Anthony Pesce was selected last night by the UCLA Communications Board as the next editor-in-chief of the Daily Bruin.
Pesce, a third-year geography/environmental studies student, has been with the Daily Bruin since freshman year and is currently editor for the news section.
The Communications Board judges the applicants on various factors including an application, test and staff endorsement, which Pesce received last week.
“We try to assess the ability of a very young person to do a very difficult job,” said Arvli Ward, director of student media.
Saba Riazati, the current editor-in-chief, spoke highly of Pesce’s ability to lead the paper.
Pesce said he looked forward to finding “new and better ways to practice journalism and engage the community.”
“Anthony has a lot of great ideas. I’m confident that with his leadership the Daily Bruin can continue to make progress,” Riazati said.
Kate Stanhope, a third-year communication studies student who also ran for the position, said she gained a lot of experience from running for the spot and is excited to come back next year.
“The things I’ve learned from talking to people are things I’ll keep with me for the rest of my life. (The process) has made me confident that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s made me more excited to be senior staff next year,” Stanhope said.
Stanhope added that she is confident with Pesce leading the paper.
“The fact I’m comfortable to come back is a testament to his leadership. He’s gonna do a great job. … I trust him all the way,” she said.
With the journalism industry facing financial problems on professional as well as college levels, a key issue for the future of the paper is the role of convergence, or the integration of television and Internet with the paper.
“We’ve done a great job with respect to multimedia integration. Making sure we maintain that same pace and move forward is important,” Riazati added.
Pesce said he recognizes the problems facing newspapers and is dedicated to working for further improvement.
“The future of media hinges on more online and multimedia content. The Daily Bruin will be doing a lot to improve online multimedia and Daily Bruin TV content,” Pesce said.
Along with further technological development, Pesce said he believes the paper should make the concerns of its audience a priority.
“I think the Daily Bruin needs to do a lot more to reach out to the UCLA community. We need to pay more attention to the needs of the readers,” Pesce added.
To appeal more to students, Pesce hopes to create a Daily Bruin magazine centering around Los Angeles fashion and lifestyle. He also wants to start town hall-style meetings and focus groups with students and student leaders.
“The Bruin is recommitting itself to focusing on the readership ““ you will see a lot more interaction between the Bruin and the community in the coming year,” he said.
Udeitha Srimushnam, a fourth-year psychology student who works under Pesce as an assistant news editor, knows firsthand his dedication to both students and coworkers.
“He has the uncanny ability to push and motivate people to do things they didn’t know they could do. … His passion and commitment to this paper are undoubted,” Srimushnam said.
Pesce will take over production for the graduation edition of the paper, which runs during finals week of this quarter.