The staff of The Chronicle has elected junior Sanette Tanaka to serve as editor of the newspaper’s 107th volume.
At a meeting Friday, Tanaka was appointed editor of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., which publishes the independent student-run daily newspaper. She currently serves as wire editor, arts editor for Recess and an associate editor for news.
Tanaka will succeed junior Lindsey Rupp for a one-year term beginning in May. As editor, she will be responsible for the newspaper’s content and lead a staff of approximately 150 student reporters, editors, photographers, layout designers and other contributors.
“I’m extremely excited to serve as editor next year,” Tanaka said. “Working in journalism is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my senior year than working with this organization that has already given me so much.”
In an address to The Chronicle’s staff Friday, Tanaka said her greatest tasks next year will include better utilization of multimedia in packaging stories, distributing work more evenly and improving training for new staffers.
“I think we need to focus on better packaging our stories to capitalize on online,” she said. “I also want to balance the workload across the staff to increase the efficiency of production. We have a ton of talent here at The Chronicle and I’d really like to encourage people to utilize their skills in order to make this paper even better.”
She added that she hopes to encourage retention, especially among upperclassmen.
“I’d really like to focus on keeping our upperclassmen invested in The Chronicle because our upperclassmen are a wealth of knowledge and are huge assets to the paper,” Tanaka said. “I think the best way to motivate our all-volunteer staff is to offer encouragement and make the newsroom an enjoyable place to work, learn and make friends while maintaining the professionalism of the workplace.”
Tanaka began writing for The Chronicle her freshman year as an arts reporter for Recess. She began writing for news in her sophomore year and become an associate editor in about two months. In addition to her duties as wire editor and recess arts editor, Tanaka has also started taking photos for The Chronicle.
Rupp said she is looking forward to helping Tanaka transition to her new role.
“I’m sure as editor of The Chronicle next year Sanette will face her own challenges,” Rupp said. “I hope to be a resource for her through those difficulties and successes that she’ll have. I’m very confident that in May when her term starts Sanette will be prepared to take on the role.”
Tanaka plans to double major in history and public policy. She hopes to earn a certificate in policy journalism and media studies.
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