Sophomore Breanna Bradham was elected as the editor-in-chief of The Chronicle’s 114th volume.
In an staff-wide election Friday evening, members of the student newspaper chose Bradham to succeed junior Likhitha Butchireddygari as editor of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., the publisher of the independent, student-run daily newspaper.
Bradham—a political science major with a minor in history and a certificate in policy journalism and media studies—who currently heads the local and national department, will begin her one-year term April 25.
“I think The Chronicle is one of the most dynamic groups on campus, and I’m really proud of the work that we do,” Bradham said. “To really put my heart into it is really exciting, and to have a chance to work with everybody is an opportunity I’m really enthusiastic about.”
As editor, the Manning, S.C. native hopes to focus primarily on increasing interdepartmental communication, special skill building and recruitment and retention of staff members.
“The main goal is to create more interdepartmental collaboration culture, create project-based teams and do training across the departments so people feel comfortable reaching out to other staff members to pursue projects,” Bradham said.
Bradham also aims to increase engagement with the newspaper’s audience and the larger Duke community. She additionally hopes to create more audio and video products.
Butchireddygari noted her enthusiasm for Bradham’s qualifications.
“Bre is uniquely qualified to be The Chronicle’s next leader because of her commitment and her vast experience in different parts of the organization,” Butchireddygari said. “She’s so passionate about ensuring The Chronicle’s success both in its presence on campus as a print organization and its digital growth.”
Junior Kenrick Cai, who currently serves as news editor, cited Bradham’s dedication to The Chronicle in saying that she is the ideal person for the job.
“One of Bre's greatest assets is her expansive knowledge of the inner workings both of The Chronicle itself and of the University as a whole,” Cai said. “In her two years at The Chronicle, she’s developed a strong understanding of and deep connections with members of the Duke and Durham community.”
Senior Sanjeev Dasgupta, who currently serves as sports photography editor, emphasized Bradham’s time in the photography department as an asset.
“Often people who become the editor-in-chief come from one particular department in the organization, and that presents a great barrier for them to cross in their first few months, because they have to understand how each individual department in The Chronicle works,” Dasgupta said. “The fact that she has continuous involvement in the photo department and in the news department, and has even written for sports means that she has a breadth of experience that is very rare for any candidate coming into this position.”
Bradham noted that her time across The Chronicle has given her an appreciation of the hard work each department puts in and has fostered a desire to pursue collaborations between the departments.
“I think each department has a lot to learn from the others. I really hope to collaborate and capitalize on that,” she said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.