By Arden Berry | Staff Writer, Tatum Vickers | Broadcast Reporter
With a red carpet and refreshments to usher them in, seven decades of Lariat editors came together from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Castellaw 101 to reflect on their experiences and the importance of student journalism.
LTVN’s Tatum Vickers has the story
Director of Student Media Douglas Pils moderated the panel. Pils said he counted at least 205 Lariat editors-in-chief across the last 125 years.
“When I was going through the list, there are lots of recognizable names, like the Hartmans, Fred from 1928 — I pass by his picture every day when I go to my office — Bill in 1961 and ‘62, and then another Fred in the fall of 1986 was here as well,” Pils said.
Louis Moore was the first graduate student to be editor-in-chief from 1968-69. Moore said the biggest news event during his time was Baylor working toward integration.
“When I entered Baylor, the very first Black student athlete was on the football team, and this young man was the first Black journalist and became a very dear friend of mine,” Moore said. “[It was] also the year that Baylor got its first Black professor. She had been denied access to Baylor because of her color. But then Baylor decided it better get right with the Lord.”
Willie White, the journalist Moore referred to, became the first Black editor-in-chief soon after in 1970.
“I don’t always march to the same drumbeat that others march to,” White said. “So unexpectedly, I submitted my name for editorship, and I was elected as editor, and that did not go well with my staff. So the challenge for me during that entire period of my editorship was to maneuver and work through the relationship that I had with the staff.”
White said working for The Lariat taught him not to “beat around the bush” when it came to asking questions.
“There are times when the facts are the facts, the situation is the situation,” White said. “I have that same approach in my business work, family business with my employees.”
Dawn McMullan was editor-in-chief in 1988, when Ronald Reagan visited Baylor.
“I think we kind of knew what a big event it was,” McMullan said. “But when you got there and saw Secret Service just crawling all over the place, you were like, ‘Oh, this is big time here.’”
McMullan said her professors inspired her.
“Sitting in this building, Dr. McCorkle said, ‘You’re such a good writer,’” McMullan said. “It was the first time anybody ever said that to me.”
Torie Johnson was the first Black female editor-in-chief from 2000-2001 and is currently the associate vice president for strategic communications and initiatives at Baylor.
“I think that there is such an important place when you have the opportunity to see the facts, tell the story in the context of an institution in a way that’s different, but it still has the potential to move the needle,” Johnson said.
After Johnson, John Drake was editor-in-chief from 2001-2002, when 9/11 occurred. He said The Lariat taught him resilience, critical thinking and analytical skills and to not be afraid to talk to people.
“I had an idea of what it would be like to be editor of The Lariat, and then on 9/11 it became making a global story very local for our community,” Drake said. “And it was very local in so many ways. We had Bush’s ranch in Crawford, right up the road.”
Nick Dean was editor-in-chief from 2010-11.
“I feel like I have a Lariat degree more than I have a Baylor degree,” Dean said. “I learned a lot of what I use now just from The Lariat.”
Foster Nicholas is the current editor-in-chief and continues work with social media and publishing content in a digital age.
“People aren’t going to always like the work you’re putting out because it is telling the facts, and it is the news that’s going on,” Nicholas said. “We’re battling a lot of the social media stuff that comes with that.”
After 125 years of technological advancements and changes, The Lariat remains in print. Over 50 years after his tenure as editor-in-chief ended, Moore said he still reads The Lariat.
“Every year, every morning, I read the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News and The Baylor Lariat,” Moore said.
