From dream to reality: The Informer, then, now and into the future
Joe Luppino-Esposito | Editor in Chief Emeritus |
Last Updated:6/10/08 Section: Signed Editorials
During finals my freshman year, Amanda Yasenchak ('07) and I knocked on doors, giving a spiel about our new project, The Virginia Informer. We wanted to create a newspaper that reported on stories the liberal establishment and college administration had no interest in discussing. We got about 12 names. Come August, that list fell to 11, including Amanda, myself and an eager freshman I Facebooked over the summer.
And so began The Informer.
Now, two presidents, three years, 26 editions, dozens of staffers, hundreds of pages and thousands of copies later, The Informer has become a fixture at William and Mary.
Rumors (and, perhaps, hopes) of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. In the first two years, we were told we could not compete with the established campus media. This semester, some have said that there is no reason to continue on, now that William and Mary's worst president has exited stage (far) left.
There are some clear reasons why The Informer will continue indefinitely.
First and foremost, I am honored to be leaving the paper in the hands of Andrew B. Blasi, Jr. Andrew has been one of the paper's most active members and has a remarkably holistic approach to the paper that I thought only its founders could possess. He understands our mission and goals, and will execute them well. His lieutenants, Jon San and Alex Mayer, have the experience to keep the ship on course, sticking to deadlines and ensuring a near-perfect product. Nick Fitzgerald, that eager freshman, is now a senior, ready to take on our next frontier with The Virginia Informer Online, which will undoubtedly revolutionize media on campus. The section and department editors -- Steven Nelson, Michelle Ju, Megan Locke, Kristin Coyner, R.C. Rasmus, Jennifer Souers, Sam McVane and Alec McKinley -- are ready to lead their staffs and will push them every issue to put out a newspaper that they can all be proud of. All of these leaders, along with the assistant editors, writers, copy editors, layout designers, photographers and other staffers are the most qualified people on campus to perform these jobs. I will miss them all, dearly.
Luckily, we do not operate in a vacuum, and there are many factors that led to our success. The motivation that Amanda and I had for creating the newspaper was to have real competition in campus media. An alternative was needed, and always will be necessary. The Informer does not create news: we just care more about this College and about our fellow classmates than to bore them with reprints of administration-approved press releases.
Some stories are hard to find; a female student hit by a police car while on her bicycle and she winds up with a ticket, for example. Other stories are covered, in brief, by others, because of a lack in community understanding: see the story on a two-foot tall cross. Still, other stories are important to all, but the greater issues are not raised. A faculty strike is an obvious headliner, but the conduct of the deans and provost in the execution of the strike is where the real story exists.
Through all these stories, The Informer has kept a fighting spirit, and has welcomed challenges. Some are petty and juvenile, coming in the form of shaving cream. Others come from the establishment. When a professor exclaims, publicly, that prospective students reading The Informer is "not good," I know we are doing something right.
Therein lies the most important aspect of why The Informer needs to continue. For a university of our caliber, students' deference to authority and the status quo here is frightening. Colleges are funny places today, in which "conservatives" rebel and "progressives" fight to continue the same policies that have been in place for decades.
The last administration was the culmination of that dangerous standard. Clearly, the majority student opinion was against The Informer's stance on the issue. However, the paper enjoyed its largest increase in staff ever. It gives me great pride to know that those brave enough to be independent and walk ahead of the herd come out to our meetings every Monday night and do their part to change hearts and minds.
The paper, and I especially, have been accused of hating the College for doing this. Since when is challenging authority so wrong? When did blind faith become a virtue? The Informer embodies the nature of a liberal arts college: to question everything and leave no stone unturned. Some called it being "mean-spirited." I call it reporting the news.
The Virginia Informer has been the most important group I have been a part of in my entire life. It has defined my career at the College, for better or for worse, depending on who you ask.
I know for one student, Matt Sutton, it is a positive definition, and something he is also proud of. Matt, who is graduating a year early, has been with the paper from the beginning. He started as our intrepid Student Assembly reporter who broke down the barriers of what was a closed system. He went on to become managing editor this year. Matt's job description became something to the effect of: "Help keep Joe from losing more hair than he already has."
Matt, you were the best advisor anyone could have. You are loyal, trustworthy, prudent and supportive. In the event my aspirations for high political office come through, you will be the first person I call to be chief of staff, but I know you will probably be too noble to get into politics…or to work for me. All kidding aside, I thank you very much for your work and for keeping my head screwed on straight this year.
Amanda turned a dream into a reality. As with most of my elaborate schemes, like creating an Italian American Student Association, or proposing a new master college plan, or turning the SA into a parliamentary system, The Virginia Informer would have been lost in between classes and about ten-too-many causes.
Amanda, you decided that this idea actually made sense, and you molded it and shaped it to actually work, and this newspaper is the result. We have been together for longer than the paper has been around, but as it has grown and flourished, so have we. As cheesy as it sounds, The Virginia Informer did bring us closer together, as it is something we both care so much about. Needless to say, I could not have done it without you. I thank you, and I love you.
Finally, after just surprising most readers that I actually have a heart, I have one last thank you. It goes to people I have yet to meet. The Virginia Informer embodies a legacy that I will take with me for many years to come. To those truly brave souls that will take on the task of challenging the norm, not take the easy way out, and not accept the shallow answers, I thank you.
The future is bright for The Informer, and words can never express how much joy that brings me.
And so began The Informer.
Now, two presidents, three years, 26 editions, dozens of staffers, hundreds of pages and thousands of copies later, The Informer has become a fixture at William and Mary.
Rumors (and, perhaps, hopes) of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. In the first two years, we were told we could not compete with the established campus media. This semester, some have said that there is no reason to continue on, now that William and Mary's worst president has exited stage (far) left.
There are some clear reasons why The Informer will continue indefinitely.
First and foremost, I am honored to be leaving the paper in the hands of Andrew B. Blasi, Jr. Andrew has been one of the paper's most active members and has a remarkably holistic approach to the paper that I thought only its founders could possess. He understands our mission and goals, and will execute them well. His lieutenants, Jon San and Alex Mayer, have the experience to keep the ship on course, sticking to deadlines and ensuring a near-perfect product. Nick Fitzgerald, that eager freshman, is now a senior, ready to take on our next frontier with The Virginia Informer Online, which will undoubtedly revolutionize media on campus. The section and department editors -- Steven Nelson, Michelle Ju, Megan Locke, Kristin Coyner, R.C. Rasmus, Jennifer Souers, Sam McVane and Alec McKinley -- are ready to lead their staffs and will push them every issue to put out a newspaper that they can all be proud of. All of these leaders, along with the assistant editors, writers, copy editors, layout designers, photographers and other staffers are the most qualified people on campus to perform these jobs. I will miss them all, dearly.
Luckily, we do not operate in a vacuum, and there are many factors that led to our success. The motivation that Amanda and I had for creating the newspaper was to have real competition in campus media. An alternative was needed, and always will be necessary. The Informer does not create news: we just care more about this College and about our fellow classmates than to bore them with reprints of administration-approved press releases.
Some stories are hard to find; a female student hit by a police car while on her bicycle and she winds up with a ticket, for example. Other stories are covered, in brief, by others, because of a lack in community understanding: see the story on a two-foot tall cross. Still, other stories are important to all, but the greater issues are not raised. A faculty strike is an obvious headliner, but the conduct of the deans and provost in the execution of the strike is where the real story exists.
Through all these stories, The Informer has kept a fighting spirit, and has welcomed challenges. Some are petty and juvenile, coming in the form of shaving cream. Others come from the establishment. When a professor exclaims, publicly, that prospective students reading The Informer is "not good," I know we are doing something right.
Therein lies the most important aspect of why The Informer needs to continue. For a university of our caliber, students' deference to authority and the status quo here is frightening. Colleges are funny places today, in which "conservatives" rebel and "progressives" fight to continue the same policies that have been in place for decades.
The last administration was the culmination of that dangerous standard. Clearly, the majority student opinion was against The Informer's stance on the issue. However, the paper enjoyed its largest increase in staff ever. It gives me great pride to know that those brave enough to be independent and walk ahead of the herd come out to our meetings every Monday night and do their part to change hearts and minds.
The paper, and I especially, have been accused of hating the College for doing this. Since when is challenging authority so wrong? When did blind faith become a virtue? The Informer embodies the nature of a liberal arts college: to question everything and leave no stone unturned. Some called it being "mean-spirited." I call it reporting the news.
The Virginia Informer has been the most important group I have been a part of in my entire life. It has defined my career at the College, for better or for worse, depending on who you ask.
I know for one student, Matt Sutton, it is a positive definition, and something he is also proud of. Matt, who is graduating a year early, has been with the paper from the beginning. He started as our intrepid Student Assembly reporter who broke down the barriers of what was a closed system. He went on to become managing editor this year. Matt's job description became something to the effect of: "Help keep Joe from losing more hair than he already has."
Matt, you were the best advisor anyone could have. You are loyal, trustworthy, prudent and supportive. In the event my aspirations for high political office come through, you will be the first person I call to be chief of staff, but I know you will probably be too noble to get into politics…or to work for me. All kidding aside, I thank you very much for your work and for keeping my head screwed on straight this year.
Amanda turned a dream into a reality. As with most of my elaborate schemes, like creating an Italian American Student Association, or proposing a new master college plan, or turning the SA into a parliamentary system, The Virginia Informer would have been lost in between classes and about ten-too-many causes.
Amanda, you decided that this idea actually made sense, and you molded it and shaped it to actually work, and this newspaper is the result. We have been together for longer than the paper has been around, but as it has grown and flourished, so have we. As cheesy as it sounds, The Virginia Informer did bring us closer together, as it is something we both care so much about. Needless to say, I could not have done it without you. I thank you, and I love you.
Finally, after just surprising most readers that I actually have a heart, I have one last thank you. It goes to people I have yet to meet. The Virginia Informer embodies a legacy that I will take with me for many years to come. To those truly brave souls that will take on the task of challenging the norm, not take the easy way out, and not accept the shallow answers, I thank you.
The future is bright for The Informer, and words can never express how much joy that brings me.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Andrew McRoberts
posted 8/02/08 @ 5:02 PM EST
Joe, your legacy of good journalism and through investigation will live on in the Virginia Informer. Great job.
Calderaro Blessington
posted 6/21/09 @ 3:39 PM EST
Hello! I am glad that I'v joined your community! See ya!
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