Julia Landy

It was December 2021, my second quarter on The Eagle Eye’s editorial board. We had been working on our quarterly print edition. Overwhelmed with excitement, I loved everything about it – from the interesting story ideas to the beautiful layouts, to the cartoons I had worked so diligently to bring to life.  

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That year, our publication struggled with a lack of motivated editors. The aftermath of the 2020-2021 online school year had left our editors with both a lack of training and competence. Assignments were running late; stories were off-track and photos were missing.

At the time, I was the Design and Managing editor. The editors-in-chief (EIC) were officially in charge of running print, while I was tasked with editing others’ designs and managing the advertisements. With three editors-in-chief on our team, I was hesitant to step out of my jurisdiction as Design Editor because they were so much more experienced, and in my mind, so much more talented, than me, who was new to even being on an in-person newsmagazine staff, so I took a backseat. 

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Even though I fully understood the mess that we were in, I never lost hope that we would finish the issue, even if it were late, and produce something award-winning. I held on to hope every step of the way, through every long day spending countless hours in the newspaper room, through every night coming home and working late on the issue and through every weekend morning waking up with one thought on my mind. I never lost hope.

Until Dec.14.  

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It was the night before my AP US History midterm. I had just finished my brief studying and was about to head in for a good night's sleep when I got a phone call from our main EIC. I answered. On the phone was not just him and I, but our advisor and another of our EICs. 

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Print was canceled. 

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At first, I tried to persuade my advisor to continue allowing us to work on it. I thought it could be saved. I spoke for 10 minutes in a desperate attempt to save our print edition which I had poured my time and effort into, but ultimately, I folded. I could not argue that it was worth spending such a large portion of our budget to print something cut-down and rushed. 

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Defeat. 

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I felt as if the world had just caved in. Panic hit me. I had neglected my studies, my personal health and my sanity all to make sure this print edition worked. I gave my everything only to get nothing in return. It was a rude awakening, learning that no matter how hard I tried, I could not make a difference. 

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Once I overcame the devastation, I decided to change. During the next print deadline, I did not worry about titles. I took the lead role in production. I managed every aspect, constantly checking in with our staff, helping everyone every step of the way, and leaving no detail unresolved, not as the Design and Managing Editor, but as Julia.

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Though it was difficult at times, we were able to create a product we were proud of. I loved every page of it, and so did the judges, who gave the paper several awards. I was later promoted to EIC.

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From this experience, I learned not to be afraid to step up. I do not have to take a back seat just for appearances. If not for this setback, I may have never learned to lead. The next year, as the only EIC, I learned through trial and error how to take a different approach to leadership. I experienced failure and missed deadlines once again, but learned from them and quickly bounced back, immediately countering them through better communication with my team, by encouraging all the editors to teach lessons and by making videos of myself giving feedback to new staff while teaching layout. Becoming a better leader has made me a better journalist and helped me to pursue my goals.

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One of the main reasons I am so interested in journalism is that I wholeheartedly believe that one of the biggest issues that our nation faces today is the colossal amount of misinformation in circulation, combined with the general public's apparent refusal to strive toward informedness.  With the rise in digital media, it seems as if the attention spans of many of today’s youth and young adults have become exponentially shorter. While social media already does have information on current events and politics, much of it seems to be biased or does not tell the full story. Given the current social climate, I believe that increasing the quantity of well-researched, high-quality, informational videos and graphics would enable the general public to access more unbiased information. Those who are unwilling to find the time to read articles or watch the news are able to understand facts via infographics. 

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As a journalist, I hope to convey well-researched information in a visually attractive way that is simple to understand and concise in nature, while still being rich with information. I aim to help develop a more informed culture in America and potentially contribute to an increased cultural and social unity, where people are able to understand and work with each other more so than now. My goal is to someday work with or establish a company that is committed to providing people with non-partisan, reliable, easily understandable, accessible information in quick, digestible, multimedia formats. I believe that experiences on the Eagle Eye News, along with all that I have learned about journalism, visual design and leadership have equipped me with the skills necessary to achieve this goal.