Elizabeth Rudd was the editor in chief of the Argonaut from 2011 to 2012. She first joined the Argonaut in 2009 and made her way up to becoming the editor in chief.
During her time as editor in chief, she had a mix of writers, editors, designers, and photographers, leading her to 80 staff members all working at the Argonaut.
She found a love for news working for her high school newspaper, aspiring to get some real-life experience outside the classroom at UI. Shawn O’Neil the former Argonaut advisor, gave her a nudge into joining the Argonaut newspaper for her second semester at UI. This helped her at UI because she studied Journalism with an emphasis on advertising and a minor in art.
Having 80 staff members felt mostly like a joint effort to Rudd as she didn’t recruit many members of the staff. Most of the recruiting was word of mouth from seniors and juniors to sophomores and freshmen. She had a lot of help in aspects similar to that, which made her time at the Argonaut feel fun and united. She also made some friendships that are still in her life to this day.
One of her favorite experiences at the Argonaut was in the summer as managing editor where she wrote a column called “The Freshman Orientation Addition” where she wrote on the Boise State and UI rivalry. Her column resulted in the Boise State University President discontinuing the rivalry.
Her biggest educational experience Rudd had as editor in chief was during the Katy Benoit incident. She had to lead and be responsible for all news that went out on a sensitive topic. She learned how to navigate that kind of situation and made sure all the information was out there for the community and students.
“Yes, we were students too, but we were students with a purpose,” Rudd said, “Our job was to make sure our fellow students knew what was going on and knew what they needed to do.”
Not only did Rudd work for the Argonaut, but she was also an editor for Blot magazine, had a segment on KUOI radio, and was the production manager for ads.
“It 100% pays off because you’re never gonna get to be in this kind of environment again, having ownership in so much and having the safety net to make mistakes,” Rudd said.
Rudd now works at Washington State University on the Pullman campus and runs the on-campus visitor center. She feels working at the Argonaut helped her immensely at the job she is in now as it helped her build skills and experience. She learned how universities are structured and how to converse with strangers comfortably.
“It’s all about learning how to communicate and how to speak effectively and efficiently,” Rudd explained, “And no matter what you go and do, working at the Argonaut will directly relate.”
Sofia Newell can be reached at [email protected]