Campus Newspaper Editor Gives Insight to the Nature of Their Passion

UNI’s very own newspaper, The Northern Iowan, is a weekly issue of current events,
community engagements and announcements, and a resource for anyone interested in staying
informed about the University of Northern Iowa and Cedar Falls. However, what most students
might not know is the diligent staff that works behind the scenes in delivering high quality
journalistic pieces that accomplish the mission of informing and entertaining. One crucial
member is Sophie Hoffmeier, the executive managing editor at the Northern Iowan. Coming
from Polk City, Iowa, her journalistic prowess emerged during her junior year of high school at
the North Polk district. Throughout the end of high school and leading into higher education at
UNI, Sophie has defined herself as an outstanding team member for both her high school and
university campus newspaper. The structured interview explores how Sophie got to where she is
today, illustrating her history in the realm of journalism, what inspires her, personal pieces, her
work ethic and process, and what is next in store for her on the journey of informative literature.
Through the discussion in the video interview and this subsequent written reflection, one
can be informed on how Sophie greatly influences the Northern Iowan, as well as her ongoing 4
year journey working in the journalistic field. Knowing this, it is apparent the kind of reputation
and credibility she carries, with having several years of experience to reinforce it.
I first asked Sophie about when she was first introduced to journalism and what she
enjoys most about the process. She detailed that during her junior year of 2020, she participated
in North Polk’s online newspaper called The Orbit, which served as a virtual news source for
students, parents, and faculty of the district during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Her specific
profession was being a news editor to start, though she states that “We use that term broadly,
because we didn’t just kick off the website, I also helped design it and curate the content that was
to put on there for the public.” At the current time, there were only 3-5 people on staff at the
Orbit, but Sophie and her small team were determined to deliver quality news to the district
community of North Polk. She further reiterates that “It was a great way to bring the community
together via the website, and was a really unique experience.” Having that accessibility for
students, faculty, staff, and alumni was an incredibly valuable asset to have, especially in such a
growing district and at the time, a difficult communication environment.
When asked about any specific inspiration or role models that she had, Sophie explained
that it was two of her previous high school English teachers, who taught the introductory
journalism courses at the district. Mrs. Trier and Mrs. Stubbs at the North Polk High School
aided Sophie’s journalistic growth in allowing her to “go with the flow” and “showing me
important and varying aspects of journalism” that still to this day are applicable to her profession
at the Northern Iowan. Often many journalists have favorite authors or reporters that have aided
them in one way or another to improve their own writing, which is evident by Hoffmeier’s
sentiment.
One of the more layered questions I asked Sophie was if there was any moment in which
journalism really “clicked” for her; as in, a moment where she realized that she definitely wanted
to do more of this in the future. She replied that “I think it was my first semester of senior year in
high school. We didn’t have a very big staff, and I was one of the only people working with the
website and pulling all the strings I could to grab people into the program. I really loved the
sense of community it brought within the high school and the office of writers and journalists.”
She then details that she had the opportunity to interview and connect with prominent alumni of
the district, from recent graduates all the way back to adults who attended more than 30 years
ago. “It was really interesting to branch out and talk about all these different people who are still
part of the district community,” Hoffmeier said. She recognized the influence and impact that
grounded stories can have on a local community, and emphasized her enthusiasm to tell those
stories to a broader audience.
Gravitating towards her current profession at the Northern Iowan, I asked about what a
typical workday in the office is like for her. Sophie explained that each Monday night, the
editorial staff comes in for a meeting regarding the formatting of the upcoming issue, including
the layout, proper dates, and adding documents to their dedicated server, to list a few.
Additionally, they gather on Tuesdays to finalize any editing on the pages. Hoffmeier’s specific
hours range from 3-4 during that day, either between or after her courses to work on the paper.
Her current responsibilities include editing and formatting the Spanish page of the issues,
working alongside the Spanish editor Karina Ortiz. Sophie also works on the crossword and
sudoku page of the paper, and draws from a rotation of puzzles throughout the year to keep
things varied and interesting. Aside from that, she primarily designs and formats the Northern
Iowan website, providing intuitive graphics and providing the digital newsletter that summarizes
the print issue of the week. “It’s not just like a one and done thing, it’s like a whole weekly
process,” she says. To Hoffmeier, getting this information to the Cedar Valley and Panther
community is incredibly important, and to bring all of the topics they are publishing to light is
crucial in giving stories a pedestal to be seen.
The most challenging part of her profession, she answered, was “We have to turn in our
paper by 6:30pm on Tuesdays, every week. Layout night is what we call it. The editorial staff
receive all their stories and are formatting it for the print issue.” Hoffmeier then goes on to say
that “It’s a little bit stressful, but I think what really helps us meet that deadline is
communication. Nobody is really off doing their own thing, we’re constantly talking through the
room and bouncing ideas around each other to see what works.” She further explains that they
always try to make the design and layout the best it can be; even with too much or not enough
content to divulge onto the print issue, proper communication is crucial in how the editorial staff
gets the most important events and information onto the page where it really matters. Overall, it
is a huge collaborative effort to get this news out to the public in varying news formats.
Sophie was given a unique opportunity, she said, when I asked about any personal articles
that she has produced. She has more than enough to say about a feature that she wrote for the
Northern Iowan personally, which was about the small yarn business named Triple Thread, based
in Cedar Falls. Being a progressive and queer-owned business, the team there creates numerous
hand-crafted products, quilting, sewing, and crocheting works for the public. She emphasized
that “I strongly believe in LGBTQ rights and so I really wanted to highlight that in writing about
this small business—It was really important to me that this story got out there and I really had a
passion for highlighting this.” For Hoffmeier, she says that this was a great opportunity to not
only feel more confident in her writing as a journalist, but also to advocate for something that she
strongly believes in, and to empower their voices. When asked about the profiling and interview
process, she asserted her preference for a sit-down style, in-person interview, as she felt it was
nice to “just sit down and get to know the people you’re going to interview, and just have a
casual conversation beforehand and during the process.”
Surprisingly enough, Hoffmeier’s interest in literature and journalism did not influence
her academic career. In her current educational path, she is double majoring in Religion and
English, and already has earned her minor in Creative Writing. The influencing factor that
actually prompted her back into journalism was a recommendation for a copy-editor position
from one of her professors, Dr. Christopher Martin. From there, the rest was history, and that was
the push Sophie needed to end up at the Northern Iowan, eventually working her way up from
copy-editor to managing editor. She says “That’s just the beauty of it. It’s something I really love
doing; I think of it more as a hobby and yet I’m super passionate about it and take it seriously,
and I love what I do for this community.”
As a final parting question, I asked Sophie what the most important lesson/advice she has
learned from her growth as a journalist and managing editor. She replied that “Communication
and personability are key in this profession. I think it’s really important to have those skills, and
especially in the vast digital world, it’s important how you come across and present yourself to
others. It’s really important to be personable and open to new ideas.” She closes off the answer
by referring to a sentiment she learned from a journalism conference, one that she has attended
every year since joining the Northern Iowan team. “America needs journalists now more than
ever.” She emphasizes that journalism is not only important in America, but all around the world.
Collectively as an industry, it is crucial that important information and stories are shared to create
legacies and tear down societal barriers that would otherwise inhibit the sharing of information.
“It’s imperative to be informed,” Hoffmeier says, further highlighting the importance of student
journalism as well, and how empowering it can be for the community and the writer involved.