We may only have five full weeks of classes remaining before the semester comes to an end, but here at The Post, we’re already in the thick of preparations for the next academic year.
The coming weeks will be a flurry of interviews, training and, if we’re lucky, a bit of time to reflect on the year. We’ll be finalizing plans for our two upcoming special issues, tying up the ends of some long-term projects and getting ready to go our separate ways for the summer.
For some of our students who are entering into the twilight of their senior year, this is an especially bittersweet time. Has it hit me at all that we’ll be graduating in less than two months? Not at all. I can say with some degree of certainty that I won’t realize what’s happening until I see campus disappear in the rearview mirror.
For my own sanity, however, I’m not going to think about that right now. There are far more exciting things to focus on. As things begin to change here at The Post, I’m thrilled to introduce next year’s executive editors. These three individuals have been chosen based on their work with the publication, their skills as leaders and their wonderful ideas for how The Post can continue to grow.
If you, our readers, have ideas about how The Post can improve as we move into the new year, I know our new executive editors would love to hear them.
For now, I’ll let them speak for themselves:
Ellen Wagner, editor-in-chief
I’m Ellen Wagner, and I will be the editor-in-chief for The Post next year. I’m currently a junior and one of the news editors. I have been a writer at The Post since my freshman year. I mostly cover the police beat, which includes crime reports, protests and sexual assault issues.
It’s always a weird transition as seniors leave and new section editors enter their positions. However, I am confident in those who are applying over the next couple weeks that we will have a strong staff next year.
During my time at The Post, I have seen how much we have changed and improved in both print and digital. However, there’s a lot of progress we can make. One of my goals next year is to target students as our audience. I feel like students aren’t aware about a lot of issues that happens at Ohio University and in Athens, and they should since it’s their home for at least four years. I want to explore ways to reach students on social media and make tab more informative for students.
Laila, Taylor and I are hoping to divide the work among us to be engaged with our newsroom staff, the university, OU students and Athens residents.
Laila Riaz, managing editor
Hello. My name is Laila Riaz, and I’m currently copy chief for The Post. I have done a lot at The Post, from copy editing to photography — but I am happy to say that I will be serving as managing editor for this coming Fall Semester. My job will include editing stories while managing several sections at The Post.
My wish as managing editor is to continue great work like our predecessors before us while helping bring to life the new exciting ideas Ellen and Taylor have for this publication. I will do my best to serve as a dependable managing editor until I graduate in December.
Taylor Johnston, digital managing editor
Hey, all. I’m Taylor Johnston, and this coming academic year I will assume the role of digital managing editor for The Post. During my time here, I have worked as a news reporter, investigative reporter, blogger, web designer and illustrator. I hope to use the skills that I have gained from working at this publication for the last three years to continue its growth.
I have a passion for all things digital, whether it’s a compelling data-driven story or a beautifully hand-crafted landing page. With this, I hope to continue to help create content that will be cohesive for print and web and to reinforce that throughout the newsroom and my staffs.
I am excited for this experience and looking forward to what my colleagues and I will soon accomplish inside and outside of Baker 325.
Lauren Fisher is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the (soon-to-be former) editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions for her? Email Lauren at lf966614@ohio.edu or tweet her @Lauren__Fisher.
If you’d like to talk to Ellen, Laila and/or Taylor, you can email them at ew047615@ohio.edu, lr784616@ohio.edu or tj369915@ohio.edu, respectively.
