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News Release

Last modified: Monday, April 13, 2009

New 'Indiana Daily Student', 'Arbutus' editors-in-chief chosen, wish to interact with community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 13, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The IU Student Media Board at Indiana University has hired two newspaper editors-in-chief and a yearbook editor-in-chief for upcoming semesters.

Senior Sara Amato, of Morganville, N.J., has been named editor of the summer Indiana Daily Student newspaper. Junior Natalie Avon, of Evansville, Ind., has been named the IDS' fall editor.

Senior Katherine Myrick, of Muncie, Ind., has been named editor of the 2010 Arbutus yearbook.

The hirings followed recent interviews with the IU Student Media Publications Board.

The IU student newspaper and yearbook consistently win top national honors. This year, the IDS won Pacemaker Awards -- the Pulitzer Prizes of collegiate journalism -- from Associated Collegiate Press. The 2008 Arbutus won the Adams Apple Award from College Media Advisers for best of show at the Spring National College Media Convention.

Both publications, plus IU's INside magazine, swept this year's awards from Indiana Collegiate Press Association.

In their interviews, all editors suggested improvements in coverage, content and contacts with readers.

"I'm honored to have been selected as summer editor-in-chief of the IDS," Amato said. "I'm looking forward to reaching out to different student organizations."

Amato, the IDS design chief and a Web editor this spring, has had many reporting, editorial and design positions at the IDS. Last summer, she was an intern at the Bedford Times-Mail.

Avon, a managing editor this spring, has also had various positions at the IDS and INside magazine. She was an intern in London for Morris Visitor Publications last summer.

"I have always believed that a newspaper's staff is an accurate reflection of its editor-in-chief," Avon said, "and I am honored to lead this staff in the best way that I can. My goal is to leave this newspaper in a better place than I found it."

Myrick, a design chief this spring, has held many design positions in her years with IU Student Media. She has held internships at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Republic.

But editors stepping into new positions aren't without their obstacles. IU's student publications haven't been immune from the economic downturn.

"We've been working hard to help our advertisers this year," Ron Johnson, student-media director said. "We get thousands of papers into the hands of IU students each day, and, combined with our site, idsnews.com, our reach can really help a business connect with the student market."

The IDS has redesigned both its print and online editions this year, Johnson said. "We're exploring new ways to cover IU communities next year."

IU Student Media has a rich tradition of serving the university as a student learning lab. The first issue of the Indiana Student was published in 1867. It later became the Indiana Daily Student in 1899. The Arbutus yearbook was first published in 1893.

Today the IDS reaches more than 45,000 readers and an online community of more than 150,000 unique users. The Arbutus yearbook publishes approximately 2,000 books annually. Since 1969, IU Student Media has been a self-supporting, auxiliary unit of Indiana University. The editor-in-chief is the final authority on editorial content.

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