The University of Alabama Media Planning Board selected The Crimson White’s next editor-in-chief Monday.
The board, which meets annually to choose the leaders of each student media publication, chose Will Tucker, a junior majoring in international studies and the paper’s current assistant managing editor, to succeed senior Victor Luckerson, who has been at the helm of the newspaper for the last two years.
“The one word I can think of to describe how I feel is honored,” Tucker said. “I hope we can continue the good work we’ve done, make some improvements and continue to be the publication on campus that everyone looks for, that everyone trusts and that everyone wants to be a part of.”
Paul Wright, director of the Office of Student Media, said the newspaper has made leaps and bounds in a positive direction under Luckerson, and said he believes Tucker was the candidate best capable of building on the last two years. Wright cautioned Tucker, though, against trying to do too much too fast.
“The biggest thing a new editor tries to do is change the world all at one time, and it’s impossible to do,” he said. “The problem is there’s only so much time, and there’s only so much you can do in a year’s time.”
Luckerson, the paper’s editor since 2010, said Tucker’s wide range of skills would serve him and the paper well in the year to come. Tucker has worked as a reporter, news editor and assistant managing editor and has worked closely with all forms of media, from hard news stories to videos to social media.
Tucker said the lessons he learned there, working his way up from the lowest reporting beats to the editorial staff, would define the way he goes about leading the newspaper next year.
“I value a kind of service leadership, which has almost become cliché, people throw it around all the time, but my idea that you’re not at the top or the pinnacle of a pyramid, you’re at the bottom of it,” Tucker said. “The pyramid is inverted and you’re the one everyone comes to for help, and you make the whole thing work with your willingness to give them that help. That’s the kind of editor I want to be.”
Editor’s Note: The Crimson White will report on the selection of leaders in other outlets of UA’s student media after interviews are completed Monday.
