The Eastern Echo team is delighted to announce its new team of editors for the winter semester, as well as some of its plans for the new year.

Layla McMurtrie will be serving as Editor-in-Chief. McMurtrie is a junior majoring in journalism, with a minor in women and gender studies. She has been a part of the Echo since her freshman year in 2019 starting as an opinion writer and music review columnist; in 2020 Layla became the podcast editor. In fall of 2021, McMurtrie was promoted to managing editor, helping recruit new writers and creating goals for the rest of her time with us. 

In 2022, she plans to get the people of EMU and Ypsilanti more involved with the Echo. This will include writing more articles about Eastern’s talented students and Ypsilanti’s great businesses, engaging with our audience more on social media and getting our print edition further into the Ypsilanti community again.

The rest of the Echo’s editorial board will include: Emma Adkins as managing editor, Megan Forystek as news editor, Areena Basmadjian as assistant news editor, Caleb Burlingame as opinions editor, Christian Byers as sports editor, Nicholas Megdanoff as comics editor, Tre Briscoe as podcast editor, Jenna Robinson and Aaron Hughes as copy editors, Valerie Goodwin and Courtney Mortier as digital editors, and Marq Stafford as design chief. 

“I’ve been at the Echo for two years now and have met so many new and interesting people. While my major is marketing, this position can help prepare you for any future career. I’ve honed my writing skills to a fine point and now have a portfolio with over 50 stories on it for employers to see. I also was able to move up to a leadership position which looks great on a resume,” said opinions editor Caleb Burlingame. 

People of all fields of study work for The Echo, as working for us is a starting point for learning skills that are helpful in all career paths. Rather than solely journalism majors, we want to guide all students in gaining expertise in areas from writing to communication to multimedia and more. 

“I have been working for The Echo since Fall 2019 with the digital media section. My time at The Echo has given me great insight into the world of digital media and has prepared me well for potential future opportunities after college. The Echo is a great place to gain knowledge about the world of journalism and grow your personal portfolio,” said digital editor Valerie Goodwin. 

The Echo is always looking for new writers and staff and working with us without a doubt gives you a multitude of opportunities for growth. 

“The Echo management team and writers have exhibited courage and tenacity in the past year as the pandemic forced changes in the way they cover the university and the Ypsilanti community,” Eastern Student Media Advisor Christine Uthoff said as the new management team was announced. “Through it all, these student media leaders – including outgoing Editor-In-Chief Juliana Lumaj, preserved, and never wavered from their duty to keep fellow students and the community informed, both online and as the print edition returned for the Fall 2021 semester.”

During the pandemic, The Echo team was able to focus more on its digital offerings, including more podcasting and delivering the news via social media channels. 

“As the team transitions to the winter semester, under newly appointed Editor-in-Chief Layla McMurtrie, they are in a position to continue that great, converged coverage.”

The team also salutes Lumaj, who led the team as it returned to print production in the fall and helped to jumpstart the staff rebuilding post pandemic. Lumaj is a journalism major who has been working with The Echo since 2020. She has participated in internship programs with MLive and Hour Magazine in Detroit. 

The Echo’s editors are ecstatic to work hard this semester to make the Echo a community again, as well as efficiently serve EMU with consistent and timely news.

If you are interested in working with us, please contact managing@easternecho.com. 

If you have any questions or ideas for us in the upcoming semester, feel free to email editor@easternecho.com. 

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