As the third-ever investigative section editor of The Hilltop, coming into this role, I had a vision. Looking back at the work this team has done, I’m so proud to say that my vision came to fruition.
This school year, my reporters have worked on dozens of stories and published over 10 long-form pieces across multiple sections.
We have continued to increase the investigative section’s output – in the fall semester alone, we went from only putting out one story last school year to putting out six this fall. Something I am particularly proud of is our section having a piece published in all four print editions this year, which has never happened before for investigative.
As an editor, I knew I wanted to still write here and there, but I didn’t expect to receive the attention that I did. Multiple of my pieces this school year gained significant attention, coming with quite a bit of controversy.
Outside of a lot of hate and criticism that I received, others asked me how I felt during those moments. Months later and my feelings about the pieces have still not changed. I’m proud of the work that I produced and will continue to stand behind it, because everything I write is with true intention according to the ethical code of journalism.
Not every story will make everyone happy. However, it is and always will be a pleasure to publish with The Hilltop because we produce good journalism for the Howard University community.
As for my team, I couldn’t be prouder of all eight of the reporters that I worked with this year. From going into the community to do man-on-street interviews to creating data visualizations and pursuing stories for months on end, they did it all. There were many late nights, texts of confusions and frustrations with sources, but we always got it done.
I look forward to seeing how I continue to grow within this newsroom. The Hilltop is one of the reasons I chose Howard, but I didn’t always believe I was good enough to contribute to its legacy. Now I’m here, and it’s one of the best decisions I have made throughout my matriculation at this university.
Thank you for continuing to support HBCU journalism, and remember, we’re not just student journalists; we are journalists who just so happen to be students.
With so much appreciation,
Myla S. Roundy