5 things to know about Sarah Vassello, Daily Tar Heel editor-in-chief candidate

The Daily Tar Heel is selecting a new editor-in-chief on Saturday. Sarah Vassello has worked for the DTH for three years and is the arts editor.

1. She understands what students want to hear.

From the Scholarly Sweethearts series she’s overseen, to finding scarves knit from Rameses’ wool, Vassello has mastered the art of seeking out interesting stories students want to hear.

One of Vassello’s favorite things is to dig through public records related to the arts to find weird tidbits in contracts and lawsuits.

2. She’s not afraid to try new things.

She takes after Kanye West in a way, a guy who Sarah looks up to and arguably has more confidence than anybody else in the world.

“I love that he’s not afraid to try new things — that’s my favorite thing about him. He goes for it and then he doesn’t apologize for it, and I love that.”

Just like Kanye, Vassello moves full steam ahead — like when she started Medium, the arts and entertainment blog, during her tenure as a summer desk editor. Director of Investigations Sam Sabin appreciated her work.

“It seemed like Sarah just walked in and was like, ‘we’re going to launch this, and I don’t care if this is not what’s supposed to happen, I’m just going to do it.’”

3. She’s extremely digital-focused.

Vassello wants to continue to push the DTH towards a digital-first newsroom.

“We can create a face that’s more fun and definitely more interactive. I would love to do a lot more with multimedia and interactive graphics and like teaching a lot of people at The Daily Tar Heel how to create those.”

Vassello thinks the fun stories that show up in the blogs are a great direction, and wants to continue to incorporate this style across the entire newsroom in addition to the more serious coverage.

4. She pushes for collaboration.

Including students throughout coverage is a major part of Vassello’s platform.

“People need to know that we are not just bylines — we are people. We are students in this student organization just like they are students in their student organizations.”

Her goals also extend beyond campus connections, as she hopes to bring other professional development opportunities to writers at The Daily Tar Heel as well.

“The Daily Tar Heel is one of the foremost papers in North Carolina right now and it’s also like a teaching paper as well, so I don’t see why we can’t have an increased partnership with outlets … where there are so many Daily Tar Heel alumni,” Vassello said.

5. She’s a friend to everybody.

Her job doesn’t keep Vassello from building strong friendships with all of the staff. Her warm personality sticks out the most to Design and Graphics Editor José Valle.

“She’s managed to make friendships with all of her other staffers in a way that is not hindering of their professional workday but like still helps motivate them to want to do more for the paper,” he said.

“Ever since I started thinking about who was going to be in charge next year she was one of the first people that came to mind,” he said. “I’ve always had a feeling about her that she would just make a great leader.”

university@dailytarheel.com