As we approach the end of the Fall Semester and enter exam season, I hope each of our readers – whether Bobcat or Athens resident – is able to enjoy the incoming holiday season and take a well-deserved break.
I know our staff at The Post deserves one. I am incredibly lucky to work with such a great team, and I am impressed daily by the creativity, passion and drive of The Post’s staffers. Over the next month, our team will be celebrating Winter “Break” as we will continue to publish in the coming weeks, albeit at a much lower frequency.
As we shift into this new system for the next month (don’t worry, we will be back swinging for the Spring Semester), I’d love to take the opportunity to reflect on the great work our staff has done already this year.
To start, our photography team has been incredible. Not only have they already won multiple awards for work completed early this year, but they have also consistently gone above and beyond. Director of Photography Alaina Dackermann and Photo Editor Zoe Cranfill have built a talented and dedicated staff, with photographers frequently volunteering to take photos of breaking news and last-minute assignments. These photographers take even the simplest assignments and provide engaging, artistic and pro-level photos.
Our design team is also fantastic. Art Director Abbie Kinney and Assistant Art Director Emma McAdams create beautiful artwork to accompany stories, often creating several masterpieces per day. The two are also the driving force behind changes for our print edition this year, and our print design has been incredible thanks to them and the dedication of other designers. We even began including a comic, too (check page 21 of this week’s edition) by Jackson Pennington.
There is not enough space to name every one of our over 300 staff members, but each and every one of them has made The Post better. Our news staff has been fantastic with picking up breaking news and their willingness to investigate difficult subjects. We had the first two first-semester freshmen possibly ever — Jackson McCoy and Disha Hoque — complete in-depth, time-consuming projects, with the latter completing hers in a matter of days. Post TV has returned, with attention to detail improving episodes every week. Opinion section meetings are a highlight of staffers’ weeks.
I am so proud of what everyone has done and feel grateful for the opportunity to continue to watch them thrive. My final thank you, however, is to each of you. We do this for and because of the readers, and it is a privilege to do so. It is such a source of joy to see people reading copies around town or to see a depleted newsstand. So please, keep reading and supporting this incredible staff. We cannot wait to return to print next year.
Katie Millard is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Katie by tweeting her at @katie_millard11.
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