Editor in Chief Platform at the Fulcrum 

(2020-21) 
Aaron Hemens | News Editor  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Who am I?

My name is Aaron, and I’m the current news

editor at the Fulcrum. I joined the team back in
November 2019, despite having no prior
experience or connection to the University of
Ottawa until then. It’s also worth mentioning
that I’m a 2018 graduate from Carleton
University’s journalism program and a former
photographer for their school’s student
newspaper, the Charlatan.

I understand why someone would question my

decision to run for the editor-in-chief position at
the Fulcrum. I’ve been out of school for two
years now, and I’ve never even taken a class
at the U of O.

But the reason why I’m running for the E-in-C

position is the same reason why I applied for
the news editor position four months ago: the
work that we do as a campus newspaper is
important and cannot be understated, and I
want to continue to operate within this area of
the mediascape. We keep students informed
about issues and events on campus, and we
also report on the stories that go largely
uncovered by mainstream news outlets. More importantly, we validate and highlight the
concerns raised by members of the university’s community.

When I applied for the news editor position, I never thought that I would end up applying
for the E-in-C position a few months later. But as I got to know the school more through
the stories that I wrote and the people that I met, I began to really care about the
Fulcrum and the community that we serve. I know that there’s more that I can give to
this publication, and I believe that I have the vision to help bring the Fulcrum to new
heights.
Something special that I’ve come to realize while working here at is that you’re never
done learning or growing as a journalist, no matter how many jobs in the field you’ve
had. Before coming here, I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about
the craft. But after working alongside some very talented and intelligent co-workers, I’ve
realized that there’s always room for learning and improvement.

I’m very grateful for the knowledge and wisdom that this job has given me. It’s really
grounded me and put the journalism workforce into perspective. I’ve learned through my
time here that working at some prestigious news outlet or publication doesn’t define
what kind of journalist you are. Rather, it’s the work that you do and the impact that it
has on others that defines what kind of journalist you are.

I’m proud of the stories that we’ve done during my four months here. We’ve covered a
number of important issues and topics with diligence and with care. We’ve held the
administration and other authority figures accountable, we’ve helped students make
sense of the school’s inadequate mental health support system, and we’ve provided a
platform for minority groups to share their concerns.

The work we do can be overwhelming and stressful at times, but it helps to have a great
supporting cast like the one that we have in our editorial board. Not only did they
welcome me with open arms, but they’re all such beautiful and heartwarming people.
They always find a way to make me feel young again!

We’ve earned the respect from several members of the U of O community, thanks to
our professionalism and integrity. We have quite the reputation from the students that
I’ve encountered, who show me nothing but love and praise every time that I mention
that I’m with the Fulcrum. It’s an honour to be working here, and I want to continue to
uphold the image that we have on campus.

I have a lot of respect and admiration for the vision that Matt, our current E-in-C, has set
out for this publication. We give a lot of careful consideration to what we choose to
cover and what we choose to leave out. We take a painstaking approach to how we
cover a story, and we’re constantly thinking about what angle will best suit our readers. I
want to continue to build on this mission and the trajectory that Matt has set out for the
Fulcrum, and I’ve got some ideas for how I plan to do so.
My experience in journalism

Before joining the Fulcrum, I spent eight months last year working as a one-man
newspaper, during my role as editor of the Inuvik Drum. The Inuvik Drum is a
community newspaper that is published weekly in Inuvik, a town in the Northwest
Territories that is located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. As the sole individual
working at the Drum, I was tasked with putting out the eight-page community
newspaper every week by myself.

As editor, I wore many hats: I was the reporter, the photographer, and the social media
manager -- week in and week out. It was rewarding, but awfully challenging. Not only
did I develop the strength to survive as a one-man operation, but I learned how
important it is to take care of yourself and your mental health.

My time at the Inuvik Drum equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to
successfully serve as the E-in-C of a newspaper. I learned how to better manage my
time, how to plan and organize my week, how to problem-solve on my own, how to
generate story ideas, and the practice of self-accountability.

Learning how to run a newspaper by yourself isn’t something that they teach you in
journalism school, but they do equip you with the tools to develop the intuition to do so.
Through my education at Carleton, I learned how to become a better communicator,
how to gather information through research and interviews, and how to report and write
a news article. I also learned of the importance of ethics, and how to uphold journalistic
integrity. More importantly, the program taught me how to meet tight deadlines while
working under immense pressure.

These skills have served me well in whatever journalism role I have found myself in,
including the Fulcrum. I’ve taken on more of a leadership role here, particularly when it
comes to helping out volunteers. I’ve imparted interviewing tips and skills to writers, and
I’ve helped guide others through the process of writing an article. There’s a lot of joy
that comes with sharing your knowledge with aspiring journalists and seeing them
succeed, and I hope to continue to offer new opportunities to help our volunteers grow
as E-in-C.
Volunteer Engagement

Maintaining and building a strong rapport with our volunteers is one of my top priorities
as E-in-C. We are a platform that can help turn everyday writers and photographers into
full-fledged journalists, and it’s important to find new ways to help them grow. The
current initiatives that we have dedicated to our volunteers (the freelance program,
weekly meetings) are a great foundation that we can build upon, but I believe that
there’s more that we can do to encourage volunteers to keep coming back.

Something that I’d like to implement as E-in-C are regular volunteer engagement
events, such as workshops and hands-on activities. This can be done on a weekly,
bi-weekly, or monthly basis: anything journalism or media related that can arouse
curiosity, interest and engagement.

Earlier in the month, I facilitated a photo-walk with a handful of student-photographers

who were all at varying skill-levels. All we did was walk around campus with our
cameras and take pictures of whatever our hearts desired. There was a lot of learning
involved. It was a great time for everyone, and those who came out were grateful that
we hosted such an event. New faces showed more interest in the Fulcrum, and asked
me when we plan on hosting another photo walk.

In addition to photo-walks and other hands-on activities, I’d like to host workshops
where we share our journalism knowledge with our volunteers. I’d like to have events
where we teach them how to write for each of our sections: news, arts, sports, features,
etc. We can also hold workshops on the basics of journalism: how to generate a story
idea, how to conduct an interview, how to write a lede, how to look for sources, etc.

These are the kinds of events and activities that I’d like to see happen on a regular
basis as E-in-C. Not only are these opportunities for us to engage and give back to our
community, but it also allows us to train and prepare the next generation of the Fulcrum.
You never know who or what can come out of these events, and we should continue to
entertain that idea.
Visuals

In this ever-changing mediascape, we’re in an age of lazy readers who rarely bother to
read the full story anymore. Nowadays, most people rely on an article’s headline to get
their information. What really grabs people’s attention are images, where information is
told through moments captured through a camera. It’s a simple yet powerful storytelling
technique that also requires little effort to convey, thanks to the easy process of swiping
and viewing.

As E-in-C, I will put heavy emphasis on visual storytelling. I’m talking about more
effective use of photography and video to tell stories or capture moments, as that
seems to be where the current trend of journalism is going in. If you can tell a story
through words, you can definitely find a way to speak it through images.

The challenge is to find a way to see the visuals in every story. We don’t have to go
overboard with it and turn every story into a visual piece, but adding a hint of images
adds more colour to everything that we do. It can be as simple as taking more portraits
of the people we interview or capturing them in their day-to-day life.

I wouldn’t hesitate to run more photo stories or video segments, especially if it’s a large
event that we’re covering. Protests, art shows, campus events, or even just one-on-one
interviews with a source are just some of the different opportunities that come to mind.

Our visual pieces don’t always have to be hard-hitting pieces: it’s just a simple
alternative to showing our audience what’s going on in the community. I know that most
of our coverage tends to stray away from the more trivial events or topics happening in
and around campus, but our visuals can be geared towards showcasing something as
simple as an art show or a cultural event.

I like the idea of having stand-up photo opportunities that show someone doing
something on campus that isn’t particularly “newsy”, or weekly streeter videos where we
go out and ask community members one question related to a story that we’ve covered.

This approach will allow us to grow our readership and show our commitment to
engaging with the community. I definitely think that there’s a whole lot of potential for
our presence to grow on campus through the use of more visuals.
Social Media

What we have going on in our social media sphere is amazing. I think Safa is doing a
great job when it comes to engaging with our audiences on all of our platforms.
However, I think that there are ways that we can strengthen our social media presence,
specifically when it comes to what we post, when we post it and how we post it.

As E-in-C, I’d like to see more live-tweeting when it comes to covering meetings or
events, as this would allow us to constantly keep our audience in the loop when we’re
out covering such stories. I’d also push for more photos and videos to be published
directly onto Twitter when we’re covering these events, for this adds another alternative
to getting our information across. These quick titbits of information speak volumes on
Twitter, as it forces us to constantly engage on the platform. By sharing and focusing on
specific moments that happen during an event, we can truly break down a story in real
time.

When it comes to Instagram, I’ve thought about giving all the editors access to our
account when they’re out covering an event -- that’s if our online editor is unable to
accompany them. Similar to live-tweeting, this approach allows us to constantly post to
our “Stories” and keep the audience updated with whatever’s unfolding. I also like the
idea of launching weekly photo contests, where each week has a new theme and
volunteer photographers would have to take a photo that best represents that theme.
We would send out the request, and the best picture would be posted onto our
Instagram. This sort of engagement would not only invite volunteers to take more
photos for us, but it’s a fun excuse for us to post something new every week.

Youtube is also a platform that I think we should be tapping into. I have this idea where
we would film a quick two to three minute video each week of our editors breaking down
the stories that are in their sections. It’s kind of like a newsletter in the form of a video,
but we’re showing our audience who we are at the same time. I think it’s a great idea for
transparency purposes, and we can always be creative in our approach. Also, whatever
we post onto Youtube can be translated onto Instagram and vice-versa.
Editorial Board

If it was up to me, I’d keep the team the way it is right now. We’ve got great chemistry,
and each department is in the hands of very talented people. It’ll be challenging to
recreate what we have, but I’m confident that we can make things work next year.

News
The news section can be pretty killer at times, but it’s very rewarding work. I’ve learned
a lot just by working alongside Matt and Meg, who are both phenomenal at what they
do. I think the scope of our coverage has been exactly where it should be this year, and
I think it should stay that way going into next year. We’ve done our job in holding the
administration accountable, and we’ve had the right approach when it comes to
covering the issues or topics that impact students. I also like that we cover issues or
events that are happening in close proximity to the U of O, and how we make an effort
to localize them.

What I’d like to see change in news next year is having two news editors. We’re
currently working with one news editor, plus an associate news editor and help from
Matt. It’s a demanding section that definitely requires two committed bodies to the job.
Having two news editors will also alleviate the amount of time and work that the E-in-C
would have to contribute to the section, seeing as they have other duties to attend to.

Arts and Culture

I thoroughly enjoy reading every story that comes through Ryan’s section. He’s really
got his finger on the pulse of the arts scene here, and I like how he’s beginning to
branch his coverage out to the greater U of O culture, such as the meme scene and
Indigenous-related events. This is something that I hope to continue to build upon next
year, as I think that this expanded scope offers a lot of potential for more great stories.

Next year, I’d like to see more coverage that digs deeper into the school’s diverse
groups and cultures. I want to continue what Ryan is doing when it comes to covering
initiatives being done by different cultural groups on campus, such as the Indigenous
Resource Centre. I would also like to seek out and highlight the U of O’s great talent
and artistry, especially for those artists who aren’t white males.
Sports
Charley and Jasmine make a great one-two punch for the sports section. They’re
knowledgeable of nearly every sport on this campus, and they know how to cover them
accordingly. Their coverage of sporting events are easy to read, but there’s a lot of flare
and subtle details that they include in their writing that really give more character to their
stories. The two make a great duo, and it’s reflected in the content that they put out.

One thing I’d like to see next year are the sports stories that happen off the court --
profiles of players and coaches, mental-health issues stemming from injuries, etc. Some
of the best pieces of journalism are stories about athletes and their lives off the court,
and how that translates to their performance on the court. There was a profile that
Jasmine wrote on a basketball player from French Guiana, and she showed that his
story off the court was just as compelling as his story on the court. These are the kinds
of sports stories that I’d like to see more of.

Features
The stories that Zoë writes are so important, emotional and powerful. Long-form,
in-depth pieces are far from easy to write, but she’s able to do with it ease and
elegance. She really goes above and beyond with her work, and I love how you gain so
many new perspectives with each read.

I like the the topics that Zoë has explored in her pieces this year. There’s a lot of
vulnerability and character in her approach. I hope we can continue to build on this style
next year. In-depth stories on mental health are always important pieces to cover, and
I’d like to dig deeper when it comes to other student experiences. Race-relations on
campus, the Indigenous student perspective, gender and identity are just some of the
topics that come to mind.

Visual
Rame always finds a way to impress me with her ability to deliver such beautiful visuals
while managing so many art requests on her own. The patience that she displays,
combined with her creativity, delicacy and care for her work, cannot be downplayed.

As I mentioned earlier, I want to expand and push for more visuals in everything that we
do. With that being the case, my vision is to have a visual editor handle the bulk of the
artwork requests, while the addition of an associate visual editor would focus more on
the lighter video and photography work -- with the help of volunteers of course.
Online
Safa has the perfect character and personality for this job. She’s quite fluent in the world
of social media, and she definitely knows how to engage with audiences. The only thing
I’d really like to see change next year is for the online editor to be present at events or
meetings, so that they can update social media in real time and in an efficient manner.

Opinions
As a student newspaper, I think it’s important that we too share our concerns or
opinions regarding issues or topics on campus. I’d like to see the Opinions section
make a comeback next year, where we’d publish around two to three opinion pieces
every week.

When thinking about what kind of opinion pieces to explore, I think about opinions on a
specific issue or experience that’s happening on campus. We will welcome opinions
from volunteers as well, but of course they have to be vetted. These opinions pieces
must be fair, balanced and well-researched, and we have to make an effort to stray
clear of showing any hard biases.

In conclusion…

I believe that my background as a reporter, an editor and a photographer -- combined

with my dedication to moving the Fulcrum forward with the ideas that I proposed --
make me the ideal candidate for the E-in-C position. We’re in a digital age where people
have a hard time with putting their phones down, and I believe that the ideas that I put
forward will create more digital exposure for the Fulcrum. My goal is to find new ways to
get our stories out to our audience, and I believe that I have the right mindset to do so.