The independent student newspaper at Drexel University in Philadelphia has named its first Black editor-in-chief.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kiara Santos, an Afro-Latina communications major, and other Drexel students met in March to restart the Triangle, which had been on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Santos wanted to be the newspaper’s arts and entertainment editor, but the former editor-in-chief asked the Philly native to take the top role.
Santos, who joined the newspaper in 2018 as a staff writer, accepted.
It’s a daunting challenge. The Inquirer reported that the Triangle filed for bankruptcy that year and moved to publish online only. Its latest online edition published on June 10, and its editorial board, in a letter to readers, noted the challenges.
“The Triangle and its staff are deeply honored to work towards our mission of rebirth of the organization,” board members wrote. “The path to this edition has been rocky, taking a mass of collective labor by a staff with little training but enormous dedication.”
As an independent student newspaper, the Triangle doesn’t receive funds from Drexel and has to raise money to publish. In its latest edition, the newspaper covered, among other things, a mass shooting in Philadelphia, fall sports returning to Drexel, and how students will be able to celebrate commencement in person this year.
Santos, 22, told the Inquirer, “I want it to have a strong newsroom, with a managing editor to help with the transitioning when students graduate or leave a role. I want to guarantee it has a strong DEI effort. … When I step down after graduation, I want it to be a diverse and financially strong student newspaper.”
She has been busy trying to rebuild a newspaper that has a 96-year history. She’s meeting with alumni for advice, trying to recruit a diverse staff and leading market efforts while coordinating new office space. On its staff page, the newspaper lists 15 editor and director positions, some of them unfilled.
Santos acknowledges she’s taken on a lot of work, but she doesn’t shy away from it. She wants to be a journalist and knows she needs as much experience as she can get.
“We are a bunch of geeks, passionate about a newspaper, doing volunteer work,” she asserted, “while treating it as if we worked for the New York Times.”
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