The board of the Washington Square News, together with a group of alumni advising on the newspaper’s transition, is elated to announce it has appointed Alexandria Johnson as editor-in-chief for the Spring semester.
Johnson, a 21-year-old native of Queens and former deputy managing editor of the WSN, is tasked with rebuilding the institution and ramping up coverage of NYU, student life and Greenwich Village amid a raging pandemic and a powerful civil rights movement on campuses across the country.
The board selected Johnson after she laid out an ambitious vision for the WSN alongside plans to build relationships with stakeholders across campus, recruit a diverse staff of student journalists and institute processes to preserve the newspaper’s independence and durability in the years ahead.
“WSN is a critical part of the NYU community, and we can’t wait to see the paper rebuild and grow under Alexandria’s leadership,” said Jane C. Timm, board member of the Washington Square News and former reporter for the WSN.
“I am extremely honored to be chosen as the new editor-in-chief for this semester,” said Johnson, a senior majoring in journalism and public policy. “My goal is to create WSN with a diverse staff that includes student perspectives, despite being in a pandemic. I am aware that there were flaws and mistakes in WSN’s past, but I am someone willing to listen and fix them moving forward.”
Johnson will begin reaching out to editorial staff with an aim to restart daily coverage in February. Any students interested in reporting, editing, design, photography or commentary should fill out the forms at the bottom of this announcement.
As editor-in-chief, Johnson immediately joins the board of Washington Square News, which comprises the business manager and two alumni. The board plans to increase student and alumni representation on the board at its next full board meeting this month.
Johnson will serve as editor-in-chief for a single semester, her final one at NYU, and going forward the position will be for a calendar year starting in the summer semester.
To contact the board and transition committee, write to [email protected].
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For students interesting in joining the WSN staff:
Johnson has asked former WSN staff interested in returning to fill out this form: https://bit.ly/3cINhPs
For new students, fill out this form: https://bit.ly/3pUmZNK
To contact Johnson, email [email protected].