A Final Reflection on The Exonian’s 144th Board

By Nhan Phan ’24

I write this final Opinion reflection of the current Exonian board with a heavy heart, for I am aware that this period of time for the newspaper (the writers, the editors, the layouts people, the Executive Board, and the advisers alike) is a sensitive one.

In a previous Opinions piece that I wrote during the Spring of the previous school year, I started off my severe criticism of the paper by stating, “From the perspective of a two-year writer for The Exonian, the newspaper club no longer is a place where students feel compelled to take part because of the journalistic rigor it strives to offer; instead, The Exonian, damningly, has become more of a burden.” In this reflection, I want to take a look at the many changes that have taken place ever since I wrote this article, provide a personal reflection of the legacy that the current board leaves behind, as well as outline the steps I believe the next board will need to take to restore what it means to be a writer for The Exonian.

Firstly, I want to reflect on the mission of The Exonian. I am no stranger to hearing that The Exonian has become more of a nuisance than an asset for the Exeter community; however, I simply feel like the paper is not receiving the respect it deserves. The Exonian, like other newspaper organizations, strives to be professional in its reporting of the events happening within and surrounding Phillips Exeter Academy. The newspaper is, in many ways, a reflection of journalism in society; students who decide to join the club have an interest in helping to tell the story of the reality that is around them, in writing, to the best of their ability. This is essentially the purpose of The Exonian: a student-produced archive of Exeter life that both reflects the moments where the Exonian community is at its best and moments that, perhaps, may not be so glamorous as accurately as possible. To me, the current board recognized the role of The Exonian and did well in upholding its mission. The Executive Board and advisers decided upon the bi-weekly publishing schedule (which I will reflect on in the upcoming section). Though the number of published editions was reduced, The Exonian kept true to its original mission: providing a platform for a diverse array of students to express their thoughts on both school and global events. In many of its editions, The Exonian has covered topics ranging from developments in the sexual misconduct investigation policy, student responses to global and domestic events, and reflections on school life, to the introduction of a plethora of spotlighted students, faculty, and staff. The current board has successfully maintained the newspaper’s purpose as a platform for members of the community to make their voices heard.

Secondly, I want to reflect on the decision of the Executive Board and advisers to adopt a bi-weekly publishing schedule. In my previous Opinions piece, I wrote, “When The Exonian decided to convert into a bi-weekly schedule, the schedule rendered the newspaper irrelevant, and outdated. My friends put it best: “Why would I be interested in reading news that was like two weeks old?” The events covered in an edition of the newspaper do not report anything new. It doesn’t reflect what’s happening in the school. The fundamental keys of what makes a newspaper a newspaper, relevancy, and urgency, are essentially gone.” As I reflect on my previous piece on the criticism of the newspaper, I recognized that there were things that, as a staff writer, I was naive of. However, I still feel strongly that this adoption of the bi-weekly publishing schedule did more harm than good. To my understanding, this switch was made in response to the mounting pressures that Exonian staff writers faced and the harm that it had on the mental health of staff writers. However, this shift not only maintained the same pressures on staff writers, but it also disengaged writers from The Exonian more than ever before. The same deadlines remained. The root cause of the pressure that the writers of the previous board faced was the fact that the deadlines (articles assigned on Sunday, due the following Sunday) were tight. Those deadlines have not changed for this current board; hence, the root cause of the problem was not fully addressed. There is still that underlying expectation by both the Board and editors that writers would submit their articles on time; this expectation has not changed. Moreover, because the following week is not a publishing week, many writers tend to disengage with the process by thinking that it would not really matter if the article is several days late. The bi-weekly schedule unnecessarily lengthens the writing and editing process, and, as a result, jeopardizes the relevancy of the edition. Though I had already pointed out this problem in the previous reflection, the issue of relevancy persisted in many editions of The Exonian since. The bi-weekly schedule creates a lag between when the event is still relevant to the Exeter community and when the event is actually reported in the newspaper. Not only does this lag bring negative light to The Exonian, writers feel like they are stuck in a cycle of reporting old news which, as student journalists, can act as a disincentive to continue to engage in the process of reporting for the newspaper. Writers want to feel like they are part of the moment - this is also partly why writing for The Exonian was once so rewarding: writers got to be the recorders of Exonian life right there and then. In summary of this section, the bi-weekly schedule, though a (seemingly fast and easy-way-out) attempt at reducing the tolls on writers’ mental health, in fact, did not deliver its intended purpose and actually disengaged writers from the process of writing for The Exonian even more than before.

Finally, I want to reflect on the newsroom - the physical newsroom. The Exonian newsroom is a physical manifestation of Exeter history: the school’s history recorded in past student-written editions of the newspaper. The newsroom is filled with the legacy that past Executive boards left behind in the forms of the editions they published, the articles they had written, and the personal layout touches they left. The newsroom is an inspiring place to be in; it surely reminds one of the importance of The Exonian in the school’s long history. More than all of this, however, the newsroom symbolizes a community. The newsroom symbolizes an Exonian community of students that have a love and respect for writing, journalism, and for the institution itself. It is with great importance that I say that the role of the newsroom is nurturing a community is the most important aspect of The Exonian. Without the community that the newsroom is supposed to bring together, the newspaper would be nothing more than a group of disconnected, disengaged students working together simply to objectively produce newspaper editions that carry within them no personality, thought, or cohesion. Without the community that The Exonian depends on, there will be no writers to continue recording the next generation of Exeter history. Without a loving, compassionate, and excited community, the newspaper will never be its best self. The newsroom can be a place of great bonding, of great connection building; I regret that the current board has underutilized the newsroom. In my previous reflection, I described a moment of the 143rd board that encapsulated how the newsroom was an inviting place for new writers like me, “On Wednesday afternoons, the writers and editors would blast songs from the soundtrack of Hamilton whereas the Layouts team would frantically obsess over the “laying-out” of the paper itself, all while munching on Front Row Margherita pizzas. Editors and writers connected on a personal level.” Moments like this are essential to community building because it does one important job well: it breaks down the barrier between the editor and the writer.

There is a difference in the power dynamic between being a writer, an editor, a member of the Executive Board, and an adviser. It is this difference in the power dynamic that prompted many writers and editors in the past to quit The Exonian in the first place. This difference in power dynamic is harmful for many reasons: it automatically gives off the impression that the voices and opinions of those below the level of the Executive Board do not matter as much, it makes it easier for members of the upper levels of management to treat the members of the lower levels with disdain, it reduces opportunities for members of different levels to interact on a more interpersonal basis, and it ultimately results in too much power for the few. Though I acknowledge that the way The Exonian’s leadership is structured will naturally create these power differences, it is vital that I reflect on the ways in which the interactions between upper and lower boards have been conducive to an inviting environment. One of the biggest issues that I noticed throughout my time as a writer is an apparent disconnect between editors and writers. Editors are important agents in The Exonian’s community-building process because they are more than just someone who edits the articles: they are peer mentors to the writers who can give them valuable advice on more than just writing. I want to bring up Taraz Lincoln ‘22, a Life editor for the 143rd Board. I first met Taraz when I wrote my first Life article for the previous board. Throughout the time I spent editing my pieces and talking with him in the newsroom, I learned a lot about his life, how he sees the world, his dreams, and ambitions, and he got to learn a lot about me too. Most importantly, we formed a friendship that transcended the boundaries between writers and editors that lasts all the way until today. As space does not allow me to describe other ways in which members of different levels of the newspaper interact, I described the most important matter: the relationship between writers and editors. As writers get to know the editors more and feel more comfortable working with them, the less stressful the writing process can be and the difference in the power dynamic between editors and writers is minimized. The same can be said for both Board-writer and Board-editor relations: as the Exonian community builds, as more people feel comfortable working with one another, the more efficiently this newspaper can run. It is, therefore, important that future boards place an emphasis on community.

I want to conclude this reflection by talking about the legacy that this current board leaves behind, as well as the next steps that the incoming board needs to take to ensure that The Exonian can be the best version of itself. The current board leaves behind a legacy of experience that is valuable for the future boards of the newspaper. Though there have been mistakes made along the way, the learning curve that the current board experienced can be valuable knowledge for future management of the newspaper. What this board also demonstrated is the ability to successfully turn the newspaper into a platform for storytelling, thought-giving, and reflection. With the diversity of thought featured in the newspaper, the current board sets the standard of inclusion for future boards to follow. However, there needs to be a greater emphasis on community building in The Exonian. By increasing the use of the newsroom for writer’s workshops, editing sessions, and office hours, future boards can create moments where writers feel welcome to make the newsroom their favorite place to go on Wednesday afternoons. That space, if utilized correctly and frequently, can be a powerful tool to unite a community of aspiring writers and journalists. I also recognize that the problem of mental health still exists. In the previous piece, I suggested a system of rotation between two different sets of writers and editors that will rotate each week while still keeping a weekly publishing schedule, “By having alternating groups of editors and writers, with one group writing a certain week, and the other writing the following week, and so on, The Exonian is able to keep publishing while ensuring that the writers and editors get the break they deserve. This method also allows the groups to build a closer connection with their own editors and writers.” I believe that by experimenting with this system, we can learn whether or not it can better serve future boards of the newspaper. Restoring the reputation and relevancy of the newspaper all the while trying to build a cohesive community can be a daunting task for the incoming board to take on. It is about time we take small but solid steps to rebuild a healthy Exonian culture that places pride on community and professionalism.