Emmy Martin, Editor in Chief of The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, poses with a copy of the Aug. 30 paper outside of the newsroom on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Charles Whitaker, dean of Northwestern's Medill journalism school, admitted to being a little worried when he heard about the story that the Daily Northwestern was working on. Yet staff members were thorough and professional, taking care to corroborate the stories they heard, he said.
It was a stream of texts wondering about her well-being, which she found out the next day was similar to what her friends received. She collected many of them, and decided to make the“Are you safe? Where are you? Are you alone? Guys I'm so fucking scared. Hey — come on sweetheart — I need to hear from you. Can you hear any gunshots? Please stay safe. Barricade the door or if you think you can run and get to a place that can lock do so.
Also impressed was Raul Reis, dean of the Hussman journalism school at North Carolina. He's sure to keep the achievement in mind when he's recruiting prospective students in a tough marketplace. “Good journalism programs need good student newspapers,” he said. “They really demonstrate the things that are being taught in the classroom in a practical way.”