In the Fall of 2022, The Daily Free Press published approximately 550 unique stories, 19 photo galleries and 44 podcast episodes.
The most popular piece of the semester, written by Taylor Brokesh, discussed Boston’s recent bid to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Readers also paid attention to a news story about the Northeastern package explosion hoax leading to an FBI arrest, a business feature describing the reopening of campus-favorite Sunset Cantina and a follow-up detailing the aftermath of a CFA stabbing.
Behind the scenes of The Daily Free Press’s operations is a board of directors, officially known as a 501(c)3 nonprofit called the Back Bay Publishing Company, which meets weekly to discuss operations, finances, standards and general oversight of the paper.
Molly Farrar, Fall 2022 Editor-in-Chief, helped demystify the BBPC in her unique position as a previous Board member. “I was able to utilize the Board’s resources and answer Board-related questions in an informed way for everyone in the newsroom,” she said on her return as editor.
More on Farrar’s thoughts as EIC can be found in her Letter from the Editor here.
Meanwhile, the Board’s notable accomplishments were led and managed by individual chairpersons not associated with the newsroom.
200 dollars were raised from a fundraising video created by the Fundraising Chair with collaboration from other editors, writers and board members.
The Archival Chair created monthly posts on the recently launched @DFPArchives Twitter account, one of which — detailing President Brown’s installment as BU President in 2005 — being the most successful in the account’s history.
The newspaper’s online infrastructure was updated, in some cases recovered, and otherwise secured by the Web Chair and his initiatives in hiring two student computer science advisors.
Articles, galleries, and layout designs were submitted by the Grants & Awards Chair for the consideration of 11 different competitions, including the New England Newspaper of the Year Award.
A 300% increase in advertising deals from the previous semester was negotiated by the Advertising Chair. He further redesigned an Ad Rate Kit and a CRM database to maintain communication with advertisers.
Readership statistics and engagement surveys were compiled by the Audience Engagement Chair to measure The Daily Free Press’s interaction within the community. The survey results showed that 40.9% of readers found FreeP articles through the website, 21.2% through Instagram, 10.6% through Twitter, and the rest from emails/newsletters, word-of-mouth, or print issues.
The Standards Chair systematized a slew of policies including a sexual misconduct policy and an updated writing style guide.
The Daily Free Press’s first mandatory resume and interview workshop was hosted by the Career Development Chair, who is also working to hold an alumni panel and networking event in the upcoming semester.
A master staff database of over 200 contacts was compiled and organized by the Staff Recruitment Chair and Staff Training Chair.
An alumni database of a similar caliber was created by the Alumni Chair, who also oversaw the return of the monthly alumni newsletter and alumni Facebook page.
The Public Relations Chair managed consistent social media presence and an online merchandise store.
The Staff Development Chair, DEI Chair, Secretary/Legal Chair and Treasurer were otherwise instrumental in the essential maintenance, improvement, and troubleshooting of financial, legal, and staff-oriented operations.
Leading the way, the Chair and Vice Chair strived for unity and productivity as they presided over the weekly Board meetings.
“It’s hard to believe the million little ways in which the Board and the FreeP have improved in the last months,” said Madhri Yehiya, Chairwoman of the BBPC. “I’m looking forward to another semester of great strides, especially because it’s the last for many of us on Board.”
The Fall 2022 Board of Directors is proud of all work done by the dedicated writers, editors, photographers, podcasters and graphic designers associated with The Daily Free Press. For questions and comments, we can be reached anytime at board@dailyfreepress.com.
Executive Board
Madhri Yehiya — Board Chairwoman (Campus Editor, Fall 2021)
Sam Kizner — Vice Chair (Campus Editor, Spring 2020)
Molly Farrar — President (Features Editor, Fall 2021 & Web Chair, Spring 2022)
Melissa Ellin — Secretary and Legal Chair (Campus Editor, Fall 2020)
Nick Kolev — Treasurer (Campus Editor, Spring 2021)
Board Members
Justin Tang — Advertising Chair (Podcast Editor, Spring & Fall 2020)
Sujena Soumyanath — Fundraising Chair (Opinion Co-Editor, Spring 2022)
Emily Stevenson — Alumni Chair (Managing Editor, Spring 2022)
Cici Yu — Archival Chair (City Editor, Spring 2022)
Brian Foisy — Audience and Engagement Chair (Opinion Co-Editor, Spring 2022)
Abbigale Shi — Career Development Chair (Opinion Editor, Spring 2021)
Isabella Abraham — Diversity & Inclusion Chair (City News Editor, Fall 2021)
Mitch Fink — Grants & Awards Chair (Sports Editor, Spring 2022)
Yvonne Tang — Public Relations Chair (Layout & Graphics Editor Fall 2021)
Katrina Liu — Staff Recruitment Chair (Lifestyle Editor, Fall 2021)
Colbi Edmonds — Staff Training Chair (EIC Spring 2021 & Opinion Editor Fall 2020)
Lily Kepner — Staff Development Chair (EIC Fall 2021 & Features Editor Spring 2021)
Sabine Ollivier-Yamin — Standards Chair (Opinion Editor, Fall 2021)
Smaran Ramidi — Web Chair (Layout & Graphics Editor, Spring 2022)
