Sophomore news editor of The University News Jonathan Ernst has been officially named as The UNews Editor-in-Chief for the 2010-2011 academic school year.

Video by Noah Berman/Associate Photo Editor.

As EIC, Ernst will oversee the entire newspaper production process, from deciding what goes on the front page to the design of the nameplate.
Ernst will be succeeding graduating senior Kat Patke in the position. According to The UNews’ production coordinator, Jason Young, to become EIC, a candidate must go through a three-part process. First, the candidate must be elected by a 2/3 majority of the sitting Editorial Board.
After the Editorial Board makes its decision, the elected candidate gets his or her name sent to the University to see if he/she is in good standing.
Finally, after the candidate has been cleared, members of The UNews’ Advisory Board­—which is made up of faculty members, journalism professionals, students and the Dean of Students—vote to say that the election protocol has been followed correctly.
Even though Ernst ran unopposed in the election, he didn’t let that stop him from working hard to prove his worth as an editor.
“Because he was running unopposed, it would have been easy to sit back and just let things happen, but he didn’t do that,” Patke said. “He worked hard in the election and throughout the year.”
Young is equally generous in his praise.
“He has a lot of strengths, but the one that excites me the most is his undying passion,” Young said. “He views journalism as a civic duty, not just producing a tangible product, but as something that serves the community.”
Ernst, who is also in the Micah service program at SLU, feels very strongly about about serving his community.
“It goes back to that service idea, the core that journalism is a community service,” Ernst said. “That’s my motive. … I have a passion for journalism. … You do it because you love it. It’s so much time out of your week, you have to love it and appreciate it.”
Ernst’s goals as editor-in-chief include implementing a more multi-media approach to the publication. He cites the revamped website as an example of the direction he would like the newspaper to take.
“The website is going to make us a multi-platform organization, [with] coverage through the Internet and through the printed edition,” Ernst said.
He said that he also plans to bring back the managing editor position.
“This person would act as a liaison between the editorial and advertising department, and develop a marketing plan for selling ads and connecting ads with content,” Ernst said.
Ernst said that he can’t wait for the new year to get started.
“We’re going to learn and have fun and challenge people,” he said. “We’re going to hit on the core elements, and we’re going to have a great product.”