Platform: Bringing the DTH into a new era

The Daily Tar heel is a campus institution, having long served the needs of UNC’s students and of the communities surrounding us.

Yet, as we enter our 14th decade of continuous operation, we can become a news organization that more appropriately reflects the ever-changing landscape of modern media.

By broadening the scope of our coverage to include new methods of storytelling and increasing our organization’s focus on diversity, mental health and community outreach, the DTH can set the example for how to best adapt to fit our community’s needs. This is the vision for the DTH of the future — a future I hope to lead us toward as the next editor-in-chief.

Broadening scope

The DTH, at its core, is a news organization. As such, we have to be at the forefront of developing new, innovative ways to tell the stories and address the needs of the community we serve.

I plan to launch the “Deep Dives” section on the DTH’s website, where our readers will be able to find long-form articles on complex issues that provide often-needed nuance and depth.

Our coverage will also include more explainer pieces, which will help our readers gain a greater understanding of the institutions that govern our community.

In order to remain relevant in the digital age, the DTH must strengthen and expand upon our existing multimedia capabilities.

The revival and expansion of the DTH’s podcast network is at the forefront of my plans to achieve this goal. I will also push for an increase in video content available on the DTH’s website and social media platforms, giving the video desk license to create detailed, compelling story packages and short documentaries that will explore new angles of the stories we cover elsewhere in the organization.

As editor, I also aim to increase the amount of collaborations with other college newsrooms, both in the Triangle and beyond. This pooling of resources will allow for a simultaneous increase in the quality and quantity of our collective news output.

Diversity and mental health

Not enough is being done to amplify the voices of underrepresented community members in our area. And, as editor, changing this is of the utmost importance to me.

One of the first actions I plan to take as editor is to restructure and increase the size of the diversity, equity and inclusion committee at the DTH.

An independent group of three DEI officers and staff representatives will meet weekly to discuss how the content being put out by the newsroom covers issues affecting underrepresented communities and will search for ways in which those issues can be highlighted as the year progresses.

The committee will also be in constant communication with both newsroom management and desk editors and staff, informing them of the steps that need to be taken to ensure no member of our community — including those working in our newsroom — is overlooked.

The Elevate section of our newspaper will continue to expand and will be featured more prominently in both the print paper and on our website.

I also understand diversity is an issue within our newsroom. We will make an active effort to hire more diverse staff, as well as ensure both new and experienced staffers attend regular DEI training sessions.

After the tremendous toll the pandemic has taken on all of us, mental health has become an issue of tremendous importance for both our campus community and Orange County at large.

That is why I will place a greater emphasis on solutions-based journalism that not only highlights the various mental health issues facing our community but also does so in a way that seeks to find potential policy improvements that can alleviate the collective difficulties our community faces.

The newsroom and our community

Community outreach is at the core of our work at the DTH. That is why I will work to provide more opportunities for our readers to communicate to us which issues they feel are important to them.

I will personally organize weekly meetings in which myself and other members of the newsroom can discuss our coverage and ways it can be improved with community leaders. We will also communicate the ways in which we gather news and make content with our community, taking readers behind the scenes of our operation to increase transparency.

We will work to create an environment in which students, both new and experienced, can work to refine their skills as journalists. I will also institute mental health stopgaps like greater break periods, staff rotation and newsroom leisure activities to reduce the strain of working at the DTH while maximizing enjoyment.

Together with our incredible staff, I hope to help bring the DTH into a new era — where we can give the community we serve the news they deserve.

@GMolero1