LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I am elated to bring you the third volume of The Commuter since we brought the print edition back last year.
Though I wasn’t involved in the making of the first edition in May of 2016, I’m sure previous editor-in-chief Brian Taylor would agree with me: We’ve definitely endured our lumps and growing pains over the past year, but the overall growth of The Commuter since its revival is insurmountable.
Twelve months ago, with a distant vision, we started this thing from scratch. Taylor was at the helm and our team only consisted of a handful of staff writers and contributors. In the fall of 2016, I joined The Commuter staff to make up an 11-person crew. With more personnel, our campus presence only grew, which leads us up to now.
That number – our newsroom, as I would like to call it – topped out at 18 this semester. Proud is an understatement. Before I start talking about the fall of 2017 and the blueprint for the near and distant future, let’s run down this semester’s print issue.
When I took the editor-in-chief position in January, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. After all, we don’t have a journalism major at FCC. Through the transition, even with a few hiccups here and there, I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.
I’m a storyteller at heart, and this journalism thing just happens to be the job that best fits my itch. Content wise, there are two columns, four features and four campus-related news stories in this issue. And the 16-page format is the largest edition we’ve ever published.
But to keep the culture at The Commuter thriving, we need fresh faces to emerge.
We are currently working on setting up a journalism club, but for the time being, sign up for EN/CMM 241 in the fall. It’s a 15-week, Monday/Wednesday class from 2:15 pm to 3:15 pm. For starters, the class satisfies GenEd, cultural competency and transfers to four-year institutions. And this is more than a writer’s class. We’re talking about photography and graphic design as well.
Honestly, if you ask me, I think every student should contribute to their student publication. I don’t say that as an editor of one. I say that as an observer who intimately cares about the betterment of my generation and society around us.
Anyone who has taken a college class before will tell you there’s a lot of writing. There’s also a lot of critical thinking. Going through the journalistic process does all the above. Writing journalistically strips every sentence to its truest form. You’ll be shocked with how much clutter makes its way into a paper.
Also, being a reporter forces you to plug yourself into your surrounding community and actually talk to people face-to-face. In this age of glitzy technology, which puts a damper on our communication skills and ability to connect with others, this is the most critical asset to have your in repertoire – a certain fearlessness to initiate a conversation – even if journalism isn’t your desired path. Networking is essential.
This is also your chance to make an impact. There’s a reason journalism is the only profession protected in our Constitution. We, as a society, need quality, hard-hitting journalism to function.
And finally, as the editor, I’m devoted on steering the ship to new heights. I don’t like to talk about myself much, but I will say, the experience I’ve gained working for The Baltimore Sun and The Frederick News-Post, and soaking in wisdom from journalists at The Washington Post, will be channeled to show others that this – compelling stories and hard-hitting journalism – can, in fact, be done.
Come join the team.
Sincerely,
Kyle McFadden
Editor of The Commuter
Kyle McFadden is the editor-in-chief of The Commuter and has his own weekly column called K-Fadd’s Cauldron. He also co-owns, manages and reports for Maryland Sports Access, where he covers many beats, including Maryland high school sports, college basketball and college football. He’s also a freelance sports journalist for The Baltimore Sun and The Frederick News-Post, covering colleges and high schools.
