Dear readers,

156 years ago, Colorado State University was founded, and 21 years later The Rocky Mountain Collegian began as a monthly publication, featuring a collection of student essays about local and international news.

Since then, The Collegian transformed from a CSU-integrated newspaper to a member of Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation, an independent nonprofit formed in 2007 to protect student editorial freedom. RMSMC quickly became a place where trustworthy, important student journalism could thrive. Our work is curated completely by students, from the genesis of a story pitch to its publication digitally and in print.

It is especially important to us at The Collegian to produce solely accurate and timely information.

With the sharp rise in artificial intelligence usage over the past couple years, The Collegian’s upper management wishes to make clear to our audience that no content we publish will ever have interacted with generative AI in any way, whether that be an article, a photograph, an illustration or any other work we may publish. We will continue to enforce this strict policy this year, as it is of the utmost importance that our work is generated by students only. Our reader’s choice to engage with local student journalism is never one we take lightly, and we intend to ensure we continue to be worth your time and attention.

The Collegian’s upper management is divided into three different positions, each with specific responsibilities to ensure the paper’s 135-year-old history is treated with respect and maintained for the next generation. At the top of this institution and upper management is Editor-in-Chief Sophie Webb.

The Collegian’s editor in chief is in charge of all final production and publication decisions for the newspaper while overseeing all staff members. With that comes the responsibility to coordinate collaboration with other departments across RMSMC for multimedia opportunities given the current demands of media. Although The Collegian primarily covers CSU’s campus, Webb works to serve the entire Fort Collins community with relevant news and hire a staff that aligns with The Collegian’s editorial mission.

Webb started at The Collegian in high school and moved up to sports editor after working at the paper for one year. After learning and growing as sports editor, she eventually found herself in a conference room being interviewed by representatives of RMSMC for the editor-in-chief position.

During her time in this role, she wants to expand on accessibility by allowing our audience to consume The Collegian’s stories across multiple formats and in multiple different manners.

As editor in chief, Webb reads and approves every article published by The Collegian to ensure each story falls in line with our content and ethical standards and also maintains our high reputation for quality reporting.

Webb is also in charge of working with other department heads within RMSMC for collaboration, bringing our articles one step further in the multimedia process, more of which will be coming soon. There are also dozens of behind-the-scenes tasks that take place in our busy newsroom that she handles, but if readers have any other questions for her about what goes on around here, her position or content ideas, you can reach out to her at editor@collegian.com.

The second member of The Collegian’s upper management is Managing Editor Cait Mckinzie.

The managing editor is responsible for keeping the day-to-day processes of keeping The Collegian running. This involves ensuring desk editors and directors are able to meet deadlines and that freelance reporters and photographers are trained. Keeping newsroom morale high and solving emerging problems with care and quickness falls under her purview as well.

There are many things that led Mckinzie to this position, but first and foremost among them was a high school journalism class in her home town of Renton, Washington. She started as a freelance photographer at The Collegian in her first year at CSU after finding her passion for it in that classroom.

From there, she began leading the photo desk, which she did for two years. The leadership, managerial and field experience she gained in that role are things she carries with her into her new position.

In this position, she hopes to empower The Collegian’s editorial and freelance staff to put their best selves and best work into the CSU and Fort Collins communities. This involves advocating for their free speech rights, encouraging them to branch out of their comfort zones and assisting them in becoming better leaders, writers and photographers.

Mckinzie also handles training new freelancers. The Collegian’s training program involves one all-encompassing meeting and then helps new trainees narrow down to a specific desk or two where they can to start out writing. If readers are interested in getting involved with The Collegian, they can reach her at managingeditor@collegian.com.

The third and final member of The Collegian’s upper management is Executive Editor Willow Engle.

The executive editor runs The Collegian’s copy desk and is responsible for fact-checking and editing all written language published by The Collegian. Ostensibly, the executive editor’s role as a member of the paper’s editorial team is to ensure our content is as trustworthy, reliable and ethical as possible.

Engle has worked as a copy editor since her first year at CSU, and she has used that time to learn everything she possibly could from Lauren Pallemaerts, Adah McMillan and Claire Vogl, three brilliant women who made this paper more reliable and ethical every day they worked.

Engle, Rachel Johnson-Bothe — her copy chief — and her team of copy editors primarily work based off of the 58th edition of the Associated Press Stylebook in order to maintain consistency in The Collegian’s reporting and to train our staff for professional environments and expectations, but eagle-eyed readers may notice her editing style and approach to language is heavily influenced by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s “The Elements of Style.” In areas where Engle elects to differ from these two works, she does so with the primary intention of inclusivity and accessibility. She believes the best form of editing is one which honors established tenets but respects the humanity of its readers more.

Readers who are interested in The Collegian’s editing process, have questions or have noticed an error can email Engle at copy@collegian.com.

The Collegian’s upper management is excited to begin a new year of student journalism, and we hope our love and passion for reporting to our community will be felt by anyone who chooses to pick up our paper or visit collegian.com.

Thank you,

Sophie Webb, Editor-in-Chief

Cait Mckinzie, Managing Editor

Willow Engle, Executive Editor

Reach upper management at editor@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.