In case you have not heard it enough, let me just say welcome back to campus, and happy first day of classes. In case you do not know me, my name is Cassie Buchman, and I am the new Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Eastern News.

Heading into the new school year in my new position, I have thought a lot about the direction the paper will go in.

As many have noted, it is a strange time to be a journalist. As the face of news changes every day to more and more online platforms, the challenge to keep up with the times while remaining objective and accurate is only becoming harder. I like to think that every member of my staff is committed to these basic journalistic values, even as we try to increase our online presence.

I know that as the year progresses we will remain committed to keeping this up at every level of the paper.

But I can not, and will not, promise perfection. No one on my staff is perfect. I definitely am not. If I were, I would not be in college – instead, I would be sitting on a beach somewhere, sipping daiquiris on top of a chair made out of all my Pulitzer Prizes.

What I can promise is that this newspaper will have a heart. We can promise to strive daily to make sure every sentence we write is fair, accurate and unbiased. We can promise to make and choose pictures to put in the paper that tell the whole story of every event we go to. And most of all, we want to continue bringing you the news that best serves the Eastern community’s interest. This does not mean every story will give you a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside. In fact, there will be stories in this paper that make you angry. Some days, the news will be sad. You might not want to read what we are writing. But we will still print it, because we respect our readers enough to think that they would want to know what is going on in the world around them and be well-informed citizens of this university.

That being said, the Daily Eastern News also wants to print the stories that make you smile. The ones where you see students, faculty and staff succeeding in their field, or the community coming together for one event or another. I love it when I see students tagging their friends in stories they are quoted in on Facebook. It makes my day when I see Daily Eastern News photos or articles hung up around buildings on campus, because they feature a member of that academic department.

This year, our primary focus will not be winning awards (though I’ll take them if they come) or being the most popular organization on campus. At the end of the day, this is not what journalism is about. Instead, we will focus on serving the public of Eastern the best we can as journalists. This means shedding light on what others might want kept in the dark. This means keeping those in power held accountable for their words and actions. And most of all, in its most basic form, this means keeping people informed and making sure people have the facts and knowledge they need to know when making decisions that affect their lives on a daily basis.

Through writing about Eastern, we want to elevate voices that are not always amplified and connect the community through stories that really show the experience of every person who lives, works and studies at this university.

But we cannot do this alone. That is why I wholeheartedly encourage reader participation and community engagement at every stage of the paper. If you see a mistake, do not hesitate to call us at 581-2812 or email me at DENeic@gmail.com or cjbuchman@eiu.edu. As much as we talk about accountability and transparency across the university, as a newspaper, we need to uphold those ideals as well. We want to work with you to make sure this paper is the most accurate it can be. Likewise, if you see an area or segment of campus that you do not think is getting enough coverage, let us know.

And of course, on this very page, we want you to share you opinions. That means letters to the editor and guest columns are most definitely wanted to keep a variety of voices in the paper. Everyone at Eastern is not only invited, but encouraged, to write in and let us know what they think of the paper. Even if it is not necessarily published, your feedback is always welcome. Remember, we are only a call or click away.

Cassie Buchman is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or cjbuchman@eiu.edu.