First week wrap-up

Well, the first week of the spring semester is in the books and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. The quality of work we did together this week far exceeds any other first week that I've been a part of at The Daily. As I write this, there are eight people in the newsroom diligently working away — on a Friday. This is how we stay on top of things and keep cranking out high-quality work on a consistent basis instead of rushing (and stressing out) at the last minute to complete our assignments.  Kudos to everyone.

The editors have heard me say this since they were hired in mid-November, but I am so excited for this semester. Each section this spring is headed up by a lot of talent, and each desk is staffed with lots of eager, sharp people. This strong foundation rooted in the people at this organization is going to allow us to do some excellent work.

I know Judy and Chase have already done this throughout the week, but there are some people I'd like to point out for their particularly great work so far:

• Sean Lawson — Sean, our crime reporter, was on the ball on Sunday, before our first day of work, and got the story about the incoming OU student who was killed by his grandfather. This initiative and fast work is exactly what we need at The Daily.

• Kyle Margerum — Kyle is our copy chief, and he has been a beast at working with the copy desk (which is mostly filled with new employees) and patiently helping everyone learn the ropes while at the same time, getting the job done accurately and successfully. Headline writing is always a tough skill to learn, but I am impressed with how solid our headlines were this week.

• Katherine Borgerding and Juan Sanchez — These two are our online editor and assistant editor, and they kicked ass this week. Although both were new to the online desk, they already have taken OUDaily.com and elevated it to an exciting level. While the visible results of their efforts might take a few weeks to really start showing, Katherine and Juan are putting our website in position to make some great progress. As you all continue working on your assignments this semester, remember to include the Online Desk as a way to beef up your work. This is easily the best online team I have seen at The Daily.

• Laney Ellisor — The first week of work is always a tough one, especially for the campus editor. Think about it, we are off work and out of classes for the entire break, but when we come back, the Campus Desk is expected to have enough strong content to publish a week's worth of newspapers and fill OUDaily.com every day. Well, Laney rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion. Seriously. Go re-read the news content this week and you'll find a great mix of profiles, features, breaking news, informative pieces and much more. I can't say enough how proud I am of Laney. I hope all of you recognize her hard work and keep helping the Campus Desk be a pillar of our organization.

• Ana Lastra — Ana is our multimedia chief, and I hope you all have taken notice of the content she and her small staff have been pumping out this week. Between the proactive approach the multimedia team has taken to challenge the editors to think of supplemental audio, video and slideshow content, Ana has produce a handful of extra content on her own. I hope all of you — from the editors to reporters to photographers — work with Ana and her team to produce more multimedia content.

Once again, great job everyone. You make me proud to work with you all, and I'm excited to see what we accomplish in the next four months!