By Paul Ruffins
Streetcar Suburbs Publishing is pleased to welcome Sharon O’Malley as managing editor of College Park Here&Now. She comes on board this month and the March issue will mark her debut.
“Our goal is to provide high-quality community journalism and give our neighbors local news they can trust,” said Streetcar Executive Director Kit Slack. “The editor is the bridge between the writers and the readers, and we picked Sharon because she’s an unusually perfect fit for College Park.”
O’Malley started her career as a reporter for the Maryland Independent and the Prince George’s Journal, and she’s written for numerous publications, including Inside Higher Education and Congressional Quarterly. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism along with a graduate certificate in multimedia journalism, from the University of Maryland, where she joined the faculty as an adjunct and taught writing and reporting. She is currently an assistant professor of journalism and communications at Anne Arundel Community College and is the faculty adviser to its award-winning student newspaper, Campus Current.
Stephanie Stullich, longtime city resident and president of Streetcar Suburbs Publishing said, “Sharon has lived in College Park for over 20 years and has been active in the community. She brings a deep knowledge of local politics and priorities because she was a leader in her civic association and has organized candidate debates.”
“Coming to College Park Here&Now brings me full circle in my career,” O’Malley declared. “When I was an undergraduate studying journalism at Maryland, one of my favorite classes put out a newspaper called the Citizen Call. It came out twice a month, and it was dedicated to covering news and events going on in the city rather than the campus. Now that I’m a full-time professor, I’m grateful that I’m getting to participate in community journalism again, and I’m particularly happy to be working with so many students from the university who write for us.”
“We’re thrilled to have been able to fill the job with such a highly qualified professional who also has deep local roots.” Stullich said. “That’s not an easy thing to find.”
