The Hawkeye 2024-2025 is now under the leadership of co-editors-in-chief Moira “Mo” Murphy and Addison “Addy” Plummer.
The two shared their experiences and insights about their journey in journalism, highlighting their passion for the field and the challenges they have faced along the way in an interview.
Murphy enjoys the flexibility to write about important topics and inform others. “I enjoy having the freedom to write whatever I want and informing others what I write about; so when I find something important, I want others to know about it,” Murphy said. Plummer echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the learning aspect.
“I love learning a lot in this class. I love when I get to learn something new and when someone else learns something new as well,” Plummer said.
As co-editors-in-chief, both Murphy and Plummer relish their leadership roles. Murphy enjoys making final edits and being a go-to person for questions.
“I love being one of the people everyone goes to with questions and being able to answer those questions. If I can’t, I am very happy I have a co-editor-in-chief because we feed off each other to help students,” Murphy explained.
Editors-in-Chief are selected by Advisor Marc Kenney based on the student's ability to ensure the successful production of a monthly newspaper, an improved website, and a willingness to help new students learn the process.
“I chose Addy and Mo because they have always made our newspaper better,” Kenney said. “They became strong writers in their first year and learned our InDesign layout software pretty early on in the course. I am also so impressed by the balance they strike within the class between leader and classmate. In the end, the combination of these traits makes them perfect candidates to lead our team.”
Plummer appreciates helping others and fostering a comfortable class environment. “I feel like I can try to get people to be more comfortable with class interactions and the environment in journalism. I also love working with Mo,” Plummer added.
Both students have continued their journalism journey throughout high school for different reasons. Murphy loves the informative nature of journalistic writing, while Plummer saw the long-term benefits despite initial stress.
“Over my time in Journalism, I realized that journalistic writing is my absolute favorite style of writing, as it’s very informative and very different from regular English class,” Murphy said. Plummer added, “I knew that if I kept taking journalism throughout high school even though it was hard at first, it would pay off, and it did.”
Murphy and Plummer have influenced their fellow peers in more ways than one. Students have enjoyed learning under the two Editors-in-chief and have had pleasant experiences with them.
“I enjoy [being in the journalistic environment with Addy and Mo]. They are very involved and willing to help. Personally, Addison has helped me grow in this class from when I started as a freshman and was lost to now being able to complete pages by myself. They keep a positive attitude and help contribute to the atmosphere and the way our class works. I think it's important that editors in chief conduct themselves in said way due to our class dynamic,” NHS Junior and Managing Editor of The Hawkeye Summer Wilson said.
The path to becoming skilled journalists was not without challenges. Murphy struggled to find engaging topics, while Plummer initially felt uncomfortable in the journalistic environment. “Finding something to write about that people would be interested in reading about was challenging for me,” Murphy admitted.
Plummer shared; “I had a really hard time at the beginning; feeling comfortable in the; journalism environment at first and feeling like I could ask questions and come up with topics every month.”
Both students have evolved significantly as writers and journalists. Plummer highlighted the impact of an annual media bias project on her perspective.
“I have found that I really can’t look at news sources and media in general without seeing how biased they are. This assignment really changed the way that I look at media in general,” she said. Looking ahead, Murphy hopes to continue in journalism, while Plummer plans to pursue a career in government or politics, leveraging her journalism skills.
Murphy and Plummer have ambitious plans for the school paper. Murphy is excited to teach new students and bring diverse perspectives.
“I am excited about all of the new students we have this year and I feel like we don’t have a ton of upperclassmen this year like we have in previous years, so I am excited to teach others how to write journalistically,” Murphy said.
Plummer aims to make the paper more relevant to peers’ interests and improve its reach. “I would love to improve the relativity of the paper to my peer’s interests. Getting the paper out there is also something to work on,” she noted.
While Murphy is working on branching out from sports writing, Plummer focuses on topics relevant to the school and local news.
“I am guilty of only writing about sports, but I am working on branching out in terms of other topics, especially with this year being an election year and wanting to be more informed about politics,” Murphy confessed.
“I like writing the most about things that are relevant to our school and local news that can help students stay more informed,” Plummer said.
Murphy and Plummer’s dedication to journalism and The Hawkeye is evident. Their passion, leadership, and commitment to growth promise a bright future for the publication and their careers.
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