In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a big fan of our student newspaper, the UMD Statesman. I look forward to reading it every Wednesday, and I enjoy the wide variety of new stories, opinion pieces, sports coverage and features included in every edition. One of the reasons I wanted to write about the paper is to say “Thank you!” Staff of The Statesman, you should be very proud of the work you do. In fact, I’m a fan of student media in general. Many years ago at another institution, I had the chance to chair the Publications. The student editors and faculty advisors taught me so much about the importance of the news media and the role that it plays in our society.
The other day I started to walk up the stairs by the Multicultural Center, and I heard someone behind me say: “Oooh, a new Statesman!” It was music to my ears. As a supporter of The Statesman, I am always glad to hear that others at UMD look forward to reading the paper.
I also enjoy reading a paper copy of The Statesman, but I’m learning that the online version of the newspaper has additional features that are very exciting. Do you know about the “Photo Roll”? Have you checked out the audio stories? Did you know you can get a PDF version of the print newspaper on the paper’s website? Have you liked The Statesman on Facebook? Or retweeted a story? The Statesman has many other social media connections! I have every copy of The Statesman since I started at UMD in August, 2011. However, these days I find myself using the online archives to find items from the past.
So I find myself thinking, am I ready to give up the print newspaper? My answer - not yet! I find that I am enjoying the best of both worlds. There’s something satisfying about reading the print edition, and also something equally exciting and useful in being able to take advantage of all of the online features.
What do you think? Printed Statesman? Online Statesman? Or (like me), an emphatic “Both”! I’m interested to know what you think! Please email me (vcsl@d.umn.edu) to let me know.
submitted by: Lisa Erwin, PhD Vice Chancellor for Student Life