Anna Zarra Aldrich, a sixth-semester journalism, English and political science triple major, will be the organization’s 2019-20 editor-in-chief. (Photo via writer)
Anna Zarra Aldrich, a sixth-semester journalism, English and political science triple major who currently serves as The Daily Campus’ associate news editor, will be the organization’s 2019-20 editor-in-chief.
The Daily Campus is an independent, student-run daily newspaper that consists of news, life, opinion, sports and photo sections, according to the organization’s website.
Aldrich said she got involved in the newspaper the fall of her freshman year because she lived close to The Daily Campus building and was interested in news writing.
“I gradually got sucked in and started doing police and dining beats and got promoted to staff writer,” Aldrich said. “I loved it, I loved the thrill and I got to do some really cool stories that I was invested in.”
Aldrich said the biggest lesson she has learned while being part of The Daily Campus is how to deal with people and controversy that may come up with a story.
“People get very irrationally angry at you for trying to write something or for something you have written,” Aldrich said. “It is unique to journalism—normally if you get in trouble at any other job, it is not external people yelling at you for what you have done, so it is a different kind of interpersonal interaction.”
As the organization’s current associate news editor, Aldrich said she has had to learn that everyone, including new writers, comes from a different background and has different levels of knowledge about journalism.
“You have to manage different people and understand that everyone is coming into this with different levels of experience, different personality traits and different approaches to stories,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich said one of her main goals as editor-in-chief is to bridge the gap between those involved in producing the newspaper and those writing the articles.
“I want to help improve the culture of the newspaper and make people feel involved,” Aldrich said. “Especially those who are not on production, because a lot of times those people just come to meetings, write their stories and leave.”
Aldrich said she wants to increase student interest in the newspaper by focusing more on what the population is talking about and desires to see from the organization.
“I want to be more responsive to students, to what they care about and what they want,” Aldrich said. “I want to encourage more student response and input toward what students want to see.”
Taylor Harton is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached by email at taylor.harton@uconn.edu.
