Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Commencement 2025 that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
Graduating senior Ryan Fairfield began writing for the Arts and Pop Culture section of the Daily the second semester of his first year. A double major in film and media studies and political science with a minor in English, Fairfield said he chose to join because he realized he missed writing.
Over winter break, he pitched his first idea for an article about the Netflix docuseries “Cheer” (2020–22). He partially credited former executive arts editor Maeve Hagerty (LA’24) for his choice to continue with the Daily, saying she was “so nice and so willing to help out. She made it really easy to join.”
Although new to the Daily, Fairfield was not a new writer. He served as the editor-in-chief for his high school newspaper, where he also wrote about the arts. He compared his writing between high school and college. “I think coming to college, I was able to shift more, write a little bit more interesting, more niche articles,” Fairfield said. “Art features … and art news, rather than just reviews.”
Fairfield has written two columns for the Daily in addition to standalone articles. Both columns focus on fashion, a subject that interests Fairfield. Fairfield was also inspired to write about fashion because he thought there was a lack of coverage on the subject. “I felt like we didn’t have a lot of fashion content in the Daily section,” Fairfield said. “I kind of want to bring a more consistent discussion of fashion.”
His first column, “Looking Through the Met,” in which he analyzed past Met Galas, presented unique challenges. “When you don’t have the copyright, you really have to rely on the ability to explain what something looks like when you can’t show a photo of it,” Fairfield said.
His more recent, and favorite, column, “Confessions of a College Shopaholic,” was inspired by the film “Confessions of a Shopaholic” (2009). “I love to give advice,” Fairfield said. “It’s a little bit of an advice column, a little bit of me yapping about things, like good decisions I’ve made when it comes to fashion, bad decisions I’ve made when it comes to fashion.”
Fairfield has a different writing process for columns and articles. While for columns, he kept a running list of ideas in his phone, he typically thought of article ideas on the spot. Fairfield praised his executive arts editors for their support, saying, “I’ve never had an article where they’ve been like, you can’t do that.”
Fairfield mentioned an idea for another column he was never able to write. It would have been titled “Drinking with the Stars.” “Legally, I don’t know if I could have done this, but it would be trying all the celebrity alcohols or celebrity drinks,” he said.
In addition to his personal articles and columns, Fairfield wrote articles in partnership with other writers. “The Arts section can feel a little secluded,” he said, noting that collaboration reminds you that “these are real people, and they’re really fun to get to know.” He gave the example of the article “Pop culture moments in 2022 that altered our brain chemistry,” which he wrote with graduating senior Odessa Gaines, the current executive arts editor, and former staff writer RaiAnn Bu (LA’24). “I think it was just really fun because we all loved pop culture, but we all had different niches,” Fairfield said. “It’s nice to see people’s different styles and their approaches when it comes to writing about arts.”
In retrospect, Fairfield named two articles of which he was particularly proud. The first was an article based on a podcast episode in which influencer Emma Chamberlain explained why she left YouTube. “For a couple months, if you Googled Emma Chamberlain, and you went to the ‘News’ section, it was one of the first things that would pop up and that felt really legit to me,” Fairfield said. The piece was one of the most viewed Arts articles of that semester. “That just gave me the little confidence that, oh, people actually care what I’m saying,” he said. He added that he was also proud of an article in which he successfully predicted the winner of the fall 2022 season of “The Masked Singer,” Amber Riley, because he recognized her voice from “Glee” (2009–15).
When not writing for the Daily, Fairfield worked as a communications assistant for Tufts Student Life and served as the social media coordinator for Tufts Dining. He described the experience as “a different form of journalism … you never know how much of an impact or how helpful what you said to someone is.”
Although uncertain of his post-grad plans, Fairfield said, “I’d love to continue in social media, ideally, or even journalism. I always joke that the dream is to work for Vogue, and it’s half a joke, half not a joke. … I’m drawn to creativity and outlets that allow me to be creative.”
