Jackson McCoy, The Post’s current copy chief, was selected as editor-in-chief for the 2025-2026 academic year Monday by the paper’s publishing board.
McCoy is studying journalism and environmental studies through the Honors Tutorial College and is minoring in history. McCoy began his time at The Post as a human interest writer and columnist before becoming a slot editor his second semester. Over the 2024-2025 academic year, McCoy served as the copy editor.
Southeastern Ohio is a news desert and The Post is one of the only news sources in the region, McCoy said. He has a goal to expand the coverage to the surrounding communities.
“I think that, especially right now, journalism is in kind of a weird state,” McCoy said. “I really want to be sure that I'm a strong leader and someone who others, student journalists can rely on to be that person that's there for them, that helps them through their stories or through whatever they might be going through.”
Mark Turner, chair of The Post’s publishing board, said the decision was tough to make.
“We discussed for a long time about who we thought would be best suited to take the role,” Turner said. “We hope that all those who applied would still be a big part of The Post and continue the excellence.”
The last two editor-in-chiefs, Alyssa Cruz and Katie Millard, were rising seniors. McCoy, however, is a rising junior. Turner said the year does not matter as much of what an editor-in-chief intends to do with the paper.
“It's often about sort of what you intend to do with the paper,” Turner said. “We knew (this year) was something that we wanted to discuss, but in the end, that lack of experience just in time here at OU didn't really matter compared to what he offered in terms of vision for the newspaper.”
Cruz, the current editor-in-chief, said she believes McCoy will do an awesome job and will be improving what The Post already offers.
“I think a lot of people were like, ‘this guy is definitely going to be a really big deal in the post,’” Cruz said. “I think that has definitely come true. I just think that he has such drive and dedication– he really cares about not just journalism and the future of journalism, but also the future of our paper.”
McCoy said his goal is to be able to look back and say he made The Post a better place with everyone making good content and feeling good about themselves.
“I'm just really excited,” McCoy said. “This is something that I cannot emphasize how happy I am about this, and I'm really proud to be a Postie. I'm really proud to have so many wonderful people around me. I'm just really looking forward to next year.”
