Wildcats,
As the spring semester begins, the Collegian welcomes you back to campus for what we hope will be a great semester at Kansas State.
Spring is a time of change and new beginnings, and you’ll see that at the Collegian this semester. We, Kaylie McLaughlin and Rachel Hogan, will be the new co-editors-in-chief of the newspaper, and we are excited to craft a news outlet that better serves our audience.
In the past, the newspaper has promised to revamp our role in storytelling in the hopes of focusing more on student voices, as is the role of a college newspaper. While we will continue to uphold this goal as a staff, we feel that an important part of storytelling for students is meeting them where they are.
There is no way to ignore the reality of modern news and content creation — most of it will be consumed digitally. Over winter break, we began taking steps toward providing a digital-forward product.
The first thing that needed immediate change was our website, and as such, we launched the first phase of our website reboot on Dec. 27, with additional changes to be implemented throughout the semester and into the fall. Check it out at kstatecollegian.com (unless you’re already here!).
Another step we found necessary was enhancing our multimedia presence. We decided that in addition to making our multimedia elements more prominent on our website, we needed to make changes in the newsroom to support our goals.
With that in mind, we hired two deputy multimedia editors to focus on two specialized areas — one of these editors will be focused on video production and the other will work with our existing print editors to develop stories that have graphics and enhance how the stories look, both in print and on the website.
At the core of our plans, we hope that the Collegian transforms into a platform for communication that is informative while still being an enjoyable and interactive experience.
That being said, a lot of things will remain the same. In our 100-plus years of history, the Collegian has always been dedicated to the student voice, and it has succeeded due to students’ input. As has always been the case, we are open to your feedback, suggestions, opinions and news tips.
If you wish to share an opinion, our community editors Olivia Rogers and Leah Zimmerli can be reached at letters@kstatecollegian.com. If you have a news tip or wish that we would cover something specific, send it directly to news@kstatecollegian.com.
As the Collegian discussed at the beginning of the fall semester, the journalism industry is going through a metamorphosis. To adequately serve the K-State family, we must take this time to reconstruct ourselves, both to be a true 21st century publication and to explore the possible mediums in which we can fulfill our role as the independent voice of the students.
Best,
Kaylie McLaughlin and Rachel Hogan
