Before assuming our current posts, all of us, the members of the 111th Masthead of The Choate News, worked for the newspaper in a variety of positions. As we reported, copy edited, took pictures, and illustrated for the paper, we grew to believe in the power of journalism and, in particular, The Choate News’s ability to provide our community with insight. At the same time, we grew to believe in ourselves — in our abilities and in our vision for the paper.
Last spring, we concluded our first editorial by explaining our hopes of putting together a paper that reflected “a single, heterogeneous vision — ours, yours, the community’s” by the end of our tenures as editors. We believe that we have stayed true to this promise, albeit in ways that we did not foresee.
We tasked ourselves with the responsibility of bridging different communities on and off campus. First, we led the ideation, creation, and production of Local News, a new section that will cover events and opportunities in the town of Wallingford. We hope that this section helps dispel unsubstantiated accusations about Wallingford — a community of 45,000 people often mischaracterized by Choate students — and encourages the School’s students and faculty to become more active in the greater community. (Please refer to Page 3 for the inaugural edition of this section and to the Letter from the Editor-in-Chief for a more in-depth description of its philosophy.)
We also tried to be alert to the experiences that unify us as a Choate community. For example, we used this past Deerfield Day as an opportunity to publish a unique front page and web special, providing thorough coverage of the historic rivalry and analyses of this year’s games.
In an effort to promote better communication on campus, we strove to implement features of professional news organizations that we, ourselves, enjoy. Last spring term, we initiated Weekly Briefings, bite-sized summaries of each week’s top stories delivered to subscribers’ inboxes. We also began to engage with our audience through other avenues. Video was the most prominent format, whether it was the Choate Favorites series, hosted by Clay Zachary ’19, or an upcoming student-led panel discussion about the college application process (to be published next month). We envision this panel discussion to be the first of many, evolving into a series in which students can address pertinent issues.
We would not have gone very far without the guidance from our beloved advisers, Mr. Mike Peed and Ms. Cathryn Stout. From helping us navigate through challenging situations to accepting last-minute requests to edit our articles, their generosity and wise counsel motivate us to be able to have the same presence for other people in our lives. We would also like to thank our many interviewees — Mr. James Stanley, Ms. Kalya Yannatos, and Ms. Marcia Landesman, in particular — who generously lend us their time and wisdom.
To our talented and ambitious successors, the 112th Masthead: While we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished during our time in the Newsroom, we hope that the paper will continue to grow and change. Most important, however, we hope you’ll recognize that The Choate News is fundamentally a newspaper. Write articles and editorials that engage our audience. Make good use of your limited time and space.
And to our contributors and readers: One year, 18 sleepless layout nights, and countless adviser edits later, we have completed our tenures as editors of The Choate News. We are able to do something we love because of your contribution and feedback. It is our greatest hope that, if you haven’t already, you, too, find something so engaging that you lose all track of time, and become part of something more than yourself.
