Paige Ladisic chosen as 2015-16 editor-in-chief

Paige Ladisic was chosen as The Daily Tar Heel’s editor-in-chief for the 2015-16 school year by a 10-member committee on Saturday.

The committee consisted of student representatives, University faculty, community members and past editors-in-chief of The Daily Tar Heel.

Ladisic, a junior journalism and political science major from Oak Island, began her experience at The Daily Tar Heel as a freshman working for the city desk. She attributes her success to her consistent hard work and her willingness to grow as a journalist.

“The first thing I’m going to work on is acquiring my staff,” Ladisic said. “There are amazing people at this paper, and I want them to know that they are valued and have a place with me. I think I will have a great team next year.”

After the decision, members of the committee praised the new editor-in-chief.

“Paige brought an energy to talking about the paper and its role on campus and in the community that I think is necessary as the public face of the paper,” community member Margot Lester said.

The committee also liked her digital-first platform.

“She had a very strong vision for what the paper will be in the online media, and she had a very strong plan and familiarity with that — that can help her drive that plan forward for the next few years,” student representative Mihir Pershad said.

The committee members recognized Ladisic’s knowledge of the business side of The Daily Tar Heel and respected that characteristic.

“Paige had, from the very beginning, that business aspect and knew what was going to help to bring that revenue in and get that change through online,” Emma Gentry, next year’s advertising manager for The Daily Tar Heel, said.

Committee members had good things to say about the new editor-in-chief, hoping their decision will help The Daily Tar Heel flourish in a changing print journalism environment.

The committee members also recognized many of these great qualities in Ladisic’s competitor, Bradley Saacks. They commended his enthusiasm and his platform’s plan to further diversify the newsroom.

“I think that having those two people together, it was almost really a no-lose situation, I felt like. Both have strong visions, both care deeply about the paper, both care deeply about journalism, and that’s a win no matter what,” Lester said.

Ladisic hopes to abandon nothing within her platform, although she recognizes that some aspects might take time to form. She is also excited to incorporate the ideas of her fellow staffers.

“I love (The Daily Tar Heel),” Ladisic said. “I feel like a lot of people either love it or are not that attached to it, and I want to give everybody that chance to love it.”

university@dailytarheel.com