New EIC sees an advantage in print media

A challenging road lies ahead for University News Editor-in-Chief-Elect Paul Brunkhorst. The junior English and political science student will be tasked with running the official print voice of Saint Louis University students for the 2015-2016 academic year.

“People say that print media is in decline, but I think that is an opportunity for what remains of print media to be a voice above everything else,” Brunkhorst said.

“We live in a world of so many people saying whatever they want on the Internet, and it’s just a cacophony of information, and I think that the UNews … [has] a great opportunity to be a voice that stands out,” he added.

Brunkhorst will helm the newspaper in his third year as a staff member.  As a sophomore, he was a staff writer for the opinion section, and he has spent this past year as Associate News Editor. His experience with multiple sections of the UNews is one of the attributes he notes as a reason to entrust in him the future of the paper. Brunkhorst knows how the UNews works, and he believes that he is the right person to bring the paper to further prominence.

“I think that I am able to work well with people, and that’s what I look forward to doing. I really embrace leadership roles … [and] I like to hear all sides of situations. … I think that is what makes, especially an editorial board, strong,” he said. “It comes down to understanding other people and being able to express ourselves as a body.”

As the incoming editor-in-chief, Brunkhorst realizes that changes will need to be made in order to expand the paper’s message, while keeping it financially viable. Increasing readership is the best way to do that, and he has an idea of how to get people more interested in reading the weekly paper.

“As Associate News Editor … I noticed that we cover a lot of [on-campus] events. … Something that we can do [differently] is include more feature stories, go in depth into something,” Brunkhorst said. “If we could get a couple of 2,000-word essays – you know, really big feature stories – then that would draw people to the news. … I want people to ask: ‘Have you read that new article in the paper?’”

When given the opportunity to offer his unfiltered opinion on any matter not related to the newspaper, Brunkhorst quipped: “I can’t stand bowties. I think that normal ties are better. People complain about length, but you know what? Learn how to tie the damn knot.”

All fashion opinions aside, Brunkhorst is looking forward to moving the newspaper forward next year. Increasing readership and improving content are at the top of his to-do list, and he will not stop until the UNews is on top.