The Publications Council has selected Rachel Hanson as the 2009-2010 editor in chief of The Daily Utah Chronicle.
Hanson was chosen for her long experience at the paper, said Ryan Jensen, a student member of the council. Hanson joined The Chronicle in May of 2007 as a copy editor and began taking on managing editor duties eight months later.
“I have the experience,” she said. “I know how it all works.”
Hanson is a natural leader, said Dustin Gardiner, current editor in chief of The Chronicle. She is there late into the night and is one of the last people to leave, Jensen said.
Hanson, who served as managing editor during the 2008-2009 school year, wants to continue Gardiner’s initiative to include more media on The Chronicle’s Web site, including slideshows, video and audio reports. Besides media to complement written stories, Hanson also wants to encourage writers to create stories that are “wholly multimedia” and available only on the Web site.
She also wants to reinstate the Friday print edition of the paper, which was discontinued this year because The Chronicle had fallen too far into the red financially. Gardiner said he fully expects Hanson to be able to resurrect the five-day print schedule.
Hanson was chosen over Craig Blake, the current opinion editor and Erik Lopez, a writer for Red Pulse Magazine.
Hanson, a senior in English and psychology, will officially become the editor in chief at the start of the 2009 Summer Semester.
Rachel Hanson