With the growing popularity of online news as opposed to print journalism, Elizabethtown College is doing its part to stay up to date. The Office of Marketing and Communications Newsroom will be put into place next year. This is Etown’s way of communicating news, current events and many other important campus activities online. Up until this point, when something happened at the College that staff wanted the public’s attention for they had to wait for the media to cover it on their time frame. With the Office of Marketing and Communications Newsroom, there will now be an immediacy to news stories from around campus that was not previously in existence. As soon as the Newsroom officially begins its operation, it will begin to cover events happening around campus, as opposed to the local news media. Stories will be covered immediately and in a timely manner that is deemed appropriate by the staff of their office.
Director of Communications Amy Mountain, the mastermind behind this operation, explained exactly what the Newsroom will do. According to Mountain, is important to understand that this newsroom is for the Marketing and Communication’s aspect of campus. Although it would be easy for one to see the word “communications” and assume it is linked to the academic communications major, this is not the case. The Newsroom manages marketing for Etown, in addition to the online newspaper aspect touched upon earlier. “It allows us to tell our own stories,” Mountain said. We no longer have to rely on media and be concerned that they get all of the facts straight. Thanks to this newsroom, it is Etown students who will be telling the stories of Etown life.
If the person reporting on a particular topic does not have time to research and explore someone’s back story, which can be vital pieces of a story, important facts and details can be lost. One example Mountain gave was the Ware Lecture. Having a back story on the speaker would have added a wonderful flare to the story. The media “doesn’t have the time or energy,” Mountain said, to research people the way that those working in the Office of Marketing and Communications Newsroom would.
Another huge benefit is the immediacy of the articles. This occurs not just in the sense that the newsroom can publish faster than the media, but also because of the form in which the stories are being delivered. The electronic form of an article of any nature is always delivered first. In a society where print journalism is dying, the majority of the news-reading public is getting their information online. With more people reading online rather than printed news, these stories will now have the ability to reach a larger audience. With a larger audience comes more readers, and loyal viewers.
When wondering who will be partaking in the newsroom’s operations, we turn once again to Mountain. The newsroom will consist of on campus staff. Mountain herself is the head of this project, Marketing and Communications Manager Elizabeth Harvey and a few other staff members will also help out immensely. Staff will not be the only ones working there, however. Student interns will also be employed there. The staff will be playing the editing role, but the students are the ones who are the writers and photographers. They are essentially creating a student news team, which will be made up of three writers, a photographer and an editorial. Giving students the opportunity to intern in the Newsroom is very important for two reasons. This will give an opportunity for students who may have struggled to get internships off campus due to transportation issues or convenience to apply for an internship on campus. “The Newsroom will expand our school in positive ways,” Mountain said “This will open doors and present a different way to tell our stories.”