October in the Newsroom

By Annelise Wells

October is upon us. This means the weather is getting colder, the leaves start to change color and carved pumpkins start appearing on doorsteps.

This year, October also means that I have finished my first full month of serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Iowa State Daily. Although it’s only been a month, it’s been a wonderful, crazy rollercoaster and there is a lot to reflect on.

I have learned many lessons throughout my time as EIC so far, and one of these lessons is that I will never stop learning, and that’s a good thing. I am not always going to have all the answers. While that is scary on the surface, it lets me connect with others and work through problems. Even if I don’t know the answer, I will work to find one.

Another important lesson I have learned is the importance of the things that may seem small to me end up making a big difference. In the past week I have been stopping in to section reporter meetings, talking to individual reporters about stories that I have read of theirs, and helping put more faces to bylines. My goal is to be a very present and involved Editor-in-Chief, not some name that reporters hear about but never see who I am or what I do. I want to remember this more going into the rest of the semester, and take time to connect with people who may not be in the newsroom everyday, but do extraordinary work.

Every single day I learn something new from my staff, whether that be a fact from a story they are working on, how my leadership techniques are working or how I can help best help them grow as editors and leaders. 

As an Editor-in-Chief, I am only as good as my staff is. It’s an honor to not only be serving my community, but to be able to serve my staff as well.