Get with the program, people

By Matthew Boyle | mboyle@flagler.edu

It’s that time of year again. We, The Gargoyle staff, just submitted our web newspaper for the Online Pacemaker award to the Associated Collegiate Press.

It got me thinking, though, that there are still hundreds if not thousands of student newspapers out there still with a print-first mentality. It irks me that fellow journalism students, who read and consume the majority of their news content online, have this glorified perception of print news.

When friends and co-workers of mine at The Gargoyle ask me: “What’s going to be in print?.” I answer, “Who cares?”

A print newspaper’s distribution only has limited reach and can only contain so much information. The print reporter is also limited by publication frequency.

Online news providers, however, have virtually unlimited reach and barely any size limits. Also, online reporters can file at any time on any day.

Let me tell you again, student journalists, in case it hasn’t seeped in yet: Print newspapers are going to die.

They might not go away completely, but print newspapers will certainly not be the focus of publication.

Fellow student journalists: act now. Get on board the new media train before it leaves you behind.

I also recommend that the ACP remove completely or lower the emphasis of a “Newspaper Pacemaker.” Call it a “News Service Pacemaker.”