News editor Sam Stites will be the 2013-14 editor-in-chief of Emerald Media Group, the Emerald’s board of directors announced Tuesday night.

“Sam had an edge because of his strong news background and experience,” said Peter Milliron, Emerald Board of Directors Chair. “Sam has earned the trust and respect of the staff and he’s built relationships over time that will put him in a strong leadership position for next year.”  

Stites, a junior from Portland who has worked at the Emerald since fall term 2011, will take the helm of a student newspaper that’s on the cutting edge of college journalism. The Emerald’s “Revolution,” announced in May 2012 and implemented at the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year, has transformed the Emerald into a modern, digital-first news organization. The twice-weekly print format, focusing on providing context for news stories and placing them on sharply designed pages, has been lauded nationally and emulated by student papers like the Arizona State Press.

“We love where the revolution has brought us,” Milliron said. “We want to continue to move forward and maintain and strengthen the journalistic integrity of the organization, which is always an area that can be improved.”

Stites hopes to cement the Emerald’s position as a college media innovator during his time as editor-in-chief.

“The revolution is integral to what the Emerald is this year, and I’m going to build off what was done this year,” Stites said. “I want to raise the bar in terms of college journalism in the nation. I want to show that we’re one of those papers that can send its students out into the world and compete for those sought-after jobs.”

Stites has worked for two years on the Emerald’s news desk and interned at Willamette Week in Portland in the summer of 2012.

“I hope that the Emerald, under my leadership, serves the public mission of informing the campus community, making sure that public officials are held to their title and that we provide students what they want and need in terms of news, sports, arts and culture, and do it in a way that really makes college better for students,” Stites said.

Milliron credits Stites’ plans to recruit more students to the Emerald and emphasize more student opinion — in the paper, on dailyemerald.com and on other websites like Quackd.com — as reasons he was selected as next year’s editor-in-chief.

“Sam came with a real excitement and a well-developed vision for what he wants to do,” Milliron said. “Sam’s tenure with the Emerald brought with it some perception that he’s really invested in this organization, that he’s excited and committed to the role of editor-in-chief next year, and that enthusiasm came through tonight.”

Stites says he can’t wait for next year.

“I’m most excited to take the reins and see what I can do,” Stites said. “The sky’s the limit.”