The staff of The Chronicle has elected sophomore Lindsey Rupp to serve as editor of the newspaper’s 106th volume.
At a meeting Friday, Rupp—currently University department editor—was appointed editor of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., which publishes the independent student-run daily newspaper.
Rupp will succeed junior Will Robinson for a one-year term beginning in May. As editor, Rupp will determine the newspaper’s content and lead a staff of approximately 150 student reporters, editors, photographers, layout designers and other contributors.
“I’m elated that The Chronicle is willing to give me this opportunity,” Rupp said. “It has already done so much for me and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to it... I think I’m in a unique position to help it get better than it already is for next year.”
In a speech to the staff Friday, Rupp said one of her biggest focuses for next year will be improving the quality of The Chronicle’s online content and distributing work hours more evenly among staff members.
“We’re going to need to bring our product into the future. Part of expanding our paper and rising to the challenge of going toe-to-toe with professional organizations is to embrace the opportunities available to us online, to touch more readers and draw more people into our product,” Rupp said Sunday. “Next year is really going to be a time for us to shift our idea set toward online and reconsider the way we approach journalism. This will also open up a whole new world to us as far as recruitment.”
She said she hopes to prepare for next year by appointing a strong masthead.
“I think it’s really important to surround myself with really experienced journalists,” Rupp said. “I’m looking forward to putting together a team that will help me move The Chronicle forward. I think we have a lot of talent here. I’ll be looking for people who are driven and see as much potential in this institution as I do.”
Rupp began her career at The Chronicle her freshman year. She became an associate editor for the University department in January 2009, where she covered a news beat focused on academics. She was appointed University co-editor in March 2009, managing a group of 12 associate editors and staff writers to cover campus affairs.
Robinson said he was pleased with Rupp’s performance as University editor this year.
“I’m extremely excited to have Lindsey as the next editor of The Chronicle,” he said. “She has been a fantastic University editor this year and I’m really looking forward to working with her next year as editor.”
Robinson said he plans to share some of his own experiences with Rupp to prepare her for the responsibilities of the job.
“The editor’s role is [to be] a manager of the staff, the person who is accountable for all published content, and the external representative to the public,” Robinson said. “I’ll try to provide her with some insight into the challenges I’ve faced, and hopefully between now and when she takes over in May she’ll have learned enough from my experiences to build off of them. I’m confident she’ll be totally prepared once her term starts.”
A native of Durham, N.C., Rupp graduated from Charles E. Jordan High School where she was editor of the school’s newspaper, The Falcon’s Cry. Her mother, Erin O’Branski, participated in the Duke University Physician’s Assistant Program from 1992 to 1994. She is currently a senior physician’s assistant in Hematology and Oncology, where she works with liquid tumors.
Rupp plans to major in English and earn a certificate in Policy Journalism and Media Studies. She said she hopes to pursue a career in journalism after graduation.
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