'The Post' will be changing a lot this semester and next. Through Athens Asks and more, help us determine what that will look like.
In my last column, I announced that The Post planned to cut print days this upcoming Fall 2016 in favor of becoming a more digitally forward, innovative publication. That we'd become a weekly tabloid, more focused on longform, analysis-based content.
Essentially, that we could no longer (and no longer desired to) neglect the future our readership was hurdling toward. One where a thousand-word story could be enjoyed just as easily through a smartphone on a busy day, or a print product on a gloriously slow one.
After the announcement was published, some of The Post's staff members took to the front doors of Baker University Center last Friday afternoon to pass out physical editions of what the newspaper may look like next semester.
We advocated The Post's digital advancements (or those to come) with our readers the old-fashioned way — face-to-face. We saw what it looked like for a reader to pick up The Post and enjoy it thoroughly, reading it on Baker's escalators or while walking to class.
Some of you told us that the change was a long time coming, or that this version of The Post better suited your needs. Some asked whether we'd still publish the same amount of content to thepostathens.com each day — the answer being yes — or how this would change our reporting.
We want to answer those questions, and I can only hope we'll receive more. The fact that we work for and produce a "student newspaper" is a luxury we're only allowed a short window for. Our audience changes by the year, and the way we deliver the news should, too.
Post editors are often holed-up in Baker 325 making a newspaper happen each day, sacrificing such interactions with readers for the chance to sink our teeth into a story or catch up on a few missed calls.
We may still connect with you on social media, or through new concepts such as Athens Asks, where a reader can send us questions about Ohio University or Athens for us to answer. But, apart from that, we want to hear what direction you think The Post should be heading toward.
We're great listeners, I promise. If readers want more blog-type content, we'll deliver. More political coverage? You've got it. All we need is a suggestion to get moving.
The first reader-provoked nudge came from those who consumed our stories through smartphones, rather than the print daily. Now, we're changing. Hopefully, that proves the sort of an impact a readership can have on the paper that strives to serve it.
So shoot me an email, let's grab coffee in Front Room. I'd love to talk shop.
Emma Ockerman is a junior studying journalism and editor-in-chief of The Post. Want to talk to her? Email her at eo300813@ohio.edu or tweet her @eockerman.
