Dear readers,
My name is Kellsie Brannen and I have just stepped in as the new executive editor of the Clarion. Although Editor-in-Chief Jillian and I have been in the throes of transitioning into our new positions over the past few weeks, I wanted to introduce myself and lay out what I hope and plan to bring to the Clarion and DU.
A bit about myself, I am a junior from Colorado Springs majoring in strategic communications and minoring in emergent digital practices. I’ve lived in Colorado all of my life and have been involved in journalism since the beginning of high school.
In taking this position, I certainly have big shoes to fill. The dedication on the part of the previous Executive Editor Meg McIntyre, as well as Editor Emeritus Connor W. Davis, was instrumental in getting the Clarion to where it is today. I hope to, along with Jill, use this great starting point as a platform to continue to improve the Clarion and bring it into the 21st century.
Our emphasis on social media will continue to increase and improve, mainly through the cultivation and continued evolution of our newsletter, introduced just last quarter. In looking to successful media products such as the Skimm, we hope to bring DU news to students and the community in the most effective and available manner.
Another exciting development coming to the Clarion is the introduction of a video editor sometime within the next school year. We hope to increase the use of multimedia tools in our reporting in order to present quality news in new and innovative ways.
Finally, we hope to increase student participation in the Clarion. I encourage anyone who is interested to come to a Clarion meeting on Mondays at 6 p.m. in Driscoll Underground. Anyone who is interested in journalism, enjoys writing or even wants to improve his or her writing is a perfect candidate. We want a variety of different perspectives to cover events on campus to make the most well-rounded and quality product possible.
That being said, with the incorporation of multi-media more and more into the Clarion, even those who aren’t keen on writing are welcome to come to meetings. We need illustrators, cartoonists, social media mavens and more.
We also strongly encourage students to engage with our content, both through conversation, on social media and by talking to us. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas or just want to talk, please feel free to email me at duclarionexecutiveeditor@gmail.com. Letters to the Editor about on campus events or Clarion content are always welcome also.
Overall, I hope to not only increase the use of new media through which to communicate news to the DU community, but also increase Clarion engagement with the community and vise-versa.
Again, please feel free to reach out to me about anything at all, and remember to keep calm and Clarion.
Best,
Kellsie
