Introducing our latest Her Campus Celebrity Sam Rabuck, the Executive Editor of The New Hampshire (TNH) newspaper! Sam oversees the student-run paper and is in charge of making sure our news source for all things Durham is available to us twice, that’s right, TWICE a week. Meet the master behind the madness in this Her Campus exclusive interview below:
Name: Sam Rabuck
Year: Senior
Major: English Journalism
Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire
(Left to right) Kappa Sigma Brothers Will Sullivan, Jon Brice, Sam Rabuck, and Pete Hinman enjoy homecoming.
When did you start TNH?
I began sophomore year as a contributing writer and worked my way up the chain. Usually people start as contributing writers and after they show their reliability, accountability and write a few articles for TNH, they are promoted to staff writer and beyond.
Explain how you achieved your role as Executive Editor.
So there is a chain of command which includes the contributing writers and staff writers. When I was a staff writer, I became interested in editing and wanted to get more involved with the editing process. I was then hired as a design editor and moved my way up to content editor. At the end of last semester, I ran for the executive editor position and was voted in by the team.
What are your weekly tasks as an Executive Editor?
For every issue I have to write the editorial which always includes something relevant to that particular issue of the paper. I think of being editor as an external position. I am representing the paper to the community and responding to readers’ feedback and opinions about our content. I am also in a management position where I make sure the managing editor, Allison Bellucci, can do her job as best as she can.
What has been your most memorable/favorite story during your time at TNH?
I think that my most memorable time writing a story was when I was covering the 2014 women’s soccer team last year. It was so electric and exciting following the team to different schools and getting to know the players as well as the coaches. We really built a relationship throughout the season. The best part about writing for the team was that they won the 2014 America East Championship. It was so exciting to write about the successful soccer team that would have never been picked on paper to win the whole championship.
Explain the TNH production night process.
Production nights are on Wednesdays and Sundays because we always have two issues of TNH rolling out within one week. So around 5 o’clock, everyone settles in and we first figure out what we have for stories and photos for that week. From there, I work with the design editors and delegate tasks to everyone for stories and articles that will be in their specific section of the paper.
After working on structuring the paper for a little while, we will take a break and go to HoCo together as a team. This is an important part of production night because we are a tight knit group and this time gives us the opportunity to catch up. HoCo actually provides us with free meals because we are a student run organization which is awesome. After dinner, we are back at designing the paper throughout three rounds of edits with the design team. On a good day, we’ll get out of the office at around 2am but sometimes it’s later. Last week, when we created the Homecoming weekend dining guide, I was the last person in the office at 5 a.m. along with Allison.
Sam with members of The New Hampshire staff.
What is the best way for students to get involved with TNH?
The application for contributing writer can be found online and we usually have a hiring process in April. We occasionally hire people throughout the year but that is pretty rare.
What is your favorite subject to report on?
Definitely sports. I liked covering sports such as the women’s soccer team because I got to tell their story. Also, every year is different when it comes to sports so it’s never boring.
Overall, what is your favorite part about being a part of the TNH team?
My favorite part is being a part of a staff that is intelligent and hardworking. You’re really able to learn from other students pretty well. I like being a part of a team that is serving a group of people.
Are there any other organizations that you are involved with?
I am a brother of Kappa Sigma… shout out to all the brothers! I am the chairman for the Greek performance and excellence program which pretty much means I handle all the paperwork for our chapter. The program marks down every event each frat and sorority puts on. Each is worth x number of points. This shows the university all of the good stuff we are doing and that we’re not a bunch of degenerates. I also work at Hannaford in downtown Durham… come by lane 4!
Sam and brothers from Kappa Sigma in front of 32 Woodman Road.
All photos courtesy of Sam Rabuck.