Abby Ann Ramsey selected as 2023-2024 Editor-in-Chief

ELI BOLDT Contributor

was influential to her writing skills and was an inspiration for her to pursue writing in college.

Daniel Dassow, The Daily Beacon’s current Editor-in-Chief, described Ramsey as one of the bright spots of UT’s journalism department.

“She was the kind of staff writer that you sort of dream about when you’re section editor, not only because her stories require very little editing, but also because she had excellent news judgment,” Dassow said.

Dassow recalled when protests over masks began happening, Ramsey went to a rally downtown and walked up to “angry antimaskers” to interview them. There is no one, Dassow said, that he would want to leave The Daily Beacon leadership to more than Ramsey.

“I’m really excited to see what she does with the paper, I think she has a lot of creative energy,” Dassow said.

Ramsey is in a unique position going from Managing Editor to Editor-in-Chief, a transition that does not often happen. She is stepping into a role that, while no less demanding than Managing Editor, is what Dassow described as more public-facing and creative. Ramsey already has a year of leadership experience at The Daily Beacon that she can build upon for the coming year.

As Managing Editor, Ramsey has relearned her love and commitment to The Daily Beacon.

Her current position has taught her how to develop professional relationships with her peers and to learn interpersonal skills, as well as how to lead in a graceful and loving way.

“I really like leading people, I really like teamwork. And even though I’m not directly editing those articles and coming up with those story ideas, I get to manage the people who are and get to form those relationships inside the office,” Ramsey said.

Outside of The Daily Beacon, Ramsey spends time doing improv with Involuntary Sports Party, walking her dog and watching movies. This summer she plans to intern with Canopy Atlanta, a non-profit news organization that focuses on local journalism in the Atlanta communities.

Ramsey will lead The Daily Beacon alongside Bella Hughes — who was selected to be next year’s Managing Editor — and she is looking forward to the growth that will continue under her and Hughes’ supervision. She is going into the next year with the goals of increasing The Daily Beacon’s transparency and visibility.

“We want students to know that we’re here ... we’re covering the issues that you care about. And we’re trying to tell the stories of students on campus and in the city,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey will begin her year as Editor-inChief on May 10.

Abby Ann Ramsey, who has worked as a Staff Writer and Managing Editor for The Daily Beacon, was selected by the Student Media Board, a group of faculty, alumni and current students who interview applicants for student media leadership positions, to be next year’s Editor-in-Chief.

Ramsey, a junior at the University of Tennessee studying journalism and electronic media and religious studies, started working at The Daily Beacon her freshman year as a contributor. She then became a staff writer before applying to be Managing Editor at the end of spring semester 2022.

Ramsey recalled the difficulty of her freshman year, when the campus was dealing with COVID-19. The lack of motivation and feelings of uninvolvement affected her at the time. It was not until she was able to be in The Daily Beacon’s newsroom, at the first meeting of her sophomore year, that her excitement was rekindled.

“It was the first time people had been meeting in the office in a long time and there were a lot of people there. And I got really excited about the story ideas, and I feel like it reignited what I knew I wanted to do,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey knew from a young age that she wanted to write, what she described as “the classic English kid story” of loving and excelling in her English classes more than at the other areas of school. Her high school English teacher and newspaper advisor, Tim Vacek,