Chief shares in a sweet, final send-off

Jay Ibarra | Editor-in-Chief

Today is my last day as Editor-in-Chief, and I am graduating this Saturday with a major in journalism and minor in political science. It took me five years, five majors, possibly five different minors – at this point I can’t remember – to figure out my ending path for college. But I have an ending path now, and I have news print to thank.

During my time in college I’ve worked at two student newspapers in the state of Illinois, and I’m going to miss the people that came along with it most. I’m using my last byline to share in my college memories with my Managing Editor Nick Bosshart because I know he won’t use his to speak on his time during the Northern Star. Those things aren’t as important to Nick as you, the readers, are.

If you read our past few front page stories, we broke some important news. I spent most of my semester developing these packages with Nick. We turned our office spaces into hard-hitting work spaces, and we met daily to go over our collective work. Nick is smart, focused and an ideal right hand leader. He thrived at leading my section editors this semester. Post-graduation, Nick will be working as a copy editor and page designer for Shaw Media. News this semester was hard, yet I couldn’t have imagined a better person to lead it with. He’ll be great at his new job.

My staff was an unbelievable force to be reckoned with. I am graduating with a few, but also leaving some behind for the Star to be placed in good hands. I had Illinois College Press Association award winning editors and ones who were academically thriving. Again I’ll brag for him, Nick was ranked 2016 Journalist of the Year by the NIU Journalism Department, and it showed when he led in the newsroom.

We accomplished enough. During my interim, we got our Twitter verified and that little blue check never felt so sweet, but arguably the sweetest victory was beating our Ads department in the annual softball game, 6-5, in seven innings. It was a 15-year deficit for the news department, but I was the chief who got to bring home to trophy for the crew.

I swear that I never knew a love for journalism before I met Northern Star kids. My editors would stay well over their office hours just to hang out on the couches. We all spent too much time together like a true family.

Nick Bosshart | Managing Editor 

My two years spent at the Northern Star have shown me the importance of watchdog news.

With two semesters as managing editor under my belt, I’ve had the opportunity to see the inner workings of the Star, NIU and Illinois higher education. I’ve been able to feel the effects of the state’s budget impasse not only as a student but as an employee of some sort as well.

I have realized the importance of having a student newspaper. Universities are not in the business of telling whole truths; universities are in the business of attracting prospective students and retaining current students.

Without a student newspaper, there is no outlet dedicated to acting as a watchdog of administration.

The Northern Star remains the only student-run newspaper in Illinois that does not receive funding from the institution it reports on. I’ve worn that as a badge of honor for the past two years. It means the Northern Star does not have to fear a loss of funding because administration disapproves of our content.

The budget impasse has affected the entire university and with that comes the Star. A drop in enrollment leads to a drop in advertising which then leads to a loss in revenue at the newspaper.

The financial future of the Northern Star looks murky. That is why I am using my final column to urge students to reassess the importance they place upon the news they receive. Where did it come from? What was the writer’s motivation for writing it? Who influenced it?

So please, pick up a Northern Star and learn something about the university you never knew.