About Us

Mission Statement

The Eastern Echo informs the Eastern Michigan University and Ypsilanti community by highlighting newsworthy content in a fair, accurate and timely manner.

About The Echo

First called the Normal News when founded in 1881, The Eastern Echo has served the Eastern Michigan University and Ypsilanti communities as an independent student newspaper for more than 140 years. The Echo distributes weekly printed editions on campus and throughout Ypsilanti during the fall and winter academic semesters; and publishes year-round on the web.

Launched as a monthly newspaper, The Echo grew in circulation and frequency, moving to publishing three times a week for a while beginning in the 1970s. While the print edition was suspended briefly in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the university canceled all in-person activities, the student media team continue to publish through The Echo website. Print editions resumed in the fall of 2021. For a glimpse at the newspaper's history, visit this timeline created on the Knight Lab website: History of The Eastern Echo.

The Eastern Echo and the student media team are focused on taking the news operation into the future with an emphasis on multimedia delivery and good old-fashioned, strong reporting tools. Journalism is changing, but the work journalists produce is as necessary as ever. The team created this video to demonstrate that work and commitment. Echo Staff

Fall 2024 Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief: Ameera Salman, editor@easternecho.com

Managing Editor: Emma Owens, managing@easternecho.com

Copy Chief: Emma Owens, copyeditor@easternecho.com

Sports Editor: Elena Davis, sports@easternecho.com

Podcast Editor: Alex Kreps, podcast@easternecho.com

Arts & Entertainment Editor: Madison Cantrell: photo@easternecho.com

Design Chief: Rylee Curley, design@easternecho.com

Photo Editor: Max Taylor, photo@easternecho.com

Digital Editor: Julez DeShetler, digital@easternecho.com

Copy Editor: Noah Cimaroli, copyeditor@easternecho.com

Business Manager: Aidan Bonney: advertising@easternecho.com

Got a news tip?

Send your news to: news@easternecho.com

Getting Involved

Interested in joining the Echo staff?

Go to the jobs page or contact the managing editor with any questions.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Get all the news, and the weekend events, delivered to your inbox by signing up for The Eastern Echo newsletter. It's as simple as providing your inbox information on our newsletter form.

Need advertising information?

Visit the advertising page for more information, where interested advertisers can fill out an inquiry request. Inquiries can also be made by contacting Business Manager Aidan Bonney at advertising@easternecho.com or Student Media Director Christine Uthoff at advisor@easternecho.com.

The Echo offices in King Hall are always open to members of the Ypsilanti community. Stop by for a chat and see the faces behind the newspaper.

What does independent mean?

Per Eastern Michigan University regents' policy and board practice, The Eastern Echo newspaper and other student-created media in the Department of Student Media operate independently in order to provide editorial freedom for the student editors. The Student Media Board of Directors provides oversight, and the director of Student Media administers the department on behalf of the board. The university and/or university administrators or officials do not dictate, preview, vet or veto content in the student-created media. All Echo employees are required to be at least part-time students at the university. The only full-time staff member is the department director who advises the editors and staff but does not exercise prior restraint on content matters. The director also oversees the day-to-day operations, including advertising sales, and implements department policies and procedures.

Director of Student Media Christine Uthoff can be reached at advisor@easternecho.com or 734-487-1935.

Letters to the editor

The Eastern Echo accepts letters to the editor from our readership community, the university and the Ypsilanti area. Letters must be 300 words or less, and address issues. Letters must be signed, and writers must include their hometown, email and a telephone number. The phone will be used to verify letter, and will not be published. Send letters to editor@easternecho.com

Reader Comments

The Eastern Echo encourages readers to participate in a dialog on the news and information presented on The Echo website by submitting comments. Not all reader comments will be published, and some comments, after publication, will be removed if they are deemed offensive, off-topic, inflammatory or spam by the editors.

Reader comments that will be removed from The Echo site include but are not limited to:

Hate speech or personal attacks
Comments intended to incite violence
Commenter pretending to be someone else
Plagiarized comments or copyright infringement
Spam and advertising

The editors do not pre-screen reader comments. Therefore, some unacceptable comments may appear online briefly until reviewed and removed by an editor.

Readers who feel a comment is unacceptable for any of the reasons stated above are encouraged to click on the “Flag for moderation” link below the comment and alert the editors. Readers are also encouraged to contact the editors directly by email at the addresses listed above.