Do you read any websites that only update once a week? How about one that takes a three week break with school vacations? Well if you read our website then you do.
The Free Press has improved the last couple semesters, but our online effort is still lacking. We’ve struggled with it in the past. For instance, last week we should have had a story of the student government election results the day they were released. Instead, we took days to write a story after news happened.
A college journalism conference in New York City and a blog post from the previous executive editor helped jolt us into the reality that news in 2011 is delivered much differently than it was in the early days of The Free Press.
Gone are the days of publishing all our stories Sunday night after finishing the print edition. If we hear about news, we’ll quickly report on it and publish a story online as soon as possible.
For the sports sections, we’ll focus on feature stories for print instead of publishing week-old game stories. We’ll still have scores of the games or short recaps, but if you want to read our game coverage, then check out our website the day after the game.
Arts and entertainment reviews will published on the A&E section of the website throughout the week. Most feature stories will be published Sunday night online.
We’re also making the print edition more graphic heavy and user friendly. You usually have to squint to see if a new paper is in one the boxes. We’re changing that with larger photos and graphics. The A&E section also has a new look that the editor hopes you’ll like as much as he does.
If you want the most up-to-date news at USM, then go to our website, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. The physical paper will still have news stories, but some will be broken online days before you get your hands the paper product. The Web is a two-way connection. You can use Twitter, Facebook and online comments to give us story tips and feedback.
As student journalists, we should be at the forefront of innovation in the newsroom, not trailing apathetically. No one — especially college students — want to wait for information. With Facebook, Twitter, smartphones and more, we’ve come to expect immediate news. News doesn’t wait and neither should we. It’s vital The Free Press be a perpetual news organization, not a weekly operation.
Let us know what you think:
Tweet at us with #FreePressRevamp
Post on our Facebook wall
Email [email protected]
I like the new format and be able to get news right off. Thanks, Free Press