What a year it has been. We have experienced so much over the last nine months. From the women’s team making the NCAA Final Four, to mammoth bones being discovered under our feet on campus, to campus wide dialogues surrounding social justice, diversity and inclusion, we have been through several peaks and valleys as a community.

Working as a reporter and the news editor for The Daily Barometer, I hope that I have in some way contributed positively to your experience at OSU over this time with the coverage of these events and more.

As I take the reigns of The Daily Barometer now, I am beyond excited to see what the future has in store. This has been a year of transition for us at the Baro as well, with a lot of internal changes being made since August, which will continue into my term as Editor-in-Chief.

Next year The Daily Barometer will switch over from printing five days a week, to only being printed once a week. There are a variety of reasons behind this decision, but overall, this transformation will be a positive one that will allow our coverage to be more expansive and more inclusive.

While the nearly one hundred years of daily publication leaves many of us with a nostalgic feeling and a hesitation to buy into the “new”, I ask that you go into this new era with an open mind and a willingness to continue to see the Barometer as your source for campus news.

We are expanding our online presence not only at the Barometer, but also within the entire Orange Media Network, and next year will be the first time that all of your student media will be working closely together to bring a variety of content to students and the community on several different platforms.

Sports coverage will continue to grow through radio broadcasts, game coverage and videos, as well as features. Forum will continue to highlight the campus’s voices and opinions and the arts and entertainment related content will still come out regularly. In addition to this, several blogs covering a wide array of topics are being started for the first time that will further provide online exclusive content daily for those interested.

The news will continue to exist on a daily cycle, with much of the the same content you are used to this year continuing to exist online next year. This will allow for the printed edition of the Barometer to focus on more impactful, heavy hitting pieces.

The Daily Barometer and Orange Media Network are growing, and we are excited to have you along for the ride.

During my time with the Barometer this year, I have made relationships and friendships that will last a lifetime, and feel more connected to this campus and this community than I ever would have imagined possible.

I have also experienced failure on more than one occasion, but with that, I have learned the importance of learning from one’s mistakes and using them to grow not only personally, but professionally as well. The Barometer is a better publication now because of those mistakes, and I will continue to take the lessons we have learned this year forward and ensure that they are not made again.

Undoubtedly, we will fail again, but I look forward to expanding coverage next year to become a more inclusive publication, and shedding lights on organizations and and demographics that may have been left out or underrepresented previously.

If you are at all interested in joining the team at The Daily Barometer, or any of the six other organizations housed within Orange Media Network, I urge you to get involved. This is your student media, this is your university. Your voice can, and should be heard.

Our office is always open, and our staff is always willing to talk and listen.

I look forward to serving you all next year.

The opinions expressed in Youngman’s column do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff.