Former Emerald editor-in-chief Sami Edge participated in an alumni spotlight. In it, she talked about two memories that were formative during my time on the sports desk: the sexual assault allegations that came out against three men’s basketball players, and the multimedia “innovation” pieces such as my one on the University of Oregon hockey team. (She also gave me a little shout-out by name, which I’ll include after the substantive content because I think it’s cute!) 

Sami on the sexual assault case:

One that stands out for me is the time I spent holed up in the newsroom for days on end in the spring of 2014, covering allegations of sexual assault against three mens basketball players. A handful of news and sports reporters spent every waking moment making phone calls, requesting records, knocking on doors and busting out copy for a story that really rocked campus. We missed class and tests and barely went home to sleep (some people actually spent the night on the newsroom couch). These few days in Emerald history really stand out to me because of how dedicated our team was to owning that story and doing responsible reporting. That kind of work ethic isn’t always easy to find in professional newsrooms, even. I was (and still am) so proud to have worked with that crew. Shout out to everyone who worked on that story.

Sami on moving toward multimedia story treatments:

During my year as Editor at The Emerald I decided we should start creating immersive multimedia projects. So, I put together a team of designers and developers who worked on customized digital layouts for some of our best stories. We built and published a handful of those stories throughout the year. Coding, designing and coordinating those stories was time intensive and certainly came with a learning curve for everyone involved. I’m glad we did it, though. The stories helped teach me to think creatively about presenting data and incorporating multimedia in a way that advances the story. That has been a real asset in traditional print newsrooms where there is a will for innovation, but few people thinking with that digital-forward mindset.

Sami, my former boss, breaking work-mode to say hello:

I’m in awe of so many people that worked at The Emerald before and after I did. I’d love to have an Emerald reunion so I can meet them all in one place. If I had to reconnect with just a few people: Eliza Collins and Anne Yilmaz, you guys are so cool. What have you been up to?

[This story originally appeared in full in the Emerald here on April 2, 2019. You can follow Sami Edge on Twitter @sami_edge]