Candace Baltz’ son, Logan Murrow, was not named for broadcast journalism legend Edward R. Murrow. Rather, he was named after the building where she and her husband met while working at The Daily Evergreen.
Baltz filled a variety of roles at the student newspaper from 1998 to 2002, including editor-in-chief. This fall, she’ll return to Pullman to take on a new roll: General Manager for Student Publications, where she will oversee both advertising and content production for The Daily Evergreen.
“I had phenomenal advisers and mentors during my time in the basement of Murrow and I wanted to give back,” she said.
Baltz will replace Al Donnelly, who retired last spring after 17 years of management and leadership for The Daily Evergreen and The Chinook.
The search committee for Student Publications narrowed the pool of applicants from several dozen to two, Baltz and Shawn O’Neil, the manager of the University of Idaho’s student paper, The Argonaut. After a series of interviews, Baltz was offered the position earlier this month.
“I’m really excited that Candace accepted the position to become our next General Manager,” Student Publications board member Steve Nakata said. “She will bring a tremendous amount of energy, creativity, and passion to Student Publications.”
Baltz’ experience in journalism covers a broad spectrum of mediums, including radio, television, photojournalism, print journalism and journalism education. She was also the recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Robert D.G. Lewis Award for outstanding defense of the First Amendment, an award given to one college journalist a year.
Baltz shared her thoughts on the future of The Evergreen—and journalism—in an interview earlier this month.
—
What are some of your goals for The Evergreen this year?
My primary goal is to enable the students to take pride and ownership in the paper—not just the student staff of The Daily Evergreen but the entire student body. When that happens we will see stories with more depth and a more engaged readership.
What vision do you have for the newspaper and what role do you think we play in the WSU and Pullman communities?
It's a very exciting time for journalism—there are so many tools available now to help tell stories, and to tell them almost instantly, that engaging with readers while the story is still unfolding is the new standard. I think we will see more of that this year with The Daily Evergreen.
The Daily Evergreen is in a great position, as the student paper, to harness these new media trends and technologies to engage with the campus and Pullman communities in a way that wasn't possible with just a print publication. Since the students make up a significant chunk of the town's population it makes sense that the student paper would cover all aspects of student life—not just what happens on campus—and do so with more than just written words.
This student paper has a more influential role in the community than most college papers have in their respective towns because The Daily Evergreen is one of the few local news sources for the Pullman area. Couple that with The Daily Evergreen's unique student perspective in a town with a median age of 22 and you have a voice worth listening to.
What is the greatest challenge facing newspapers right now?
The biggest hurdle newspapers have—aside from needing to reinvent the revenue wheel—is keeping up with the constantly changing way people get their news, while maintaining quality journalism. That's hard. But it's not the first time newspapers have been challenged by new media or tightening deadline pressures. Newspapers must evolve to utilize the things that threaten them as news sources—social media, blogs, you name it—and the only way they can do that is by offering more and better quality information. Luckily, that's exactly what newspapers have traditionally done.
How do you believe your experience will help you lead Student Publications?
My time working in The Daily Evergreen newsroom launched my career in journalism-- as it has for many journalists—so I have a personal and profound appreciation for the importance of Student Publications as a place for students to build their resumes and gain the knowledge and skills they need to be successful after graduation. I have worked on TV, radio and for newspapers because of the experiences I had working in the basement of the Murrow building. A good journalist can work in any medium; I want to be sure The Daily Evergreen continues to foster, push and inspire great journalists.
Editor’s Note: The Daily Evergreen resumes publication August 17. If you have feedback or suggestions for us, please email them to Kaitlin Gillespie at editor@dailyevergreen.com.
Update, 1:26 p.m., July 25: Added the years Baltz worked at The Evergreen.
