Staff members and editors of The Emory Wheel voted on Feb. 15 for Managing Editor Madison Bober (20C) to serve as the next editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. The election marked the third-consecutive competitive election.
Voter turnout was 74 percent, with 40 voters casting a ballot out of 54 eligible voters. Bober received 26 votes, amounting to 65 percent of total votes. Managing Editor Shreya Pabbaraju (21C) received 14 votes, or 35 percent.
Bober, a political science major and women’s, gender and sexuality studies minor, began involvement with the Wheel as a staff writer during her freshman year, applying for the position of assistant news editor later that year. Though she was not chosen, Bober was offered assistant multimedia editor, and she oversaw the paper’s digital operations and social media presence.
As the only person on the Wheel’s multimedia team, Bober taught herself the digital side of the newspaper. A year later, she became a copy editor in January 2019 and was appointed to the executive board as the managing editor for the news section beginning Spring 2020.
“My experience on the Wheel is characterized by little sleep and passion … because I don't think any of us would be doing this if we were not passionate about the work we were doing,” Bober said.
Her top priority as editor-in-chief is to advance the Wheel’s outreach, especially on social media. She plans to hire someone in the computer science department to revamp the website, expand the business team and diversify revenue streams. Bober also aims to expand coverage to include historically underrepresented groups and incorporate more reporting across all sections. Overall, she said she aims to make the Wheel a more honorable, representative space.
Bober said that the variety of roles she has held within the Wheel has familiarized her with each section, which she believes will greatly inform her role as editor-in-chief.
In response to the outcome of the election, Pabbaraju expressed hopes that the paper will pursue diversity initiatives.
“As the largest organization for journalism on campus, we have a responsibility to tell stories that aren’t being told, and to magnify student voices,” Pabbaraju wrote in a statement. “Socioeconomic challenges are compounded by implicit bias, and we often lack the voices that we claim to value. If we truly want to empower all students, we need substantive, structural reform — something I hope our organization will prioritize in the future.”
Bober and her succeeding executive board will assume their new positions after Spring break.
Outgoing editor-in-chief Nicole Sadek (20C) noted that the continuation of competitive elections for the position points toward increased commitment among members of the Wheel.
“I think that speaks volumes to how dedicated people are to the Wheel and [to] how many people feel like they have the opportunity to be editor-in-chief,” Sadek said. “I think … in other years … people have felt that they weren’t competitive enough for the position. Now that people feel that they are, it just sort of speaks to a culture shift.”
