Starting this summer, the Minnesota Daily will have a change in leadership with Alex Steil as the editor-in-chief and Maddie Roth as managing editor. 

The Daily’s Board of Directors selected Steil as the next editor-in-chief (EIC) on April 3 to replace 2022-23 EIC Maia Irvin. Steil will be responsible for overseeing and organizing all staff in the newsroom in addition to ensuring proper training and quality of news.

Brady Gervais, major gifts officer at Children’s Minnesota and Daily Board Chair, said Steil’s extensive experience in journalism and his various roles at the Daily made him stand out in the selection process. 

“I’m excited about Alex and the newsroom … for his commitment to culture, his plans for how the Daily leverages social media, for storytelling and breaking news and for the Daily newsletter,” Gervais said. 

The managing editor is responsible for supervising and managing operations in the newsroom. They work alongside the EIC to manage staffing, hiring and scheduling in addition to developing training programs and serving as a motivator to staff.

Steil and Roth will start their positions at the end of May and will serve until the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Editor-in-Chief

Steil is a second-year student at the University of Minnesota studying journalism and music with a minor in political science. Steil joined the Daily as a copy editor in September 2021 and became a reporter in January 2022. 

Steil said he joined the Daily because he wanted to pursue journalism professionally in high school and the Daily was the “next logical step.”

As EIC, Steil plans to focus on community building within the Daily by asking staff to work in person more often and fostering open communication across the organization.  

Steil said he does not want staff to be afraid to ask questions. 

“Whether you are reaching out to a source or need to ask your boss a question, reach out,” Steil said. “We feel good answering questions, especially if we know we can help.”

Steil said he plans to reorient the Daily’s internal offices, such as the Content Diversity Board, to be more proactive in reaching out to the community and hosting reading roundtables. 

“I’m excited to have the Daily be a part of the University as more than a news source,” Steil said. “Sometimes people forget that we are also students — we want to listen to people and have them reach out to us if they want a story to be written.” 

Managing Editor

Roth, a second-year student, will be working alongside Steil as managing editor. 

Roth is studying journalism and sociology with a double minor in English and psychology at the University. She joined the Daily as a reporter covering student issues and activism in fall 2021. Roth became the Daily’s campus activities editor in January. 

She said she decided to attend the University because of the Daily and has worked there for the last two years. 

“I think if anything, the Daily has taught me no matter how big or small, every story counts,” Roth said.  

Roth said she is excited to connect with everyone at the Daily this next year. 

“I don’t want to sit back,” Roth said. “I want to have people feel that they can come to me and talk to me.”  

Roth said she plans to do in-person meetings to answer questions, send out bi-weekly emails to staff and work with Steil to write the Daily newsletters together. 

She said she wants young reporters at the Daily to feel comfortable reaching out for help. 

“I want them to know that all we want to do is see people succeed,” Roth said. “The Daily can be stressful at the beginning — Alex and I are here for everyone.” 

Steil said he is excited to work with Maddie because she is a great reporter, editor and has a good news-sense. 

Roth said she is excited to work with Steil as well. 

“He’s an incredible writer and my best friend,” Roth said.