Founded in 1826, “The Miami Student” is the oldest collegiate newspaper in the country, and like with any long-standing and well-kept tradition, a strong leader is the backbone of success. Meet Reis Thebault, a senior Journalism and Individualized Studies double major and current Editor-in-Chief of The Miami Student, and get to know where his passion for journalism stems from, his opinion on the future for journalism, and more about his aspirations, dreams, and his opinion on issues regarding The Miami Student itself.
Her Campus: What are your duties as EIC of The Miami Student?
Reis Thebault: I oversee the whole paper, business and editorial. I don’t so much deal with the day-to-day business stuff; I focus a lot more on the editorial side. On the editorial side I just make sure that the story ideas are good and that they’re the caliber we want to see and that when the stories come down the pipeline that the focus is correct and that they’re as good as they can be before they go into print. I’m the last eyes that see (the paper) before we send it off to the printer.
HC: Why journalism? What about it are you most passionate about?
RT: It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do since 6th grade when I gave up on being a professional basketball player. I wrote an essay for one of my English classes, and my teacher said, “Wow you’re so good; you should be a journalist,” and I said, “What is that?” I wrote for my high school paper, and that sort of reaffirmed that this was what I wanted to do. When I got here I immediately started writing for The Student. First of all, I love to write, and second of all I love to tell people stories. I think it’s a really cool and really powerful thing to be able to tell someone a story; when you’re talking to someone, when you’re talking about anything, they’re relaying pieces of themselves to you. It’s cool to then be able to take that, write something, and then have people read it.
HC: What’s your dream career? If you had your choice, where would you be in 5 years?
RT: Foreign correspondent for some major newspaper, like The New York Times or the Washington Post. Something that involves me working for long term in a foreign place, preferably sub-Saharan Africa that involves me telling stories about things that are missed, because that happens more and more as you see this sort of retreat of Western media from those kinds of areas.
HC: The Miami Student has received some backlash (for example, a letter to the editor entitled, “The Miami Student, a ‘heartbreaking’ news source”) recently. What is your response to the backlash?
RT: It doesn’t bother me because I know that there’s a tendency for people to comment when they think something is going wrong as opposed to when they approve of something. I’m well aware that people are going to complain about things and going to have problems with things, but I know that we’re doing a really good job. I didn’t agree with that particular letter; it sort of cherry picked its mistakes and chose to ignore things we’ve done really well. But we do make mistakes, I’m not saying that we’re flawless because we’ve had a couple retractions this year, but I think it says something that we’re quick to address them and quick to own them and move on. I do firmly believe that we are doing our best and that we are very good news source.
HC: What are your thoughts on the idea that “journalism is dead,” or that it’s a “dying form” of news?
RT: I think that there will always be a place for really good writing a really good reporting; I think that there will always be a market for that. There are all these studies that show that our generation consumes more than any before, so you can’t really say that people’s desire to read and to consume is dying. I think that there will always be a place for good journalism. It’s certainly changing, but it’s not something that people are going to stop doing. People aren’t going to stop reading the news or watching the news, and as long as that’s still there, there will be a place for good journalism.
HC: What is the highlight of your college career thus far?
RT: I don’t really have really a crowning achievement, but I think that this year, specifically this semester, has been a really good year for The Miami Student, and I like to think that myself and everyone around me have played a big part in that; we get people telling us all the time that we are getting better. It’s a really good feeling to be a part of something and then to see the pay off, even if it’s only a small number of people who see it. The growth of the paper and its improvement is one the best things I’ve been a part of.