As the staff has mentioned before, working for Flyer News is a full time job — not just in the sense that we put in 40 hours a week into it (I wish it was that short), but because Flyer News is constantly involved in our lives, in some way.

I felt this the most last year when I was the opinions editor. Receiving daily emails addressing the content of the paper was both a steady reminder of my job and a sigh of relief that our readers are as loyal as ever. Writing opinions columns also put me in the a position where students would come up to me and talk about my latest article or to argue a point I made. It still happens. Even Saturday nights, when almost every student is not working, we as a staff aren’t truly off duty.

As I’ve met people on campus over the years, I am always pumped to find fans of Flyer News. I love talking to people who are just as excited about it as I am. Just this morning I woke up to a text from my friend who had just discovered the new location of Flyer Newses in Kettering Labs.

Even though being a member of this staff means always being clocked in, we don’t mind. In fact, I consider myself lucky to be a part of an organization that can really impact people like this.

I remember preparing Issue 1 of Flyer News like it was yesterday. I was terrified, and am frankly shocked I didn’t have heart failure by the time that day was done. I was definitely not the most laid back person in KU 232.
Now, as I sit in the office as my staff puts the final touches on Issue 34, and the new editorial board talks with excitement about the 2011-2012 FN, I am reflecting on this year, and wondering how time flew by so quickly.
I’m so happy with all that our talented, creative editors have accomplished throughout this year. With the first issue, they sat at their desks, eager but new. Selecting photos, perfecting captions and writing headlines was a new art. Today, we are finishing up at 5 p.m., with well-thought out, insightful photographs and stories. The blogs are all saved, and ideas keep coming for ways to attract our readers.
Jacob Rosen, the current sports editor, will take over my job next year. I know he’s going to be amazing. He’s already met with all of the current editors to discuss ways to make the next FN staff the best it can be. He’s driven and full of energy and ideas. Next year, when I look through the paper, I will have no worries about a photo being out of place or a lede being all wrong. My only real concern, as 2009-2010 editor-in-chief Kelsey Cano told me, is that they will outshine what we have done this year.
As I work with my staff to prepare the last five issues, I hope to showcase and bring together all of our experiences and skills to continue create an informative and entertaining product. When I sign the mailbox in our office on the last day, an FN tradition, I know I will be emotional, but also happy, looking back on an amazing year with the best staff in the world.

At this time last year, the editors of Flyer News ventured to New York City for the College Media Convention, and from beginning to end it was an epic failure.

Last week, a group of brave Flyer News staffers dared to return to the Big Apple for the 2011 conference, determined to make this year’s trip a success.

Although it wasn’t hard to beat NYC2010, we are pleased to report that not only was this year’s trip a success, according to staffers, it was amazing. Not only did all staffers actually return from New York this time around, they did so healthy, happy, and inspired by the things they learned.

So in order to finally put the worst trip ever in our past, and also to celebrate the trip these FNers took, we thought we would give you a comparison. With so many people from the 2010 trip graduating, we want to ensure you, based on 2011 trip, the future of Flyer News is bright.

NYC2010:

Players: Jacqui Boyle, Maggie Malach, Anna Beyerle, Claire Wiegand, Stephanie Vermillion and Vince Ziols

Things that went wrong: delayed flight, high winds, lightening, spills, shots, fevers, hospitals, hotel didn’t give us all of our rooms, food poisoning, rats, broken phones, fights in ERs, sea shells

Things that went right: …

Places we went: Marquis Marriot, CVS, Ambulance, St. Luke’s Roosevelt ER room

NYC2011:

Players: Jacob Rosen, Rebecca Young, Hannah Magnan, Chris Rizer, Ethan Klosterman, and Dan Cleveland

Things that went wrong: Aftershock of an earthquake

Things that went right: Successfully made it to NYC, got into hotel, and attended conference, and had a blast doing so.

Places they went: New York Times, Rolling Stones, Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Times Square, Tom’s Diner, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wall Street, and Ground Zero.

If the New York trip is any indication of future success, we’re guessing next year will be amazing.

Every weekend my roommates and I go to Art Street for lunch at least once, subconsciously mimicking Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha from “Sex and the City.” Unfortunately we’re never dressed nearly to the dimes as those girls, but it’s a consistent lunch date for us at Art Street to catch up on the juicy gossip around campus.
And thankfully Flyer News is there to help us out. Before even ordering our food we stoop down to pick up a Flyer News to read while waiting on our food. What else is cool about this phenomenon is that we’re not the only ones doing it. If you look around at every other table there’s at least one Flyer News being read and discussed.
We use it to look at the guys in the sports section (what can I say, Jacob picks them well), or we’ll use the issue to discuss Maggie’s Opinions piece on Tim’s (to spark some reminiscence on how we ended up with a 4 on our chin) and Anna always ensures we know what’s going on around us via Crime Logs. No matter what, whenever a conversation is dull, the Flyer News is there to help.
So while I always know what goes into the issues beforehand, I love that it can still spark a conversation and keep everyone involved in campus issues. And what’s better — it makes waiting for that panini go by much more quickly.

The staff of Flyer News takes pride in working hard to provide news to the Dayton community. As journalists we understand the importance of keeping people informed and aware of all of the facts. One thing that we are learning, however, is the impact the news can have on us.

One example is Chris Daniels, a UD alum who died 15 years ago at age 22. He was the star senior of the basketball team and it’s hard for me to imagine the impact that had on the university.

A more recent death is that of Jack Rang, a communication professor who’s career was centered around the students he taught. Rang worked with Flyer Radio and Flyer TV, in addition to be being known for his great sense of humor.

Reporting on these two deaths and talking to people who knew these people makes the situations all that more real to us. Although we report news, we are also learning to separate our personal feelings from the stories we write. It’s not something that is easy to do, but it is necessary for us to figure out.

If you had asked me in August, I would not have been able to predict what flyernews.com would like today. The Web is a relatively new venture for Flyer News, an organization that has always made print its top priority. As we continue to give life to our website, I want to make sure you are along for the ride. Here’s what we have done so far:

-Have you been following our blogs and multimedia? These have really taken off in their first year. The editor’s have really outdone themselves, updating twice a week. Our newest blog is Jacob Rosen’s Overtime,  which gives you all the updates on everything Flyers basketball from the courtside. Continue to follow these, and comment on them to offer your feedback, throughout this year.

-With our year’s theme of “Stay Connected,” we set out to make sure your voice was heard. After looking at several other newspaper websites, I found a cool feature where Facebook users can login in, and leave comments, “like,” and share stories and columns. Jon Reinhart, our webmaster, was quick to get us on board. Use this feature to let us know what you think about our content.

-Today, I’m most excited about Jon’s work on our homepage! Redesigning a front page is much harder than it looks. Maggie Malach, Claire Wiegand, Jon and I have been meeting in the office each Wednesday to brainstorm and develop the best design that will make our page look professional and enticing. We have our next meeting tonight, and hope the new site is up and running soon!

Check back to this blog and to flyernews.com for our ongoing work to connect you in a whole new way.

After watching “The Social Network” this morning, I was amazed at how one small idea can drastically change the entire world.
I tried to picture life without Facebook and seriously couldn’t. It’s one of the first things I check when I get onto the computer and it is the easiest ways to stay in touch with the world. I’m always shocked when someone doesn’t have Facebook because I feel like it would cut one off from the entire world.
And now, Facebook isn’t just social. Knowing how to use Facebook can make you the most marketable person for a job, which I have found in my most recent internships. Companies have shifted toward using Facebook and Twitter for marketing which is awesome for those of us who are well versed in social media.
So what started as a small idea has completely changed the world of social networking, and while it may have caused numerous lawsuits, I think it’s totally worth it. Especially if the future has me getting paid to use Facebook.

It has been said that you should practice what you preach, but here at Flyer News, we sometimes struggle to live up to the news we advocate. Case in point: our front page story for this issue is all about being healthy, and it’s been a hamburger-heavy day in the office.

No pun intended.

As we munched on our cheeseburgers, we discussed how excellent the KU fries are today (perfectly cripsy) and how much we want Smashburger for dinner. In other news, we love our junk food.

And even though our diets could use some work (hey, we’re on deadline, here!) we still stand behind one thing: delivering you the news to the best of our abilities.

Flyer News is back! With the first deadline of 2011 this past Wednesday, I was expecting to reunite with the staff and knock off yet another great issue. What I was not expecting was a constant barrage of things to do and problems to solve.

Maybe I was being naïve. After all, we did have a month Christmas break; there was sure to be some cobwebs to brush off and some housekeeping items to attend to. Yet, instead of just getting the staff back in sync and preparing for the semester ahead, I was greeted with an ill-functioning network, missing ads, openings in staff positions and numerous outside requests.

When I finally arrived home from deadline number 21, I realized I had never had a deadline that was so demanding. Sure there have been rough issues i.e. the basketball issue every single year, but this was the first one that left me physically exhausted.

The weird thing though, is that I’m happy to be back. Although an absurd amount of problems occurred, the staff handled them with poise, and by the end of the night we just laughed at our misfortune and continued our work.

Flyer News has definitely taught us how to adapt and work with or around any problem, which may be the best part of working on the staff. Wednesday taught me to never expect a so-called easy issue, and I am comforted by the staff’s ability to handle anything.

With all things said and done, Issue 21 seemed to be a success, but with 19 issues left, it’s sure to be an interesting semester.

Dear Flyer News readers,
As the new year quickly approaches, and all of you are making resolutions to go to the RecPlex to get that perfect Daytona body, buckle down on the books to get better grades, and more, I have Flyer News on the mind. With five months behind us and another five to go, we’re all working to make the 2011 version of FN the best it can be. When I took on my new role in April, I vowed that I would do everything I could do give our newspaper a facelift, both in print and on the Web. And I’m proud of all this awesome staff has done so far.

Stephanie and her videographers have brought multimedia to flyernews.com for the first time ever. … I think we’ll never stop talking about her epic 5K run in a fat suit. Likewhise, Maggie has spearheaded the blogs. We even have a new one, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites — Jacob has been keeping the Flyer Faithful updated on everything UD basketball with Overtime. And now, with Jon’s hard work, you can even comment on all FN online articles through Facebook. The print version continues to get better, too, under the management of the brilliant Claire. Rebecca has really added her own personal creativity to the Opinions section. Did you see the Harry Potter issue? I will never forget reading about why Hufflepuff was the best house, or why the books far surpass the films. Frank has added “Star Like Me” to his A&E section, adding a new twist to traditional theater reporting. Anna has worked to include national news stories that connect to all of you, and has made sure her staff keeps us all updated on the SGA beat.

With the new year, I have a whole list of FN New Year’s Resolutions. At the top is making our front pages really grab your attention, making the writing even stronger, and continuing to improve the flyernews.com homepage layout. But FN needs your help, too. We are a student-run newspaper, here to serve you, the students. So, what do you think should be on Flyer News’ 2011 list? Comment on this blog, or drop me an e-mail at boylejaj@gmail.com, and give us some suggestions.

Happy New Year to all of you! See you in 2011.
Jacqui