James Foster, College fourth-year and Politics and Law & Society major, moved through the ranks of the Review over four years: production editor, sports editor, and ultimately, editor-in-chief. Along the way, he helped shape a paper attentive to student voices, responsive during moments of campus and national tension, and willing to approach difficult stories with care and nuance. As a writer and editor, he also expanded coverage involving LGBTQ+ students and athletes, helping broaden the perspectives represented in the paper. His presence in the office was unmistakable: always welcoming, and infectiously joyous. As a dedicated member of the men’s tennis team, James mastered the art of returning impossible shots, on court and in the newsroom.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What has your journey at the Review been like, and how did you end up in your current role?
When I came to Oberlin my freshman year, I knew I was on the tennis team, but I was looking for another extracurricular to do. In September, my favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, retired, and I said, “Well, I kind of want to write something about this.” So I just talked to the Sports editors at the Review and got to write about his retirement and his rivalry with Rafa Nadal. I knew I wanted to get more involved with the Review and actually be in the office, so I became a production editor for a semester before becoming sports editor for two years, which I really loved. And then this year I was editor-in-chief. It was something that kind of became a goal of mine, my sophomore year, but a very lofty goal. It wasn’t something that I was striving for every day, but more like that would be something really fun and cool to get to do in my senior year, and the chips kind of just fell the way they fell, and I had the privilege of doing it for a year.
I’m glad you did. Obviously, you’ve written a lot more since your first article. Are there any specific pieces that stand out?
It was nice that the last article I wrote was about Jannik Sinner, who’s my new favorite tennis player, and all the records he’s breaking this year, which for me was very full circle. Getting to write for News more this year was a blast … Although it wasn’t necessarily fun or pretty, the work we did on the article about Rabbi Shlomo was one that I was really proud of. We were able to put that together in a very short time span and then got to do a follow-up with more information. I think we teamed up to do a really good job on those, so I was proud of that, not just the article itself, but all the work that went into it.
What’s been the most rewarding part of being editor-in-chief?
I think the amount of work that it took to be EIC was incredibly rewarding when you saw the paper that came out every single week. To be in the role of EIC, you need to make sure that you’re putting everyone else before you, including the paper. That was something that we prided ourselves on, knowing that for us, getting a couple of hours of sleep or no sleep was very much worth it if that meant everyone else at the paper could be in a little bit more of a relaxed state. We probably spent at least 30 hours a week on this paper, and not just on the production of it, but all the other things that go into it, and the things that we had the opportunity to do outside of it, like The Collegiate Journalism Network that we started. It felt like a privilege to be one of the two people in that role able to do that kind of work.
Tell me about your craziest Review memory.
The craziest moment was when Charlie Kirk was assassinated three weeks into our tenure as EICs, and there was just a lot of fallout from that situation nationally and locally. I got to hop on a phone call with Peter Baker, who’s the Chief White House correspondent for The New York Times, and just talk to him about the situation, get his advice. In the moment that was so stressful and tenuous, and also wild that it was happening so early on, when we were so very green in the role, [but it] ended up kind of being a blessing. I then got to operate the rest of the year with that knowledge of how we handled that situation, and the mindset of how I want to carry myself and the paper in moments of crisis and moments of ease.
What’s next for you?
Coming into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do post-grad, and I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do for a career, but I know that I want to be involved in journalism in some capacity. The Review has single-handedly spurred and kindled my interest in journalism time and time again. Next year I’ll be moving to New York City and attending Columbia University School of Journalism, and there’s no way that that would have happened without this paper.
As we wrap up, what do you think you’re going to miss most about this place?
The people. I’m really going to miss Layla. Obviously, I think we’ve grown so close this last year, and it’s going to be weird not getting to work with her and see her every day. I hope that we can be coworkers down the line, at some point, I would just love the chance to get to work with her again. I have to shout out Micah Rodriguez, because we were co-editors for Sports for a year, and he’s just always been so wonderful. He’s a delight to have in the office. That’s something that I think the Review has done a great job of cultivating every year. You really do walk into a new group of 30 friends that you didn’t have beforehand, alums, current students, whoever’s coming through next, who I could potentially be a resource to in the future. I just always want to stay connected to the Review and to the people that make it so special.
If your time here had to be a headline, what would it be?
“Graduating Senior Considers Four Years Spent at The Oberlin Review Best Part of Collegiate Experience.”
