Short-form social media content isn't killing journalism, it's reshaping it. If publications hope to keep up, then journalists have to be flexible. Journalism is an applied skill, malleable to it's circumstances. Here's how I've adapted.

When radio emerged, listeners said it would kill the newspaper. When broadcast news emerged, viewers said it would kill radio. With the rise of AI and social media, I’m told time and time again that journalism will die. I disagree. Journalism morphs with its environment, constantly adapting to new forms of media. While my heart yearns for tried-and-true print news, the future of journalism lives through social media. When I assumed my executive editor position this year, I acknowledged this and created a social media editor-in-chief position after taking a bonus course on social media reporting at the Gloria’s Shield national journalism workshop that summer. Now we publish our socials daily.

I wanted to go beyond their success. My 2023-2024 editors created an unforgettable newsroom environment; filled with constant feedback, encouragement and productivity. The start of the 2024-2025 year felt like the opposite, with weak communication and contagious unproductivity. In December, editors met to solve our newsroom crisis; that’s where I earned my first editor-in-chief title over the website. With a burst of motivation I upended our web-article system and took over publication management for reporters. The energy spread across reporters and contributed to what my advisor described as Student Media’s strongest year for writing.

Recognition: 2025 ILPC gold star award, 2025 CSPA silver crown award & 2026 crown recipient; 2025 TAJE 4th best of show, Fall Fiesta

Online news sites and social media do the same job dressed in different clothes. I strongly advocate the use of social media to promote online news. Inspired by publications such as the Houston Chronicle, Texas Tribune and other state publications, I designed easily convertible templates to convert online news to social media. I also created back-end spread sheets for the web editor-in-chief sheets to track publications for online news and schedule social media catered versions.