The Pioneer has a lot of uses, but in one sense, we are a record and a reflection of Whitman College. The Editors’ Blog is a record of The Pioneer itself in its efforts to capture Whitman.
Over the past three weeks, a team of Pioneer reporters has been working to shed light on the circumstances leading up to Jim Hanson’s decision to step down from his position as Director of Forensics. Our reporting included dozens of interviews, both on and off the record, with current debate students, administrators, faculty, trustees and college and debate alumni. Since Hanson’s announcement, rumors and pieces of information about the reasons Hanson stepped down have been circulating throughout campus and the wider debate community. We hoped to be able to add a more thoroughly researched version of events as ... (more)
Since ASWC released a preliminary budget on Sunday, there has been a lot of discussion on campus about the budgeting process. Many readers have commented on the information we've provided detailing cuts in the yearbook and other campus organizations, asking questions about how ASWC decides budgeting and why some groups had their funding cut significantly from what they were allocated this year. Currently, several of our reporters and editors are teaming up to create a series of infographics and text better explaining the budgeting process and answering some of the questions that have been raised. We will have comprehensive data online ... (more)
In response to student concerns about ASWC's preliminary budget for the 2013-14 school year, and specifically about the amount of funding given to The Pioneer, I would like to clarify several things about the budgeting process for The Pioneer and provide the campus with more information about how we use our funds. First, a note on the budgeting process for The Pioneer. Every other club and campus media organization which receives ASWC funding is required to submit a budget request form to the Finance Committee which includes information on how they will use their money. Based on these requests, the Finance Committee makes a preliminary ... (more)
You may be noticing something new and different about the Pioneer's website today, and it looks something like this: We're proud to announce that we're partnering with a New-York-based startup called Echoed to bring you, our readers, a new way to interact with the Pio online. Echoed is a system that will allow you to easily share your stories with the community here on whitmanpioneer.com. While we work hard to cover news on campus, we can’t be everywhere, and we want to hear about the things that are important to our readers. ... (more)
6:29 p.m. I (Managing Editor Libby Arnosti) walk into the newsroom to find Rachel sitting on the table, many productive people working around her, and an opened box of Cheez-its. This last makes me happiest. 6:32 p.m. Rachel shows us two great things that happened in her life today: 1. A newly-printed and totally legitimate business card for her job at the Union-Bulletin. 2. A new titanium spoon/fork/knife contraption. The excitement in the room is palpable. 6:36 p.m. In other news, both Feature and Backpage are completely finished and have been copy edited once each. A&E is ready for copy edit. What ... (more)
One of the best parts of my job is getting to work with a such talented and fun group of editors. In our non-Pio lives, we're involved in many different activities on campus—varsity athletics, theater productions, Greek life, the Outdoor Program—and we bring these diverse interests together every week to put together a newspaper. As part of our ongoing quest to put a human face on our staff, we've re-vamped our staff page to include photos and bios for the editorial team. Curious which editor can make the best pun about hail? Would you be surprised to learn that our A&E editor ... (more)
It all began on a Wednesday. Wednesdays are the busiest days, even though I was not expecting that to be the case. I have one class on Wednesday, so I thought they would generally be relaxing—that is until I got caught up in the tidal wave that is Wednesday Production Night. I usually start working on illustrations that have been turned in to our joint dropbox account at around 11:00. This is rudimentary color correction, resizing the pictures for the website, and making sure that ... (more)
As the Pio’s Arts & Entertainment section editor, I feel personally responsible for educating our faithful readers about cultural events on and beyond Whitman’s campus. As misguided as this sense of responsibility may be, I nonetheless feel the weight of the art world on my shoulders. So, what artistic endeavor have I chosen to analyze in this post? How can I illuminate my fascinating life as comprehensively and as succinctly as possible? (A daunting task, I know.) Dear readers, I suggest you look no further than MTV’s little-known reality series “The Paper,” which lasted for one eight-episode season in the spring ... (more)
Every Thursday, you pick up the latest copy of The Pioneer and-in a perfect world-read it cover to cover. You carefully scan each article and linger over every mesmerizing photo. You intermittently find yourself ROTFLOL-ing when you think about one of the jokes on the back page. Yet you wonder: how on earth can one small newspaper dig up so many different types of stories every week without repeating the same things over and over again? The simple answer: the Pio editors are boss. The more descriptive answer: the Pio editors-although definitely boss-spend many of our waking minutes searching for potential story ideas. ... (more)
Outside of Greek groups, The Pioneer is the largest student organization on campus—74 paid staff members, as of my last count—but on a campus this full of busy, high-achieving people, it's easy to forget that your section-mates or friends work for the campus paper. Last year, our editors started this blog as a way of putting a face on the work we do to put out the paper that you pick up on Thursday afternoons. Our goal for the Editors' Blog is simple: to give you a sense what goes into producing our weekly paper, as well as our award-winning website and glossy ... (more)
ALYSSA FAIRBANKS, Feature Editor The end of this semester brings the end of my time at Whitman, and specific to this post, the end of my involvement with Whitman's newspaper, the Pioneer. I have worked for the Pio since freshman year as an A&E reporter, A&E production associate, managing editor, and finally features editor. Working for a newspaper has been fun, at times ridiculous, and often immensely aggravating; but ultimately, something I have enjoyed being a part of for 6 semesters. Sophomore year the Pio office became my home on Wednesday nights. I made amazing, lasting friendships with people like Margaux and Connor; and solidified friendships with others like ... (more)
For the last 115 years, The Pioneer has more or less shut down for the summer, leaving a four month gap in our coverage of Whitman news. In the past this made sense--not much happened, and not many students were around to write or read a weekly newspaper. But with more Whitties spending their summers in Walla Walla and a growing online and social media readership, there's news to cover and we can reach the Whitman community even when classes are not in session. This summer, we'll keep you up to date with what's happening on the Whitman campus and also ... (more)
If you've read my recent story on sexual assault reporting on the Whitman campus, you might be wondering what goes into writing an article like this. The short answer is: a lot of work. Here's a peek behind the curtain of the Pio's investigative reporting team. First, the story idea. This article was inspired by a comment in our suggestion box asking us to do a piece about rape culture on campus. I'd written about rape previously on my blog and thought it would be an interesting issue to tackle. My first step was to send out emails ... (more)
This weekend, 13 Pio staff members learned about journalism at an Associated College Press conference in Seattle. The ACP hosts this conference twice annually, but it was my first-ever chance to attend. As Web Editor, I found the trip to be a particularly exciting experience because the emphasis this time 'round was the mysterious, magic word: multimedia. That's right. Social media. Blogs. Audio podcasts. Photo slideshows. Video features. Interactive infographics. Searchable databases. Zoomable maps. Mobile-friendly sites. All of it. And more! The ACP conference is digital journalist heaven—a place where every person has at least three pieces of technology in their immediate ... (more)
Hey Pio readers! Does anyone want something shiny in their lives? Not to fear, The Pioneer is bringing you Issue 2 of The Circuit; set to arrive just before Spring Break. But wait! There's more! Issue 2 of The Circuit will be TWO TIMES as long as Issue 1! That's two times the length for the same great price: absolutely free! Our second installment comes with beautiful photography; film, music, book and restaurant reviews; a feature story on Wizard Rock; and so much more! Here's a sneak peak: [caption id="attachment_46393" align="aligncenter" width="518" caption="Coming soon to a distribution box near you."]... (more)
Congratulations to Rachel Alexander, who will take over as Pioneer Editor-in-Chief for the 2012-2013 academic year. Alexander, a Politics/Environmental Studies major, is back at Whitman College this semester after a spending fall 2011 in Ecuador. Prior to studying abroad, she served as a News Editor for The Pio in spring 2011. The announcement is no surprise. If you're a regular reader, you've read Rachel's articles. Her intrepid pursuit of stories has resulted in many of The Pio's more high-profile pieces over the last couple of years, including a recent piece about eating disorders on campus , as well as an excellent article ... (more)
Tutorial: Front Page When I sit down to design a front page--typically the Monday or Tuesday before the paper comes out--I start with our lead story, which is usually paired with a lead graphic. Sometimes I make the graphic from scratch, or assign it to a designer. Sometimes I have graphics ready to go, although that's rare. More often, I have a starting point--a photo shoot, an illustration idea, a suggestion from the author, news editors, or senior staff--that I work from, shooting photography and designing ... (more)
My name is Jean Marie Dreyer, and I am the new Chief Copy Editor for The Pioneer. Although this is my last semester at Whitman College, I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work with such a talented, fun and hard-working group of people. I joined the newspaper to continue to develop my editing skills, and to take advantage of working on a collaborative writing endeavor that I feel is an essential component of campus life. *** My name is Alex Brott, and I am beyond excited to join the Pioneer editorial staff for spring 2012. My formal writing ... (more)
Back row, from left to right: Senior Reporter Rachel Alexander '13, Humor Editor Cari Cortez '13, Web Editor Sara Rasmussen '12, Feature Editor Kelsey Kennedy '12, A&E Editor Caitlin Hardee '12, Illustration Editor Binta Loos-Diallo '12, Managing Editor Cara Lowry '12, Web Content Editor Josh Goodman '12, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Vanderbilt '12, Sports Editor Libby Arnosti '12. Front row, from left to right: Feature Editor Alyssa Fairbanks '12, News Editor Shelly Le '14, Chief Copy Editor Jean Marie Dreyer '12, News Editor Karah ... (more)
Hi! Welcome to the first in a series of blog entries about the making of the print edition of the Whitman Pioneer. My name is Ted Hendershot, and I'm responsible for the design of the print edition and its weekly layout. I'm proud to announce the new production staff. Beginning with the coming issue, no. 2, these will be the talented designers bringing you the eight weekly pages that make up the Pioneer, as well as our magazine companion, the Circuit: Front Page & Feature: Ted Hendershot News: Sean McNulty A&E: Madison Munn Sports: Molly Olmsted Opinion: ... (more)
The Pio is expanding its web presence, and I for one am excited! I'm the Pio's web content editor, a new position created to help make whitmanpioneer.com a destination that expands beyond what appears in print each week. Some of the additions to the Pio's website this semester: - Pio blogs. These include an environmental blog, a sports blog, and the return of Netflix It!, a weekly review of an older but easily accessible movie. And this editors' blog, of course! - More study abroad blogs. This semester, you'll hear stories from Whitties in Argentina, France, India, Japan, Jordan and Spain. - More up ... (more)
It's 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, and most of Whitman's students are asleep or holed up in the library chugging out a paper. But in a corner office on the second floor of Reid Campus Center, the editors and managers of The Pioneer are finishing boxes of pizza and arguing over headlines. Production Manager Ted Hendershot is telling News Editors Shelly Le and Karah Kemmerly that their front page photo caption doesn't make sense. Managing Editor Cara Lowry is catching oxford commas. Web Editor Sara Rasmussen is g-chatting with Webmaster Kirk Crosland about a last-minute glitch on the website. Chief ... (more)
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