Message from President Dane Greisiger

A MESSAGE FROM DANE GREISIGER

Fall 2021 has been very eventful at the DP; we won the 2021 ACP Pacemaker award as well as the Gold Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association for the 3rd year in a row. Potentially more important than any awards, however, was that we safely re-opened the office to the whole company after being closed for nearly a year and a half. Our production nights have benefitted immensely from students being able to work alongside each other, eat dinner together, and hold meetings in person. The improved coordination and communication that resulted from being in-person helped us launch the DP’s first weekly sports newsletter, Quaker Nation, with plans to launch a Health/COVID-related newsletter later this semester. Return to in-person has also helped us train the newer and younger DP members who were stepping onto Penn’s campus for the first time this semester.

The return to in-person also helped amplify our recruitment efforts. The DP handed out nearly 800 recruitment flyers across campus and held four in-person recruitment events, including an in-person open house which had over 70 people in attendance. In all, more than 400 people filled out our interest form, 80% of whom were firstyears. News and Opinion were the two most popular departments for the second semester in a row.

Additionally, we revamped our new member onboarding and training programs. This included creating and disseminating a standardized set of training practices and materials for all new hires along with coordinating a wide variety of new member events including alumni speakers, department social events, and a company-wide barbecue (see attached photo).

On the alumni side of the DP, we elected Unnati Dass Silverman to our Strategy and Business Advisory Board, as well as electing John Peyton to replace Randall Lane on our Board of Directors. Additionally, the Board of Directors voted to create a Diversity and Inclusion student board position that reports directly to the president. In the past, our diversity and inclusion efforts have been led by a committee of students who volunteered to take on additional responsibilities beyond their regular positions at the DP. With this new board position, we will be able to have one student be solely focused on coordinating all of our diversity efforts and work closely with the President, Board of Directors, and the Professional staff.

As I said in my last update letter, my goal as president has not only been to uphold the DP’s legacy of providing excellent journalism to the Penn community but also to provide invaluable growth and learning opportunities to our students. As we pass the halfway point in the semester, the DP’s leadership team’s efforts turn to selecting and preparing the 138th Board of the Daily Pennsylvanian to take the reins and continue pursuing that mission.

Dane Greisiger

President