Articles about the 10 commandments of sending an email or drunk girls eating noodles from their purses (our Friday night alter egos) that we click through on Elite Daily may now have Emerson student bylines. 

 

The college will be the newest of the site’s campus chapters. 

 

The online news site Elite Daily, established in 2012, offers schools the opportunity to run programs in the site’s name with their own nominated staff and writers.

 

Elite Daily, which describes itself as “The Voice for Generation-Y,” publishes content on a variety of topics, ranging from hard news to relationship advice in the form of personal essays or factual articles, said Emerson senior Jamie Kravitz, a senior writing, literature, and publishing major. She said she would compare it to other popular, topical online sites such as Refinery29.

 

Kravitz will be serving as president of the chapter. She said she was originally surprised to discover that the school didn’t have one, considering its emphasis on writing and online media. 

 

Kravitz said she found a posting on the Emerson Mafia Facebook group from an alum this summer looking for people to get involved and she thought she would be a good fit, especially with her experience as president of Emerson’s HerCampus chapter, which is a similar news site.

 

Over the summer, Kravitz applied directly through the Elite Daily website and landed the job. The other board members followed the same process. 

 

Camila Zagarzazú, a senior journalism major and vice president of the group, applied after shadowing at Elite Daily last semester on a trip with Emerson’s Career Services. 

 

Zagarzazú said she was impressed by what the company provided not only for writing opportunities but also for producing video content and event coverage. She said she hopes to work with them in the future, and that this is a great way to get her foot in the door. 

 

With a similar aspiration, Antonia DePace, a senior journalism major, came across the Facebook page over the summer when she was looking for something to fill her fall schedule.

 

DePace was instantly impressed with the program, and specifically with the professionalism of the feedback, she said. 

 

The editing process for articles on Elite Daily is more intense than the campus publications DePace has worked for, she said. Writers pitch stories to the editorial board and an Elite Daily professional, and if their idea gets the green light, they send in their first draft. Then, Elite Daily reevaluates the pitch and decides if the writer gets to continue on with the story. 

 

Kravitz said that at sites like HerCampus, which don’t have as demanding of an editing process, she was able to publish more pieces, but Elite Daily has a higher level of quality in its content. 

 

Kravitz said that this program is a great opportunity for college students who are looking for writing experience and to get their work published online. Elite Daily not only gives their writers a platform to write and produce pieces, but staffers will also edit their work and provide them with professional feedback.

 

“I think it’s cool because everyone who is a writer is considered an [Elite Daily] contributor,” Kravitz said. “They are becoming a network of writers for Elite Daily. It will help them maybe get a job in the future.”

 

Kravitz said writers will apply by sending along writing samples. 

 

“I want the writers to pitch their awesome ideas,” Kravitz said. “I’m sure they will inspire me.”

 

Zagarzazú said she’s also looking forward to the freedom the site offers over more traditional news sources.

 

“Most news can’t have bias and you can never use ‘I,’ but Elite Daily does give you those freedoms,” Zagarzazú said. “You can make it satirical. You don’t need to take yourself too seriously. You can put some of your personal spin on it. It will be cool to be able to explore what I’ve been told not to do [in classes].” 

 

This program will only run for one semester, as Elite Daily will be transforming its campus chapters into an unpaid internship program next semester. This shouldn’t deter writers from coming out, they can still get great experience and clips, DePace said.