By Julian Pedrouzo
Staff Writer
A new editorial board is coming to the Spectrum for the 2020 – 2021 academic year. There are going to be three new managerial roles which include a new Editor-in-Chief, and two new Managing Editors.
The positions will be occupied by junior and double major in communications and media arts Daniel Gardella as the new Editor-in-Chief, sophomore and Public Relations major and Business Management minor Deanna Reinhardt as the Manager Editor for Business, and junior and Communications and Media Arts major Shannon Szefinski as the Managing Editor for Editorial.
The Managing Editor for Business is in charge of creating sponsorships and creating events for Spectrum. Their job is to increase the newspaper’s exposure. The Managing Editor for Editorial is second in command. They, along with the Editor in Chief, review the paper before publication. The Managing Editor for Editorial also edits all articles before the paper is ready for print.
“I am thrilled to pursue the role of Editor-in-Chief of the paper next year. It wasn’t something that was in my mind a whole lot when I began working for Spectrum. But I knew that since I want to continue to grow as a journalist, this would be an amazing opportunity,” said Gardella.
Gardella is currently the head Sports Editor for Spectrum.
The Editor in Chief is responsible to oversee all department editors as well as having the final say on what gets published. They are also the representative of publication at social events.
“I applied for the position because I have such a passion for writing and the newspaper on campus. This will be my third year working for the paper, and the relationships I have created while working for them are ones I treasure,” said Gardella.
Szefinski will be taking the role of one of the managing editors.
“I am excited to start as Managing Editor. This wasn’t always my plan. I had only been part of the board for less than a year, so I figured I would just stay as Features Editor for my senior year because I didn’t have much experience,” said Szefinski.
Instead, Szefinski decided to go for it.
“It was around the end of the fall semester that I decided to take a risk and apply for the senior position,” said Szefinski.
A Managing Editors’ job is to oversee not only one specific section of the staff, like Szefinski was doing as a Features Editor this past year on the board, but to oversee all the editors, as well as generating story ideas and assigning them.
“The biggest asset I think I bring to the table is that I am a people person and I thrive when I work in a collaborative environment; I feed off the energy of other people,” said Szefinski.
“I also think that because I take my work very seriously but myself not too serious, I am able to laugh at myself and make jokes through stressful situations, which I think is important to not let the stress consume you,” said Szefinski.
Finally, the other Managing Editor position will be occupied by Reinhardt.
“I am looking forward to utilizing both my communication skills and business studies in a way that will bring a fresh perspective to the Spectrum. I thoroughly enjoyed my time this past semester as a writer for Spectrum and knew I wanted to keep a foothold in it somehow,” said Reinhardt.
Even though the job descriptions are the same, every candidate brings different assets and expertise to the Spectrum.
“Due to the knowledge my business studies have lent me, I have learned how to be a good leader. I understand that each and every member of the board is more than qualified and each of them bring valuable perspectives and knowledge to the table, which will allow us to work together and truly make a difference at Spectrum,” said Reinhardt.
This new Spectrum editorial board will hold their positions through the 2020-2021 academic year.
