Hi, I’m the New Guy

Hi, I’m the New Guy

Hello Free Weekly readers, my name is Nick Brothers, and I’m your new editor.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m pretty damn excited about what’s to come with this position. The Free Weekly is a great publication, and I hope to continue and improve on what the previous editors have done before me. Monday was my first day, and I’ll be kicking it into high gear in the next issue.

Here’s a little about me. I’m a Northwest Arkansas local. I grew up in Rogers, and I live in Fayetteville. I’m now a fresh college graduate from the University of Arkansas, with a bachelor’s degree in English/Journalism. Go Hogs! I was the previous editor-in-chief for the student paper there, The Arkansas Traveler. I specialized in print journalism and creative writing, and I hope to employ some of the techniques I learned from my time in school to the stories I’ll be writing here at the Freekly. It should be fun.

I love great long-form journalism and the style of narrative it pulls off. I’m still getting settled in with the new position, but I hope to get some great pieces going here soon. I have a passion for writing and writing about people, and if you’ll give me a pass for a cheesy phrase, I want to chronicle the human experience as a journalist. Everyone has a story – it’s just a matter of telling it the right way, in a fair and balanced manner.

I think Fayetteville and the Northwest Arkansas region is a fantastic place to be. We’re in the Midsouth, but we’re a hotbed of culture and opportunity. My favorite thing about living here is what’s known as the Fayetteville vibe. There is a wonderful outdoorsy, chill attitude to the town and the people couldn’t be nicer. There’s an arts scene that has developed tremendously, awesome local food, lovely trails and rolling hills, and a very inspiring entrepreneurial spirit that has brought about several success stories. It’s a great place to raise a family, too. I just think that’s all so cool. So take it from me, I’m very interested in the rich culture of the area, and I am looking forward to investing into it and sharing the stories I find along the way.

Beyond writing, I’m a huge music fan. I play guitar and the violin, and I have a growing vinyl record collection. Music is one of the purest forms of expression, and it has an ability to really affect those who listen. I write music in my spare time and I try to play at least once a day. I’m especially looking forward to talking with some of the artists and bands in the area and telling their stories. I love rock, funk/soul, folk, alternative and classical music. Some of my favorite bands are My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Alabama Shakes and Alt-J. I could go on for hours about music, so I’ll move on.

My other hobby is photography, and I plan on taking a lot of photos for the Freekly, too. When framed and set up properly, I like to think of photography as instant art. I also like hiking, comedy and improv acting, movies, craft beer and video games.

I think the Free Weekly’s capabilities as a paper are super cool. It’s first and foremost a free community newspaper that focuses on alternative news. I believe in that purpose, and I want to make this paper successful in covering what this readership cares about.

I also want to encourage you to contribute to the paper if you’d be inclined to do so. I’ll be writing most of the content, but I want this paper to embody the community and provide an avenue for writers to be published. So if you have some story ideas for the Freekly, I’m all ears. Send me an email at nbrothers@nwaonline.com.

Thanks for reading. Here’s to new beginnings.

I’ll see you around.

Categories: Commentary