Farewell Column: To The Daily Tar Heel, love Natalie

Dear The Daily Tar Heel,

I honestly cannot imagine my college years without you. This newsroom gave me my start in journalism and introduced me to some of my closest friends. It’s also broken my heart, told me some of my work and ideas weren’t good enough and helped me get back up on my feet stronger than I was before. 

But ultimately, it’s given me a chance. A chance to lead a brand new desk and leave it better than I found it. 

During my first tour of UNC’s campus back in January 2021, I was unsure I wanted to call this place home for the next four years. The streets were empty, libraries closed and there was no sign of the lively student body I’d heard about. 

But one thing stood out to me on this gloomy campus — a bright blue newspaper box around every corner.

It was that day that I picked up my first copy of The Daily Tar Heel. I remember telling my mom that if I committed to UNC, I wanted to work for the school paper. That was how I intended to leave my (excuse my corniness) Heel print on this campus.

And this tradition continued, where I stopped by the blue box across from McClinton Residence Hall every week to grab a copy. Admittedly, sometimes it was solely to do the crossword puzzle if I was having a busy week. But as all my roommates can attest, you could always find The Daily Tar Heel sitting right next to my coffee machine. 

Interestingly enough, when I applied to The Daily Tar Heel, it was to be a University Desk writer. As someone who grew up in a rural town of 7,000 residents, I was fascinated by the fact that there was enough happening at this university alone to necessitate its own newspaper. 

But when my long-awaited acceptance to the newsroom arrived, I learned I was an audio staffer — something I didn’t even know The DTH offered. 

Although I accepted my offer, I was under the assumption that I would speak with my editor to see if I could transfer desks. But The DTH orientation not only changed my mind, but the trajectory of my college career.

It was at orientation that I learned about The DTH’s efforts to expand multimedia coverage and meet audiences where they are, whether that’s a local news recap on their Instagram feed or a sports podcast on their preferred streaming platform. 

That’s when I decided I wanted to stay with Audio-Visual Desk and leave it better than I found it. It is my hope that I’ve done just that. 

After three years on the desk and three semesters as an editor, I’ve increased our video coverage tenfold, expanding from two weekly videos to five, with some videos reaching up to 80,000 views. Our podcast engagement has never been higher; Heel Talk, the local news podcast I’ve been a correspondent on for years, reached over 11,000 downloads under my leadership. 

But some of my proudest moments as an editor have been watching staffers take the skills they’ve learned on this desk and pursue their own multimedia projects. This year, AV Desk published five independent documentaries, one took home third place in the North Carolina College Media Association’s digital storytelling category. 

As I’m preparing to publish my last few podcasts and say goodbye to the newsroom for the foreseeable future, I’m grateful for everything this newsroom has taught me and I'm excited to see where future editors take this desk.

So thank you, The Daily Tar Heel, for pushing me to try something new. Thank you, The Daily Tar Heel, for turning closed doors into new exciting opportunities. Thank you, The Daily Tar Heel, for introducing me to some of my most beloved friends (McKenzie Bulris and Amelie Fawson, I love you forever). 

Until next time, The Daily Tar Heel!

Love,

AV mom and office ramen enthusiast 

@nataliebradin

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com

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