Medill junior Maria LaMagna will serve as The Daily’s next editor in chief, the newspaper’s publisher announced Thursday.
LaMagna will assume the top position at the beginning of Winter Quarter 2012 and maintain it through Spring Quarter 2012. She will succeed outgoing Editor in Chief and Medill senior Katherine Driessen.
Two candidates applied for the editorial role, which required individual interviews before the Students Publishing Co. board Thursday.
SPC Board Chairman and Medill Prof. Charles Whitaker said his board peers were seeking a strong leader with sharp editiorial sensibilities – two qualities they found in LaMagna.
“She had a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm she conveyed,” Whitaker said. “She articulated a really clear vision.”
LaMagna, who is spending Fall Quarter studying Spanish in Argentina, said that long-term vision includes increasing The Daily’s online presence through a more user-friendly website and greater utilization of social media.
She added she also wants to increase readership and ensure The Daily is a publication the student body “looks forward to reading every day.”
“I’ve been so proud to be part of The Daily in the past, but I also see room for improvement, and I want be part of that,” LaMagna said. “And I want to make The Daily even better.”
Whitaker echoed LaMagna’s ambitions, saying he was more than confident she could lead a staff that “people want to work for and be committed to.”
Driessen called LaMagna a “great friend” who will continue The Daily’s ongoing efforts to unite its print and Web editions.
“She’s kind, she’s smart, she’s well respected in the newsroom,” Driessen said. “I think all of that will set her up nicely. I’m excited for the direction in which she will take The Daily.”
LaMagna started writing for The Daily during Fall Quarter 2009, eventually serving as deputy campus editor and campus editor during Winter and Spring quarters 2011, respectively.
She has previously interned at Indianapolis Monthly magazine and the Indianapolis Business Journal.
