Burnett hopes to increase campus awareness of paper, diversify newsroom

ALYSON E. GROVE/ Arizona Daily Wildcat

Recently appointed Daily Wildcat editor in chief Maggie Burnett takes a break Monday afternoon outside the Wildcat office. Burnett, the current news editor, has worked at the Wildcat for the last five semesters and says she is looking forward to taking the paper's top job.

The UA Media Board appointed the current Arizona Daily Wildcat news editor as next semester's editor in chief Friday.

Maggie Burnett, a journalism senior originally from Phoenix, will be the paper's first female editor in chief since the 1996-97 school year.

Burnett, a five-semester veteran of the Wildcat, was arts editor last spring, and a reporter for that section for the preceding three semesters.

She said she is excited to have this opportunity to head the newspaper next semester.

"When I first started here, I was really intimidated by the idea of being a journalist," Burnett said. "I kept trying to find ways to justify quitting, but after a couple of semesters, I began to love it."

Burnett originally did not intend to apply for editor in chief, but her unexpected appointment as news editor at the beginning of the semester prompted her to consider the possibility.

"I came to Maggie in August when we were in a bind - we needed a news editor in two weeks, and Maggie had never written a news story before," said Ryan Finley, the outgoing editor in chief. "It took her about two days to figure out what the job was about. Every manager should have a co-worker like Maggie."

Burnett said that although her appointment to the news editorship was a sudden change from the arts desk, it prepared her well to be editor in chief.

"I was thrown into news, but in the course of the semester, I've learned so much about newswriting and reporting in general," Burnett said. "Had I not been news editor, I never would have considered applying for editor in chief."

Her goals for her editorship are to broaden campus-wide awareness of the newspaper's inner workings and to diversify the newspaper, both in story coverage and in the newsroom.

Burnett also said she wants to help students realize that the Daily Wildcat is a "serious newspaper" by improving the paper's credibility, minimizing errors and publishing more in-depth stories.

"It amazes me that people don't realize the magnitude of what we're covering here," Burnett said. "We are out there researching these issues every bit as much as professional journalists are."

Jeff Sklar, the Wildcat's current assistant news editor, said Burnett transitioned well into her news editor role, and that he expects her to succeed as editor in chief.

"I owe a great deal to her, and I've certainly learned a lot from her," Sklar said. "She's the main reason why the news desk has been so successful this semester."

In Burnett's time at the Wildcat, she has influenced many of the editors and reporters she has worked with.

"If there's anyone that made me feel comfortable about learning how to report, it was Maggie," said Arek Sarkissian II, assignments editor. "She really was a great role model to not ask the obvious question but to ask the question that made the news. I'm really excited to work with her."

Burnett's responsibilities as editor in chief will include copy and layout editing, as well as supervision of each section's staff.

"It's a big job, she's ready for it, and she'll rise to the occasion," said Mark Woodhams, adviser to the Daily Wildcat and director of Arizona Student Media.