Meet the editors: News

Who’s smart and great at reading — University documents, that is — like Belle, tired like Aurora and committed enough to go undercover if need be like Mulan? The news desk!
At the news desk, our team of three editors and 20 reporters is always looking to find and tell important, compelling and relevant stories. We break news, cover events, profile cool people and print strongly reported features. Is there something happening at the University you think we should know about? Are we missing something important in a story? Our inbox is always open for tips and feedback at news@pittnews.com.

Rebecca Johnson, News Editor

I’m Rebecca, the news editor and a sophomore microbiology and political science major. I joined The Pitt News last fall to write for the news desk, where I had the opportunity to talk to so many interesting people at Pitt and in Pittsburgh. That’s why my favorite part of journalism — and what I hope the news desk achieves this year — is uncovering and reporting on issues that affect the Pitt community, both big and small.

Ashton Crawley, Assistant News Editor

I’m Ashton, an assistant news editor and junior history and political science major. I served as the editor-in-chief of my high school’s newspaper and joined The Pitt News my sophomore year as a staff writer for the news desk. I love journalism because I get to talk to and learn from amazing people and try to make a difference by bringing light to their stories.

Martha Layne, Assistant News Editor

I’m Martha, an assistant news editor and a junior studying finance and accounting. I joined The Pitt News at the end of my first year as a staff writer for the news desk. My favorite part of journalism is the opportunity to share the personal stories, interesting experiences and fascinating happenings that people have to tell with the Pitt community.