Spencer Hunt, advisor for the school’s award-winning newspaper The Lantern, came to Ohio State after working as a reporter for 27 years, including 10 years as the environment beat reporter at The Columbus Dispatch. He also worked as a social media consultant for Mindset Digital before stepping into his role as a journalism lecturer in July 2015.
The Lantern, which has been a central part of the university since 1881, regularly produces online content, publishes an online paper once a week, prints 7,000 editions and receives 3.5 million online views a year on average. The Ohio News Media Association recently named The Lantern the best collegiate newspaper.
“The Lantern helps people know what’s going on — any significant event on campus,” Hunt said. “It is the main way students receive news happening at Ohio State.”
Hunt oversees the entire student news organization, which includes the web, print edition and video production. The Lantern also runs social media accounts across many platforms. The publication is a unique opportunity Hunt says gives students real-life work experience.
“We are an independent journalistic enterprise, or what my students refer to as the students’ voice,” Hunt said. “Our role is to tell the truth.”
Lantern reporters cover major news alongside local and national news outlets. Major stories this year included “Truths untold: Testimonies from the men who survived Richard Strauss” and “People of Ohio State.”
Hunt says the unique thing about The Lantern is that it is an open journalism laboratory, which means not just journalism majors can partake. Anyone is welcome to be a part of The Lantern team, and there are many benefits to being a part of an award-winning digital news outlet.
“If you’re interested in growing your career, it can definitely help with that,” Hunt said. “But it also offers an opportunity to tell important stories.”
Hunt’s philosophy as an educator is “teaching through doing.” He believes students learn best through practical, hands-on experience.
“I show people how to do something, and then I wait to see how they get better at it,” he said. “If you’re in The Lantern class, you have to write 14 stories. I talk about how to help you with reporting and writing, but when I get a story in, I don’t just give it a grade. I give it feedback.”
During his six years at Ohio State, Hunt has seen many students go off and achieve their dreams.
“I’m proud of the students that are able to go on and advance their careers,” he said. “We’ve been able to help a lot of students achieve their goals. So whenever someone achieves a goal that they have in journalism, yeah, I’m pretty proud of that.”
Article by Student Alexa Abramovitch.
