I’m Sacha DeVroomen Bellman and I will be the Oxford Observer’s new editor. I will be leading this laboratory newspaper for this academic year providing news for the community and providing experience for journalism students at Miami.

This is not my first stint working with the Oxford Observer.

I worked on the Oxford Observer for several years as its design and web editor. My classes at Miami did the copy editing and designing of the website. This semester, I am stepping up as the editor of the Oxford Observer.

I have lots of experience as an editor for community newspapers. I worked as a news editor for Community Press in Cincinnati as well as a reporter, designer and copy editor for both The Kentucky Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer.

I’ve been a journalism instructor at Miami for 22 years teaching news writing, feature writing, copy editing, magazine journalism and multimedia journalism. I also have a passion for photography and design.

I’d like to continue the legacy of previous editors. This is what the inaugural editor of OO, David Wells, said when the news site started in 2018: “A newspaper is a mirror to the face of the community, reflecting the joys, the sadness, the successes and the failures for all to see.”

I also believe in what the Oxford Observer can do for your community. I helped come up with the name (I love alliteration) and design for the current website. I hope to move us forward by adding more multimedia elements to the news site.

So, here I am —  ready to work with 13 students this fall to provide you all with stories about your community, your schools, your city and county.

I’m excited to be part of the Oxford Observer this year. Newspapers are vital to the community to share information about what’s going on and the issues that are important to you.

I’d also like more community input through letters to the editor and guest columns. So reach out and let me know what you’d like to see in your community newspaper. Send me your news and press releases. And please be welcoming to my student reporters as they discover the community and tell your stories.

You can contact me at [email protected] or call me at 513-259-2754 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.