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News

SPC elects new EIC

DAILY COUGAR NEWS STAFF

The Student Publication Committee elected communication junior John Arterbury as The Daily Cougar's next editor in chief at its meeting Tuesday.

The committee did not meet quorum, but suspended the rules in order to facilitate a timely election.

Arterbury said he will work to maintain a strong dynamic among the Daily Cougar staff, despite a "mass exodus" of long-time staff members who will graduate in May.

"Some people would say that this would be a hindrance, …but I look at it more like an opportunity as a catalyst for growth," he said during the committee's election hearings.

Arterbury said he would use his experience as an Army trainee to foster teamwork and strong leadership.

Students also need to be more aware of The Daily Cougar, Arterbury said, citing that the publication was listed as the number two news source for students after University e-mails in a recent Student Satisfaction Survey.

"Increasing the visibility of The Daily Cougar starts with increasing quality," he said. Arterbury also advocated forming closer ties with UH staff and local civic leaders to increase campus awareness.

Arterbury said his greatest weakness as editor in chief would be lack of time on The Daily Cougar staff.

Arterbury began at the paper as a copy editor in Fall 2006 and became the assistant news editor in Spring 2007.

During a question and answer period with the committee, Arterbury said he had mixed feelings regarding the effects of increased University funding for the publication.

"It would be positive in that more funding allows us to do more," he said. "But yes, more funding means more University prying into the operations of the organization, which I would be hesitant to engage in."

On choosing columnists for the publication, Arterbury said a greater variety of opinion is needed.

"We definitely need more conservative opinion," he said. "There would be a campaign to make even-weighted columns."

He added that the opinion section should utilize columnists with originality and substance.

In dealing with complaints about The Daily Cougar, Arterbury said he would consult with the leaders on staff and evaluate the situation before responding.

"It would probably be a well-reasoned response, it wouldn't be antagonistic in any way," he said.

To maintain Associate Press and design style, Arterbury also said he would appoint a web editor if the funds were available to maintain the new Daily Cougar Web site, expected to go live this summer.

The second candidate for the position, creative writing junior Christian Ochoa, said he will continue with the paper, though possibly not in his current position as life and arts editor.

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