Directors of the Student Media Board selected new leaders at last night’s Student Media Board Meeting in the Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center.
The nine candidates for top manager or editor positions met Monday evening for the Meet the Candidates Forum where they introduced themselves and were posed questions by a board of 20 directors led by Peyton Holland, a senior in business management. Last night’s event followed the same format, but was then followed by the votes from 10 of the directors.
Kishea Phillips, a sophomore in communication and current managing editor for the Nubian message, was selected as next year’s editor in chief for the publication. Phillips said she was nervous about the process of becoming editor, but cannot wait to start working for the Nubian Message.
“I just really want to improve the quality of our content, expand our staff, and broaden the range of topics that we cover,” Phillips said of her future plans for the Nubian Message.
The current managing editor of the Agromeck and junior in communications, John Cooper Elias, was hired as the editor-in-chief for next year’s Agromeck publication.
Joseph Wright, a junior in civil engineering and creative writing and current editor-in-chief of the Windhover, was again chosen as the Windhover’s editor-in-chief.
In their interviews during the forum, both Elias and Wright said they plan to keep similar plans used for this year’s publications due to their current success.
“We’ve had a really successful year [at Windhover],” Wright said. “We’ve made the most books we’ve ever had; we had the widest diversity of submissions and the highest number of submissions.”
Saja Hindi, a junior in English and current news editor for the Technician, was selected as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief for next year, with plans to include continued recruitment for the paper and more staff involvement.
When asked by a board member during her interview what she would do if she did not receive the editor-in-chief position, Hindi remained confident.
“I feel I have served my role as a section editor and it is now my time to be editor in chief,” Hindi said.
Along with editors, the top managers for WKNC and the Student Media business office were also voted upon.
David Mason, a sophomore in business management, was selected as the new business office manager.
Mason was hired for the position despite being questioned about his experience as only a sophomore during his interview.
“I’ve got a lot of experience,” Mason said. “My leadership skills also set me apart and I have ideas that could make the business office of Student Media better.”
A few of Mason’s ideas for the business office include building closer relationships with advertising clients and building a positive environment for the staff.
Finally, Kyle Robb, a junior in history, was chosen to be next year’s general manager of WKNC. Robb said he plans to continue to educate students on the staff to prepare them for fruitful careers in the industry of broadcast media, and extend the station’s outreach to the campus and community.
