advertising department — everyone got involved. We hope to make it a once-a-semester project for years to come.

Last year, we redesigned our website and with that, we started integrating more content online.

With datelines from around the country and stories that made national news — like our 2010 commencement speaker coverage — we cover it all, just like we have for the past 107 years. And I promise you we have no plans to stop anytime soon.

40th anniversary

The 40th anniversary celebration planned for February presents an exciting way to kick off a yearlong celebration of independent student journalism. I can’t begin to express the benefits that the celebration will bring to D.O. editors and other interested students.

It will be nothing short of inspiring to hear from those who worked in our spots, attended SU and worked tirelessly at their journalism careers. I hope you all attend.

Board of Directors and DOAA

We’re currently in the process of selecting a new alumni member for our Board of Directors, as Rob Howard is stepping down after many years at the post. We’re also working to create an alumni association, headed by passionate D.O. alumni who want to create a stronger network for alumni to keep in touch. Next year we will debut an alumni association page at dailyorange.com.

If you have any advice, story ideas or anything else you’d like to discuss, please feel free to e-mail me at editor@dailyorange.com or give a call at 508-292-0482. I always look forward to feedback.

Katie McInerney (’12) is editor-in-chief and former presentation director at The Daily Orange. She also serves as the president of The Daily Orange Board of Directors. If you’d like to donate a new couch to replace the one in management, contact her at editor@dailyorange.com.

Published on February 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm