The board of the Washington Square News is elated to announce it has elected Alex Tey as editor-in-chief for the spring 2022 semester.

Tey, a 22-year-old originally from California, was most recently a deputy managing editor at WSN. She takes over from Ashley Wu, who is graduating NYU this December after leading a team of editors and reporters to produce the powerful journalism the campus needed after nearly one year of remote classes. The board selected Tey after she shared her vision for strengthening WSN’s online journalism and creating a sustainable newsroom culture.

“Alex impressed us all with strong leadership skills and a clear vision for the paper’s future as an increasingly digital publication,” said Jane C. Timm, chairman of the board of the Washington Square News, senior reporter at NBC News and former WSN reporter. “We’re confident she will ensure that WSN is the best place to learn and do great journalism at NYU.”

“Over the past couple of years, WSN has shown consistent journalistic improvement and readership growth thanks to its previous editors,” Tey said. “I’m excited about where we’re at right now, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue the work of bringing WSN’s strengths into the contemporary era of journalism.”

“Alex is one of the most meticulous journalists I know,” Wu said. “I have confidence that with her strong, empathetic brand of leadership, she will be able to raise editorial standards and explore new mediums for WSN’s coverage.”

Tey becomes editor-in-chief at the start of the spring 2022 semester and will begin building the newsroom leadership team in the coming weeks. She will work closely with Yejin Chang, WSN’s business manager. Tey’s term expires at the end of the academic year in May 2022. The editor-in-chief term typically spans one school year, but Tey will serve a partial term because of Wu’s early graduation. 

As editor-in-chief, Tey immediately joins Wu on the independent board of the Washington Square News, which comprises four alumni, the editor-in-chief, a second editorial staffer, the business manager, a second business staffer, the outgoing editor-in-chief and outgoing business manager.

For students interesting in joining the WSN staff:

Tey has asked students interested in joining WSN to fill out this form. WSN seeks students interested in reporting, editing, commentary, graphic design, web design, podcasting, photo, video, social media and more.

To contact the board, email [email protected].

To contact Tey, email [email protected].