It seems anytime a group of journalists gather, conversation always turns toward the newspaper industry’s impending doom. As a student looking to land a job in the newspaper business, that’s not good news.
With the advent of blogs and the ever-changing Internet atmosphere, the need for newspapers is dwindling.
The Internet makes news more searchable and selectable, not to mention flashy with all its video and audio capabilities. And now it’s immediate, with the ability to post news stories as they develop.
At the Daily, we strive to do all of these things to keep pace with other local media.
If you’re reading these words while holding them, you’re likely thinking of The Minnesota Daily as a newspaper.
But we’re much more than that. For several years we’ve been trying to harness the Internet to help us become a news outlet for students, faculty and community members.
This year, we’ve begun using MNDaily.com to offer fresh news content throughout the day. If you visit the Web site after about 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, you can get a glimpse at the stories we’ll be covering in the next day’s paper. Briefs of a few of the main news stories can be found at the top of the homepage.
Whenever breaking news happens, you can also find it at MNDaily.com.
During last week’s bomb threat, within 15 minutes of the University’s text notification, we had details on the Web site that would tell you more information, including what building was being evacuated and if classes would be canceled for the whole day.
And besides breaking news, if you miss the weekend sports games, you can catch the details after the game at the top of the Web site.
Another new aspect of the Internet that can either frighten or excite journalists is blogs.
At the Daily, the sports and A&E departments have been blogging for almost a year. Last month we added one more blog, called Speak Up. It’s a place for
University leaders to communicate with the community. The bloggers pose questions to readers and we want you to answer.
News isn’t just about feeding readers and viewers information anymore. It’s about being interactive. The blogs and the comments sections of stories give you the chance to share your thoughts.
One of the goals of the Daily is to be a forum for the communication and exchange of ideas for the University community.
You can share your thoughts any number of ways: write a letter to the editor, post a comment on a news story, add a comment to a blog or, if you’re a student group leader, become a blogger on Speak Up.
At the Daily, we’re both students and journalists. We recognize what our audience wants, but at the same time, we recognize the importance of being an informed citizen.
And that’s the very reason why newspaper journalists cling to the future of newspapers but try to find ways to become a regular part of our generation’s lives.
Emily Banks is the editor in chief at the Daily. She welcomes comments at [email protected].
