KATIE GOODRICH | PRINT MANAGING EDITOR
The Butler Collegian reverted back to its roots over summer break by going monthly. More than 125 years ago, the Collegian published a 20-page issue once a month.
Now, our student newspaper will shift away from a print product and toward its website and social media accounts.
As an organization, we proudly embraced a digital-first mindset and a new logo.
This transition is increasingly common in the journalism world, especially at the collegiate level. The University of Georgia’s Red and Black went from daily to weekly, and the University of Oregon’s Daily Emerald went from daily to digital with a magazine supplement.
This technologically-driven change in approach will be beneficial for the readers and the staff.
As college students ourselves, we know where our audience is: online. Our increased social media presence and web activity will make us more accessible to our peers.
Seven in 10 adults under age 30 said they found their news through social media like Twitter and Facebook in the last week, according to an 2014 American Press Institute survey.
For our readers, we will be more attainable. You can keep up to date without leaving your bed. Your phone or laptop is all you need to get up to speed with campus events.
Without a Tuesday night deadline hovering over our heads, our staff can post stories as they happen. We can post game recaps shortly after the final buzzer, and show reviews a few hours after the curtain call.
News happens every day, and now we have the freedom to publish all of it, every second.
The Internet also lends us its vast storage space. Our stories no longer need to fit onto 12 pages. We can try to fill the world wide web with all the stories that need to be told on our campus by covering more events and building a larger presence on campus. We want to be able to tell more stories about the Bulldogs we pass each day in the hallway.
For our staff, we will be more prepared for life in the real world. Journalists in newsrooms across the country rely on social media to share their work. Editors tell their reporters to tweet more often, and we in turn follow those reporters.
We will also gain experience in different multimedia realms, such as embedding tweets into stories, making news packages that complement the print article and creating an audio experience while reading a story. These technologies are tools we need in our professional arsenal that add to the reader’s overall experience.
You will sit behind Dawg Pound and hear every cheer, gasp and sigh. You will see familiar faces, professors and friends then represented in stories all year long.
The Collegian staff is ready to jump into this new year and continue to bring you the news in new ways. We want to keep you informed and interested in Butler news.
We hope to run into you on the interwebs someday soon.
