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Shannon Mahoney elected next editor-in-chief of The Miami Student

<p>Shannon Mahoney elected new editor-in-chief of The Miami Student on March 8.</p>

Shannon Mahoney elected new editor-in-chief of The Miami Student on March 8.

In the crowded newsroom, located on the third floor of Armstrong Student Center, Shannon Mahoney, a sophomore strategic communication and creative writing major, was elected to be the next editor-in-chief of The Miami Student on March 8. 

Mahoney, who has served as assistant Campus and Community editor for more than a year, said she plans to focus on building and improving relationships in The Student newsroom by working with other student media organizations on campus, such as Redhawk Radio and Redhawk Television News, and making the newsroom more accessible to new and returning writers. 

“I really learned a lot in the past year and a half,” Mahoney said. “I looked around, [and] I realized that I had real ideas about what I could bring, initiatives I could do [and] ways I could shape this newsroom.”

Sarah Kennel, editor of the GreenHawks section, voted for Mahoney and said she is excited to see how she brings the newspaper together. 

“I sat down with [Mahoney] before [the election] and talked about GreenHawks,” Kennel said. “She was able to provide me with a good feeling going forward, as a smaller section of the newspaper, on how I'm going to get support and build connections. I felt very supported in our conversation.”

Part of Mahoney’s initiatives includes “TMS Workshops,” a series of gatherings where The Student newsroom will be open one or two times a month for all editors and writers to come in and work together. Writers would be able to sit down, ask questions, get help with their stories and connect with other staffers outside their normal section. 

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Olivia Patel, the outgoing editor-in-chief, said while Mahoney is on the younger side of editors-in-chief elected in The Students’ history, she believes that Mahoney will do great things. 

“I have a lot of faith in her ability to lead, and I think that the newspaper is in great hands,” Patel said. “I think she did a really great job of focusing her platform on a few really important issues and campaign ideas. They're very achievable if she puts in the good, hard work, which is definitely going to happen.”

Another key initiative that Mahoney wants to focus on is improving relationships with local leaders at Miami University and in the City of Oxford. 

“I’m really passionate about looking and reflecting on the coverage that we have put out so far, and making sure that we can address and identify blind spots in [current] coverage and blind spots in the future,” Mahoney said. 

In addition to her campaign ideas, she also announced that she would select Photo Editor Elisa Rosenthal as her managing editor. Patel said while this may not be a traditional choice, she thinks Rosenthal will be a dynamic partner.

“Elisa comes from a bit of a wild card background,” Patel said. “She wasn't committed to the newspaper  during her first couple of years at Miami, but her commitment now just proves why she will be a wonderful [managing editor]. She shows up, and she takes on tasks, even if she doesn't know how to do them right away. She puts in the hard work to figure it out and to do really well. That, to me, is the makings of a great leader.”

While Mahoney said she promises to support her staff, she is also committed to producing quality content for the Miami and Oxford communities.

“I hope that everyone feels they can reach out to me,” Mahoney said. “I definitely seek to be someone who has conversations with the community. I want this to be reciprocal communication. I want people to come if they have issues, if they want us to investigate something.”

Mahoney and Rosenthal will begin their term on March 12.

fahymm@miamioh.edu 

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