Have you ever seen a really old newspaper? If you haven’t, picture a super long sheet of newsprint (like New York Times long) covered in text. And I mean completely covered: words from top to bottom, probably in size 10 font, with hardly any margins. We’ve certainly progressed, right?
It’s clear today’s media doesn’t report the news the way the first publications did nearly 100 years ago. Now more than ever, while “the news” is still centered on the story, it also must include compelling photos, interactive graphics, telling video packages and different social media components. Modern readers now want their news delivered in different mediums-print, broadcast, radio, online, even in 140 characters.
The Ramapo News is taking (small) steps to make all of these accommodations. As I revealed in my last blog, we’re updating our website twice every week now and are making every effort to bring you breaking news when it happens. (Check out our winter storm Nemo coverage from over the weekend as an example!) We’re also connecting with you on Facebook and Twitter, so that our news can be right where it’s easiest for you to access.
And in keeping with our theme of change, this semester you’ll also see more color photos in our print edition, since we have upgraded our newspaper to all-color, and more high-quality slideshows on the web. Finally, we’ve launched a one-man video crew (our multi-talented Photo Editor Steve) to provide the community with video coverage to accompany some of our major News, Arts & Entertainment, and Sports articles. Check us out on YouTube or find our videos on the site.
All of our efforts to increase our web presence, utilize more multimedia and social media tools to enhance our reporting, and deliver the news more frequently not only developed out of a need to better serve our readership, but to help our staff become better journalists. To survive in this industry, you have to be cutting edge, and you have to understand the future of your craft. And the more we practice and hone our skills at The Ramapo News, the better equipped we will be in the real world.
Here’s that the bylines in our pages and the names in our staff box will be well-known and well-respected a few years down the road.
That’s all the news for now-Nicole
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nalliegr@ramapo.edu
