McBride: From the editor’s desk

My father always reminds me that I’m going to college for my diploma — not The Daily Orange. But little does he know this paper is the first thing I think about when I wake up, the last thing I think about before I go to sleep and sometimes what I dream about at night. Of course, it was like that before I became editor in chief, but there is so much about this year that is different and special for The D.O. From breaking news stories receiving national coverage to the paper receiving recognition for excellence to the staff dealing with changing times for journalism firsthand, these past few months have been filled with exciting highs and lows.

The paper received national recognition this fall as one of five daily newspapers at four-year colleges to win a 2011 Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press. The D.O.’s website received an Online Pacemaker, and former assistant photo editor Matthew Ziegler (’11) placed fifth in the spot news photography category for a photo capturing lightning on campus. It certainly made everyone feel honored and inspired to continue to create great content and cover the campus to the best of our abilities. Unfortunately, the staff is also dealing with poor ad sales that have put the paper $40,000 behind the projected budget, affecting many areas. The paper is simply dealing with the challenges many national papers are facing, such as advertisers leaving the paper because of changes to their own budgets. To deal with this deficit, The D.O.’s board of directors cut costs from areas such as IT, travel and office printing. The alumni newsletter is being published online, another way for the paper to save.

I don’t enjoy telling my staff that we must print 16-page papers, the smallest size The D.O. produces, but I also keep in mind that if I can save a couple pages in printing costs today, that helps us tomorrow. And, of course, I would never want to see the paper’s endeavors to create a strong design or solid enterprise story disrupted because of struggling finances.

The issue of ad sales came to a head in December, when the board was faced with a vote on whether The D.O. could afford traveling to a men’s basketball game in DePaul, Ill., during winter break, when the paper does not print. The decision was not easy, nor was it made lightly, especially considering the Fine allegations. Given the tight budget, low ad sales and the prospect of costly travel expenses when the university moves to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the board voted to cut the expense. Because of cuts like this one, we were able to finish the calendar year on target with expenditures. When I’m not working or thinking about the paper (which is not very often), I’m a junior dual major studying newspaper and online journalism and management. Previously, I served as news editor and assistant news editor. At the start of the school year, former assistant feature editor Amrita Mainthia joined me as managing editor. Amrita will be finishing up her senior year during the spring semester and working to expand The D.O.’s Web and social media presence as new media editor. Debbie Truong, former assistant news editor, has moved to the management couch. Despite the difficulties we have dealt with this past semester, in the end I know the paper will be OK. Because there’s never a question of if the paper is going to come out tomorrow — it has to. We all believe in the paper and want it to succeed. There’s no hurdle, whether it’s low ad sales or sudden breaking news, we aren’t going to try to overcome in months of planning or in the few hours we have before deadline. We are The Daily Orange, and it is our job to get the news out and do it the best way we can.

Here’s a little bit of what’s happened lately at 744 Ostrom:

• SU experienced its first snow day in 18 years in March. Even with classes canceled, the paper still came out.

• In September, the paper produced a commemorative 9/11 edition. It was the result of hard work and months of planning by our staff, especially news editor Meghin Delaney and presentation director Becca McGovern.

• Pete Waack celebrated 10 years at The D.O. as general manager in October. Staff members and alumni joined Pete and his friends and family at The D.O. for a small celebration. It’s safe to say much of what the paper has done in the past and continues to do daily could not be done without Pete.

• Reporters and a photographer dropped their plans and traveled to Penn State in November when riots broke out after football coach Joe Paterno was fired. They spent the weekend covering the story, which was an exciting opportunity and unlike any experience before.

We were then faced with a national story in Syracuse. The night assistant men’s basketball coach Bernie Fine was fired, when no paper was scheduled because of Thanksgiving break, staff members ended their vacations early to put out an eight-page special edition for the next day, when students were returning to campus. The issue was discussed favorably on Charles Apple’s design blog and Jim Romenesko’s media blog. The paper has kept up with national news outlets to cover the story. Michael Cohen, last semester’s sports editor, appeared on CNN and ESPN to discuss the coverage, and other media outlets have sourced The D.O. in their stories.

D.O. Palooza

This year’s D.O. Palooza will be held March 2-4. Last year’s 40th anniversary celebration will be a tough act to follow, but we are excited to learn some exciting lessons and see the staff meet multiple generations of alumni. I hope to see many of you there — and that we don’t get hit with a terrible snowstorm again.

Alumni

Dave Levinthal (’02) and Tiffany Lankes (’03) joined the board of directors in the spring. They’ve contributed ideas for fundraising, promoting the paper, and expanding The D.O.’s social and new media use. Dave and Tiffany were also a great help when they came to Syracuse in August to lead the staff in workshops and kick off the year.We also have had success with the reinstated D.O. mentoring program. Alumni were paired with fall staff members to share their experiences and offer advice. We are always looking for more help, so please email alumni@dailyorange.com if interested.

Dara McBride (’13) is editor in chief and former news editor at The Daily Orange. She also serves as the president of the paper’s board of directors. Please feel free to contact her with comments, ideas or tales from your time at The D.O. at editor@dailyorange.com.