Welcome, Cyclones! Let me introduce myself, my name is Alex Connor and I am the editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily.

I have worked at the Iowa State Daily for three years and have worn many different hats while doing so. I have covered breaking news and crime; managed the daily print edition; did a short stint as summer editor in chief two years ago, and I have spent many long nights in the Memorial Union covering Student Government.

More importantly, I’ve gotten to know you — the Iowa State community — a whole lot better. I know your traditions and your history. I know what has led to heartache in the community, as well as the moments when there was no prouder time than to bleed cardinal and gold.

And I know that even if I spent a lifetime in Ames, I’d never get to know the full story of what makes you, Iowa State, tick. But we at the Iowa State Daily know it’s our role to tell your story as best we can.

Whether you’re reading this while on your way to your first class as a college freshman or if you’re preparing for your 20th year as a professor, I’m glad you found your way to the Iowa State Daily. As a news organization, we promise to work tirelessly to ensure you’re provided the best coverage across all our platforms both in print, on social media or in your email.

Here are some key initiatives to watch out for as we aim to continuously build community and provide you, our reader, with the tools necessary to be an engaged and informed citizen.

Hearken

Over the summer, the Iowa State Daily secured a grant from the Community Listening and Engagement Fund administered by the Lenfest Institute of Journalism.

This grant will allow us to use the industry-leading engagement consultation platform, Hearken. Using this tool, our staff will be able to further develop our crowd-sourced diversity platform, Voices.

We are hopeful, too, that we will be able to implement Hearken into our daily print product and as well as online content. Hearken will allow us to better implement high-performing journalism with strong reader engagement to build our trust within the community.

Podcasts

In an effort to increase accessibility to the Iowa State Daily, we have created an editor position specifically for managing and creating content for the audio-realm. With the addition of the podcast desk, you can expect weekly podcasts and shows on a plethora of topics including weekly news and sports recaps, the continuation of the Les & Kobe Show as well as the Acoustic Lounge. For more information or podcasts you’d like to see us create, contact our podcast editor Dani Gehr at [email protected].

Media literacy outreach

At the Daily, we want to ensure that you become a more engaged citizen during your time at Iowa State. To achieve this goal, we want to provide you with the resources necessary to identify credible information in this ever-changing media climate.

Over the next year, our team will be working to develop a media literacy outreach presentation that will provide an overview of the industry, as well as address any misconceptions about our field and how to become a better news consumer.

We hope that during your time at Iowa State — however long it may be — you see us as a source of information, platform to share your story or to discover a perspective or experience different from your own.

You can find the Iowa State Daily on campus, at iowastatedaily.com, on social media and at various events during the year. For story ideas, feedback or just to say hello, you are welcome to email me personally at [email protected] or stop by 2420 Lincoln Way, Suite 205.