DTH editor candidate: Ryan Barber's ideas

My time at The Daily Tar Heel began down the drain.

I was a tender, wide-eyed freshman when my first assignment arrived in my Webmail, a story on water-free urinals. It took everything in my power not to rush out from Horton Hall and acquaint myself with the subject at once.

Three years later, the DTH has converted me to Gmail — and only made me more excited about the next story. But at the moment, I’m most excited about next year, when I hope to borrow a buzzword from our chancellor and “innovate” my closest 118-year old friend, the DTH.

There has never been a better time to redefine the newspaper industry. The DTH, as a student newspaper, can lead the way.
I have a four-pronged vision for doing just that.

Enliven online

The DTH has taken enormous strides with its website, especially of late. But by midday, dailytarheel.com is often stale. The DTH will provide more frequent updates and pair more multimedia with print.

• A standby team of reporters will work shifts to make sure that breaking news is reported promptly, filling a void left by struggling local media outlets.

• Multimedia projects, including video and flash graphics, will be paired with print projects to a greater extent.

• News and multimedia desks will work to arrange roundtable discussions with sources to provide Chapel Hill its own Meet the Press.

• Improved databases and topic pages will provide readers a deeper understanding of the issues and enhance the conversation the DTH looks to foster in the community.

• An editor devoted solely to blogs and social media will join in the continuous updating of dailytarheel.com throughout the day.

Rethink print

The DTH ranks amongst the best in student publications in the country. But it always can — and will — do better.
Next year, some small changes will make for some big improvements.

• The staff will look to adopt a more ingrained beat structure to give writers an expertise.

• A weekly business section will give updates on local business news while providing in-depth coverage of on-campus entrepreneurship.

• With two editorials a day rather than three, subjects will receive deeper analysis. Columns will be well-reported and relevant.

• A deputy managing editor will steer investigative projects.

Reach out

The DTH provides unmatched coverage for the campus and town communities. It is important for readers to not only pick up but know the DTH, as well.

• A public editor will continue to monitor the DTH and act as a community representative.

• A blog and monthly video similar to TimesCast will improve transparency, showing readers how the DTH comes together each day.

• The email newsletter will expand to include story summaries and weather while empowering readers to become active citizens with a meeting and event calendar.

Train to own

The DTH will produce 21st century journalists. Through training, all staff members will have their voices heard in the newsroom — and in the stories cultivated from their beats.

• A more ingrained beat system will better acquaint writers with sources, enriching stories and improving accuracy while imbuing staff with a sense of ownership.

• New staff will have more support. Weekly training sessions will teach the fundamentals.