Sophomore Hank Tucker was elected sports editor of The Chronicle’s 113th volume at a department-wide meeting.
Tucker, a Durham native and graduate of Durham Academy, will begin his one-year term April 26 and lead a staff of about 30 writers and editors. He will replace senior Amrith Ramkumar.
“I have been surrounded by Duke athletics for my whole life and am excited to put some of my knowledge to use as sports editor,” Tucker said. “I can’t wait to see what our great staff has in store next year for our coverage of all of Duke’s varsity sports.”
Tucker is currently the editor of The Blue Zone, The Chronicle’s sports blog, and also serves as a men’s basketball beat writer. He was previously a beat writer for women’s basketball, baseball and volleyball.
In his platform and speech, Tucker stressed the need to go beyond typical previews and game stories and diversify content, publishing more features and analytical pieces for Duke’s sports teams. He also suggested expanding The Chronicle’s multimedia presence, integrating more video breakdowns and graphics into game stories as the newspaper continues to become a digitally-focused organization.
“Hank has been a hard worker and dedicated member of our staff for the last two years, and I have enjoyed watching him become a quiet leader for our young writers this year,” Ramkumar said. “He has a clear vision for the future of the sports department and will help lead The Chronicle further into the digital media world.”
Tucker is pursuing a math major with a statistics minor and the policy journalism and media studies certificate before potentially going into journalism after his graduation in 2019. He will be the first junior to serve as sports editor since the 2014-15 academic year.
"Hank has tremendous ability as a journalist and that, combined with his extensive knowledge of Duke sports, makes him an excellent choice to be our next sports editor," said senior Brian Pollack, sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 111th volume. "I have no doubt that he will continue the progress the department has made in the last few years."
Tucker covered the Blue Devil baseball team’s late-season surge to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 55 years extensively last spring and noted that the opportunities he had as a freshman encouraged him to strengthen his commitment to The Chronicle this year.
“The Chronicle has taken me places I never could have imagined, from the field at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to press row at Cameron Indoor Stadium and several other ACC basketball arenas,” Tucker said. “I’m hopeful that our staff can experience the same thrills of sports journalism next year that I have felt since I arrived at Duke.”
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