DTH editor candidate: Jarrard Cole's ideas

The Daily Tar Heel consistently produces strong content in print and online, and we are regularly recognized for our work among our professional peers. No student has a better chance at regularly sparking conversation in Chapel Hill than the editor of the DTH. I cannot pass up the opportunity to work with a team that has the resources to share stories, shed light on issues in the community and work for greater transparency within the institutions where we live and learn.

With a few tweaks to improve accountability, support long-term projects, improve dailytarheel.com and better retain staff, the DTH will flourish as it has for decades. The commitment required of editors and staffers will be substantial but worthwhile. I would be proud and honored to devote my senior year to this project.

Accountability

• I will bring back the newsroom blog to explain important editorial decisions to readers.

• Writers will be expected to email stories to sources after they’re published to ensure our stories are accurate and sources are represented fairly.

• Desk editors and I will meet periodically with important sources to discuss our coverage.

• I will work with newsroom adviser Erica Perel to continue emailing accuracy surveys to sources.

Workflow and editors

• I will add a second managing editor position to focus on investigative projects. We will meet each week with senior reporters to support watchdog journalism and long-term projects in the paper and online.

• To reduce bureaucracy and improve collaboration, I plan to reduce the number of editors.

• I will increase editor pay to offer salaries competitive with internships and other publications.

• I will improve daily communication in the newsroom to ensure our design, graphics, headlines and photos work well with stories.

• I will bring back the internal critique of the paper to provide staff with regular feedback.

Dailytarheel.com

• We will assess analytics daily to understand why people come to dailytarheel.com and what they’re looking for.

• The online editor will attend news meetings regularly to stay familiar with stories and projects. He or she will exercise editorial control over the homepage to ensure that stories are fresh throughout the day.

• The online editor will work with a community manager to maintain outreach through Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms.

Retention and staff support

• I will encourage all desk editors to model good reporting in the newsroom each day, making beat calls and conducting interviews to show staffers good techniques.

• I will work with management to be accessible throughout the day and give feedback on projects.

• I will encourage editors to produce content to keep them connected to their sources and allow them to serve as mentors to new staff.

• I will limit the number of staffers we hire so that we will have more resources to devote to them. Desks that are already selective in hiring have retained staff at higher rates.

• I will adopt Perel’s plan to keep staff engaged for four semesters and better establish skills. New staff will pick between three paths — specialization, diversification or leadership. This will give staff a reason to stay more than a semester, even if they decide not to become editors.