Hey there, campus hooligans! My name is Kayla Johnson and I will be the editor in chief of The Daily Cardinal next year. This upcoming year marks our 120th anniversary, putting the paper's birth back in the horse-and-buggy days when muckraking newspapers were exposing corruption on a daily basis.
The Cardinal office tells our paper's history every day as our news editors sit down to find stories. Momentous issues of the past plaster the walls with headlines announcing historic events from the U.S. entry into the first World War, the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King to the Badgers' 2011 Rose Bowl journey.
We pitch stories at a large oak table engraved with the initials of editors from years past. These initials remind us of the students who put this paper together during times when there was still a darkroom in the office and when the desks were occupied by typewriters instead of MacBooks. Many of the Cardinal's alumni claim the years they spent at the paper—with bloodshot eyes and ink-stained clothes—were the best of their lives and where they learned the skills that got them to where they are today. And, where they are is mighty impressive.
Our alums include 11 Pulitzer Prize winners, over 35 Emmy Award winners and even a two-time Nobel Prize winner. Some alums have worked as editors at The Wisconsin State Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Rolling Stone. They have been producers of ""60 Minutes,"" ""NBC News"" and ""The Daily Show."" Hell, even Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is a Cardinal alum.
As editor in chief next year, I plan to ask our alumni to share their stories and wise counsel with our staff, further strengthening the ""education"" that comes with being a part of the Cardinal family. As a student paper, we not only serve students by providing relevant and thorough coverage, but also by welcoming students to join our staff and learn important skills to bring into the ""real"" world. (Hint, hint.)
I am not only looking at The Daily Cardinal's past as our 120th anniversary approaches. Journalism is changing and with it, so must the historic Daily Cardinal. We must fully embrace social media in order to provide instant and constant coverage through blogs and tweets. We must better prepare our staff to flourish in the ever-changing world of journalism and provide you, the reader, with the information you need to understand what is happening in both the campus and world community.
As the editor in chief of the nation's sixth oldest student newspaper, I will work my hardest to uphold and build upon the legacy of The Daily Cardinal. Through an increase in muckraking, now known as investigative reporting, and an expanded online presence, I will do my best to keep this historic institution at the cutting edge of student newspapers.
Kayla Johnson is a sophomore with an undeclared major. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
