LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Looking Ahead

Hello! My name is Jonathan Carter and I’m your editor-in-chief. In order for any news organization to gain the trust of its readership, its leader must first prove they can be trusted. It is in that vein that, as the editor of your student news organization, I am dedicating myself to listening to you this academic year. I will listen to what you want, I will listen to what you need and I will listen to what you want Technician to do better.

Last year, in my first letter as editor, I wrote that Technician has problems. We, just like most other news organizations in the industry, struggle to represent the ideas, news and entertainment from all communities. While some great work was done this past year to have those voices represented at Technician, there is still much to do. I am committed to making sure that work gets done and ensuring those voices are better represented by the student news organization that represents them. If ever you feel like I’m not doing enough to accomplish this, please write me at technician-editor@ncsu.edu or stop by my office on the third floor of Witherspoon Student Center.

I will also be out in our community, talking with people from different backgrounds and perspectives so that I can make Technician more representative. Whether initiated by me or someone else, I am looking forward to those conversations.

Better representation on our pages is one of my three main goals for the upcoming year. The second is a greater amount of content.

Technician publishes four days a week. Once a week in print (Thursdays) and three days a week online exclusively. In a commitment to meet readers where they want to be met, more of our focus will be on digital media, with more production of content both written and visual for those platforms.

The third main goal of mine is higher engagement on social media. While social media can often be used to spread rumors and fake news, its power as a news delivery medium is high, especially with college students. Technician will enhance its presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (follow @ncsutechnician) so that our readers can get the content they need in an easily accessible way.

This is my second year as editor-in-chief, an unusual occurrence that puts me in a prime position to lead for another year with already a full year of experience behind me. I reapplied for this position last April because I couldn’t see myself doing anything else during my last year at NC State, but my decision to reapply was not only personal. The most important single reason for my decision was my love for reporting the news. Being informed is absolutely crucial for a well-balanced experience anywhere, including NC State. I am not claiming Technician should be your only source of news, sports, entertainment or opinion content. I do hope, however, that some of our content proves to be useful to you.

I cannot stress the importance of the news media both on a local scale and on a national, or even international, one. Right now, with media outlets producing actual fake news and heavily slanted and biased content, it is more important than ever to read as much objective news as possible, to support your local news organizations and, most importantly, call us out when we get something wrong.

This past year has been incredible for me, and I cannot thank our readership enough for the trust you’ve put in me as your editor. For this next year, I will try my hardest not to let you down. I encourage the submission of both letters to the editor and OP-EDs. It is almost guaranteed that if you write it and send it, I will publish it. Community engagement is of utmost importance. Please send those submissions to the email I mentioned earlier.

I am going to continue making Technician accountable, factual, pertinent and more representative. This news organization will serve as a record of NC State’s history for the next year. I can’t wait to help you write it and I’ll be with you every step of the way.

-Jonathan