PHOTO: Genevieve Morrison has been named Newton editor of The Heights. Courtesy Photo
The editorial board at The Heights—an independent student-run newspaper at Boston College—has named Genevieve Morrison as its next Newton editor.
Morrison has had a lot of practice. She’s served on The Heights staff as an associate news editor last school year and, this summer, she was an intern for The Newton Beacon.
Now, she’s running the whole Newton section at The Heights, and she’s proud that the board elected her to do it.
“I think it reflects the hard work I put in over the past year covering issues like the teachers’ strike, zoning reform, hate incidents and more,” Morrison said. “I truly love covering Newton for The Heights, so I’m excited to continue to do that with a little more responsibility.”
Indeed, Morrison has had a lot of big things to cover in Newton. From the village center rezoning battle to the teachers’ strike and a shooting, Newton has kept journalists busy.
What’s next for The Heights when it comes to Newton coverage?
“This year, I want the Newton section to take on more long-form, enterprise stories,” Morrison said. “I also want to work more closely with The Beacon to better platform Heights writers and expand our readership to more Newton residents. Our two organizations have a lot to offer each other, so I’m excited to see how we can build upon the relationship we already have. We have a great staff for the Newton section this year, so I’m excited to see what we can accomplish.”
Morrison grew up in Wayland and served as editor-in-chief of the Wayland Student Press Network before heading to Boston College.
The Heights was established in 1919 and was originally funded by Boston College. But in 1967, that changed when the newspaper’s editors decided to sponsor a visit and lecture by birth control activist William Baird. College administrators refused to allow it, with Boston College’s Jesuit roots and with birth control being controversial at the time. The editors went ahead and welcomed Baird to campus anyway, and that started an uneasiness between the college and the newspaper that led the college to cut funding for the newspaper completely.
Today, The Heights enjoys complete editorial independence and has a 48-member editorial board consisting of editors and other professionals who run the newspaper’s operations. The newspaper won ACP Peacemaker Awards in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for its print edition and in 2015 for its digital edition.