This will be the first time the Fulcrum has had two Editors-in-Chief
On March 11, the Fulcrum elected two new Co-Editors-In-Chief (EIC): current sports editor Jasmine McKnight and current multimedia director Hailey Otten.
This is the first time that the Fulcrum will have Co-EICs rather than one person holding the position. It is also the first time in three terms that the EICs will be women.
McKnight started at the Fulcrum in her first year at the University of Ottawa in 2018. She has served as the publication’s sports editor for two back-to-back terms and was previously the associate sports editor. A communication student who is also pursuing a minor in sociology, she is set to graduate in the fall with a bachelor of arts.
Otten joined the Fulcrum in May 2021 as the multimedia director. She is in her fourth-year of a major in English literature with a minor in Greek and Roman studies.
Their platform emphasized the benefits of bringing both a free perspective and an experienced one to the role. Additionally, Otten and McKnight outlined recommendations and commitments to improving the Fulcrum’s student outreach, as well as improving the inner workings of the publication.
Charley Dutil, the outgoing EIC, explained that the new co-EICs were successful in the debate and that he is excited to see them come into the role.
“I was really happy with some of the answers they gave during the debate. I felt like both of them had standout moments. I think they both bring very different perspectives and strengths to the role and I think that they will complement each other really well,” he said.
Dutil is ready to leave the Fulcrum after a long run of two terms as EIC.
“I think that it’s time. I think that two terms are a lot for anybody to handle. I think I’ve grown a lot in the last two years. I’m really grateful for it, and I’m looking forward to new challenges,” said Dutil.
Aly Murphy graduated from the U of O with a bachelor of arts, majoring in theatre, in the winter term of 2021. As she will not be returning as managing editor of the publication, she expressed excitement for the new EICs and commented on stepping back and watching Otten and McKnight step into the role.
“I think it’s great honestly. I think the Fulcrum is in very capable hands. Their platform had a lot of emphasis on social media, which I think we need. I’m excited to see what they do with it from afar,” she said.
McKnight explained that by running as co-EICs, both she and Otten will be able to share the workload and benefit from each other’s experience and talents.
“It kind of just made sense, because we have different skillsets and different experiences at the Fulcrum, it was a good match for us to run together,” she said.
She continued by thanking everyone with whom she worked with at her time in the Fulcrum for the things they taught her.
“Now I’m here and I’m going to be EIC and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without them,” McKnight said.
Otten is excited by the opportunities presented by the combined skill set of her and her co-EIC, and what this means for the publication.
“We felt that together we brought different things to the table, in the sense that in past EICs there hasn’t really been both the editorial, multimedia and production, all three of those covered in one person. So between the two of us, we have everything,” Otten said.
McKnight and Otten will officially begin their new role on May 1.
