The Badger Herald has undergone a lot of staff changes in recent semesters, particularly with the newly created digital and print divide. When the Herald went from a daily paper to a Monday and Thursday print paper, with online content filling the void, the digital managing editor’s position was created to facilitate the publishing of online material. Furthermore, this two-day print schedule allows staff to focus on developing stories and expanding coverage for print, while publishing stories as they happen online. The opinion section itself changed dramatically during this time, as a new online banter section was created. The point of banter is to provide short, snarky commentary in response to an eye-catching news story, which creates an interesting relationship between the news and opinion sections.
Following are the self-introductions of the Herald’s upper management position editors: digital managing editor and managing editor, in addition to the new opinion co-editor.
Digital Managing Editor Polo Rocha
I don’t remember why I chose to write for The Badger Herald — only that I was hooked after my first story freshman year. It’s where I developed a passion for reporting on state politics, learning how to write concisely and making lifelong friends along the way. I’ve written more than 200 stories here, but I’m still as excited about each one I publish as the ones I wrote in the Sellery Hall lobby freshman year.
As a senior, I’m now the digital managing editor at the Herald, leading our online coverage and social media efforts. My job is to help us produce the content that you, the students, are interested in. From crime stories to the Uber and Lyft debate, to sports roster changes, to the latest university rankings, we’ll make sure we have everything you need to know about city and campus life.
We’ll offer quick takes and banter on the stories of the day. We’ll have entertaining concert reviews, videos, slideshows and listicles, describing how stressful it is to get Badgers tickets or putting more items on your #buckylist, for example.
But we’ll also maintain our hard news focus online. We’ll cover breaking news stories as they happen, updating on developments on our social media feeds. We’ll cover the stories you need to know every day — nothing more and nothing less. And while our newspaper will have in-depth stories twice a week, we’ll add even more context online, using videos, charts and finding other ways to tell important stories.
We want our website and social media to reflect the things you care about. Do you have story tips for us? Shoutouts to tweet at us? Snapchats of weird things you see on campus? Let us know. We want to hear what you’re interested in.
Polo Rocha (polorocha18
Managing Editor Katie Caron
Hey again readers. My name is Katie and I’m entering my seventh semester at the Herald and my third as Managing Editor. I’m also entering my last year at the University of Wisconsin, which is pretty spooky. I began my Herald days as a freshman reporter mainly covering (far too many) ASM meetings, and moved on to edit the campus beat before heading the news section, and eventually working in upper management.
Throughout the past few years, I’ve seen the paper go through a series of changes as we’ve worked to make it a digital-first media outlet. Since my freshman year, I’ve seen the Herald cut down from printing daily to printing now twice a week, I’ve helped move from our old office to a shiny new space and I’ve learned more about myself and this campus than I could ever have imagined.
As I start my senior year as a journalism student, I’m excited to continue to work to further our organization’s goal of producing timely and engaging content that you want to read and share with others. As I work on both our print and online content, I’m particularly focused on making sure we’re providing unique in-depth stories on both platforms to illuminate and give context to issues important to students.
Katie Caron ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.
Editorial Page Editor Madeline Sweitzer
Hey guys, I’m Maddie Sweitzer. I wrote for the opinion section as a columnist for a year before joining the editorial staff this year as one of two opinion editors. I am a sophomore majoring in political science, intending on majoring in journalism and thinking about pursuing a certificate in gender and women’s studies. My vision for the Herald’s opinion section is simple. Anyone with sincerely held, well-informed opinions on issues relevant to students on this campus should be given the chance to make themselves heard. If you have an opinion, have the rationale to support it, and are willing to write it down, I am willing to listen. The opinion section is sustained on the truly unique passion that can only be found in the heart of an angry college student.
The goal of any newspaper’s opinion section — especially one such as the Herald that prides itself on its total independence — should be to provide uncensored and unapologetic content so that readers can be provided with a dialogue that informs them of others’ opinions and helps them challenge their own. There are issues in our state, city and campus that demand discussion. So let’s go discuss in an environment that is based on fact and free from censorship. I hope to provide that environment for the Herald’s readers during my time at the opinion desk.
Madeline Sweitzer ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and intending to major in journalism.
