The Managing Board of the Washington Square News is excited to announce it has elected Manasa Gudavalli as editor-in-chief for the 2023-24 school year.
Gudavalli, a 22-year-old from Texas, was most recently an editor-at-large at WSN and previously served as multimedia editor. She takes over from Arnav Binaykia, whose term ends in May after leading a team of talented editors and reporters in publishing high-impact reporting that served NYU’s community and held its administration accountable. Gudavalli impressed the Board with her plans to bolster reader engagement by redoubling WSN’s focus on the NYU student experience while improving the paper’s online presence.
“Manasa’s deep experience and vision for the paper make her an excellent leader for WSN’s 50th year,” said Jane C. Timm, chairman of the Managing Board of the Washington Square News, senior reporter at NBC News and former WSN reporter.
In 2022, WSN was awarded a Pacemaker award — the most prestigious in college journalism — as one of the nation’s top online college news sites.
“After having the opportunity to help WSN grow over the past years and through the pandemic, I am grateful and humbled to have been elected as the paper’s editor-in-chief,” Gudavalli said. “WSN is a people-first publication, for both the communities we serve and the journalism community that powers us. Sustaining that begins with retaining a strong, collaborative environment for NYU’s student journalists. I am excited to continue to uphold WSN’s strong standards of journalistic integrity and to grow our digital presence, fostering a stronger connection with the NYU community.”
“WSN has taught me so much about journalism,” Binaykia said. “I’m glad that it will continue to serve as a training ground for future journalists in the same way that it did for me, and I’m eager to see the new heights to which Manasa takes the paper.”
Gudavalli becomes editor-in-chief at the end of the spring 2023 semester and will begin building the newsroom leadership team ahead of the start of the next school year. She will work closely with Julia García, whom the Board has selected as the paper’s next business manager.
García most recently served as the director of sales and was hired after pitching the Board on her vision for developing the business team’s staff and establishing long-term relationships with advertisers to strengthen revenue streams. She takes over from Catherine Chen, who led the growing team through WSN’s transition to an all-digital publication.
As editor-in-chief, Gudavalli immediately joins Binaykia, García, and Chen 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:
Students interested in joining WSN’s editorial staff should fill out this interest form to be notified when new opportunities are posted in the coming weeks. WSN seeks students interested in reporting, editing, commentary, feature-length writing, web design, video, photography, and more.
To contact the board, email [email protected].
To contact Gudavalli, email [email protected].
