Last week, the Minnesota Daily’s Board of Directors selected the organization’s top leaders for next year, with Dylan Miettinen as editor-in-chief and Tiffany Welty as business operations officer.
This follows an in-depth application process and online town hall, where the applicants presented their future plans for the Minnesota Daily. Miettinen and Welty will take on their new leadership roles in early May.
“Dylan thinks holistically about the Minnesota Daily, how all the parts of [the] organization fit together, and has bold new initiatives to drive the Daily forward,” said board Chair Rance Rand. “Tiffany has a strong sales background and will bring an innovative approach to the business operations.”
Rand said in a statement that he also hopes the leaders will be able to further instill resilience at the Minnesota Daily that has been “at the Daily’s core for 120 years.”
Editor-in-chief
Dylan Miettinen is a junior triple majoring in journalism, English and sociology of law, criminology and deviance. He applied to the Daily as an intern in October 2018. Due to quick turnover, he was quickly promoted to a staff reporter, where he covered general assignment.
In spring 2018, he covered University of Minnesota student government, before moving on to covering student issues.
In summer 2019, Miettinen was hired as a reporting intern on the national desk at CNN in Atlanta. He returned to the Daily to work as a features reporter, where he said though covering breaking news in a fast-paced environment was interesting, he missed covering communities.
Miettinen said his hopes for the Daily include increasing the “digital-first” approach, which would allow for more flexibility and innovation in storytelling. Miettinen also hopes to centralize the Daily’s archives and promote events like workshops and other learning opportunities for reporters on staff.
Miettinen will work alongside Tiffany Bui, who he selected as managing editor.
“The future is really unstable and really uncertain,” Miettinen said, speaking to the COVID-19 pandemic. “In one sense, it can be a bit scary, but I also think we have a great opportunity to learn and grow as an organization.”
Business operations officer
Junior Tiffany Welty is majoring in strategic communications with a focus in advertising. She’s held multiple positions in the organization since spring 2019. She originally applied for a marketing intern position, but was immediately interviewed for a paid position as an account executive.
From there, Welty said she improved her leadership skills as the Daily’s sales manager, which is the position she currently holds.
Welty said that transparency is just as important on the business side as it is the editorial, and emphasized a consultative approach to selling and being open with clients about what the organization is providing them.
Welty also said she hopes to generate new revenue in new ways, by transitioning to a “digital-first” attitude and creating new targeting strategies for advertising.
Welty said she’s excited to work with a team of people she really loves in order to implement these things.
Current Editor-in-Chief Cleo Krejci said she’s excited for next year’s leadership and is confident in the direction both will take the organization.
“It will be a tough year with COVID-19, but they are resilient, passionate and creative leaders who will help the Daily through tough times,” Krejci said.
