We’ll Make You Proud

How do you follow up arguably the most successful editor-in-chief in the history of this paper?

Simple. By doing exactly what she taught you.

My name is Eric Fuller and I am the current editor-in-chief of The Sentinel. If you are reading this, I would like to thank you for picking up a copy of The Sentinel, and whether you are an incoming freshman or a returning student, I would like to welcome you to the 2013 Fall semester at KSU.

I owe my gratitude to a number of people for helping me achieve this position, but I especially owe my thanks to our former Editor-in-Chief, Megan Emory. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She taught me so much about this paper, the people who work for it, and how to run it. She changed The Sentinel forever, and has instilled a number of aspects that have made this paper something to be proud of.

Now, how do we continue that success? This is the question that I am faced with this semester. The Sentinel is better than it has ever been, and my biggest goal is to maintain that success. I want that success to not only encompass this semester, but for as long as The Sentinel is in print. I want it to continue to grow and become even bigger and better then it already is.

To accomplish this, we will publish more relative stories. The Sentinel is here for KSU students and should contain stories and information that is both informative and helpful to students at this university. While The Sentinel strives for stories that hit closer to home, we will also continue to publish stories with accuracy and credibility. I believe this is an area where The Sentinel can improve.

One aspect where I would like to see The Sentinel grow is online. Today, the Internet is becoming the medium for all major media outlets. Many colleges and universities around the country have begun to push for a bigger online presence, along with the stories that they send to print. This is the direction that journalism is heading, and I want The Sentinel to head in that direction as well.

Another aspect of this paper that I am very proud of is the team chemistry. The Sentinel is not the work of a single person by any measure. It is very much a team effort and every member, from writers to editors, work very hard to bring the very best stories to print. Megan pushed for a strong bond between The Sentinel staff and strengthening that bond will be one of our biggest goals.

While we publish our stories both in print as well as on our website, I want our online content to bring a new element to The Sentinel. There are stories happening at this university every day. My goal for this semester and for the future of The Sentinel is to push toward online publication. I want stories to be published as quickly as possible with the kind of accuracy that can be found in our printed issues. Online publication is the future of journalism and I plan on The Sentinel becoming a part of that future.

I joined this fine paper as a writer just over a year ago. Since becoming a member of The Sentinel, I have learned more about journalism then I ever could of imagined. I’ve met people who are as passionate about this paper as I am and with whom I share incredible memories and experiences. Above all else, I think I have finally started to get a handle on AP style. All right, that last one is still a work in progress.