The Bold - CU Boulder Student Media
Roles: Editor-in-Chief 2021-2022, Managing Editor 2020-2021, Staff Writer, 2020
2020-2022:
Leadership
I’ve never really thought of myself as a leader but each of my previous experiences have made me one. Becoming editor-in-chief of The Bold in its second year was a great honor, intimidating and exciting all at the same time. I’d never led a group of 50 that was tasked produce near-daily content covering our campus and community. I navigated campus culture in a semi-post-pandemic world and investigated internal dilemmas of CU Student Government. I editing and maintained a large staff while being a full-time student, which was difficult but I was so invested in The Bold as a club, community and product. I look back on my year as a leader and I’m proud of how far The Bold has come. We grew our audiences, reached new students and covered breaking news, natural disasters and really made a name for ourselves on campus.
Management
I do pride myself in being an efficient and hard worker. I put everything I have into what I’m working on, so I did become extremely invested in the paper. But, that came with exhaustion. I had to learn a hard lesson of delegation. I had to trust other people with tasks I couldn’t handle myself. Managing content meant I had to know which stories needed to be written, who they were assigned to, their deadlines and when to send to our web team to publish. I became hyperaware of local activities, events, breaking news and what our editors and writers were doing each week. Part of my role as a manager also meant I was the liaison between my student staff and the media college. I worked on budgets, made sure people got paid, communicated with media directors for the University and sought out ways for The Bold to grow. I represented The Bold at campus events, alumni talks and in the field. I managed relationships between staff members and editors. One of the hardest things about the role was acknowledging that at the time, we were all students. They had their own classes and personal lives, and since The Bold was technically a club, there wasn’t a ton of incentive to join or to stay. Recruitment and retention were vital.
Editing
Editing was by far my most favorite part of this role. I learned so much about writing and leading by practicing. I found that I love helping people grow. Since it was a school environment, we had people who were science majors wanting to write about climate change who had never written journalistically. We had freshman who were excited to learn. Each unique writer required attention to detail and the patience and care that I was willing and able to provide them. I could see myself in their shoes, eager to write but without the proper tools or knowledge. I loved the idea that I was going to be a small step in setting them up for a successful writing future.
Partnerships
Since its inception, The Bold aimed to be a media collective at CU. We wanted The Bold to be a hub where creatives could come and merge innovative ideas of storytelling. We were partnered with Radio1190, an underground radio station home to news, podcasts and music and SkoBuffsSports, a live sports coverage organization on campus. It took strategic planning to work as three separate organizations coming together under one umbrella. It was exciting to see students dabble in each medium. Additionally, the media college created The Collective, where student leaders of clubs would meet to discuss how the college could support them.
General lessons
Each branch of The Bold taught me something new. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, yet the most gratifying. I was seeing the Zoom meetings, budget planning, recruiting and my first gray hair (I know) come to fruition in the brand and content that The Bold has been and will continue to be. I’m proud to have been an editor, leader, writer and student for The Bold.
all of that didn’t leave much time for writing, but i still managed to produce award-winning content I’m proud of.
*The two articles that I wrote for The Bold that won national Hearst titles are featured under the ‘Undergrad’ tab and the ‘Awards’ section if you want to check them out!