The snow is thawing, the students have returned and across Athens, the campus is beginning to come back to life, full of new energy and in some cases, new resolutions.
I’ve always been a little too enthusiastic — and dare I say, overzealous — when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. Ever since the year began, it’s been smoothie bowls for breakfast, early-morning yoga classes and meticulous bullet journaling to plan my day nearly down to the minute.
Those who know me well might not see that to be very far from my normal habits. I’m a creature of habit and a bit of a control freak, so I’m typically able to stick to my routines throughout the year. New Year’s, if anything, simply serves as a reminder to re-examine my habits and figure out what’s working.
At the end of the day, I believe that the best resolutions are the ones you can consistently stick with. And that’s why here at The Post, we’re using the start of the semester to reorient ourselves and set realistic goals, both long and short-term, for the betterment of our newsroom and our readers. These goals and changes might not be visible on the surface, but know that we’ll be making internal strides to make our publication stronger.
For instance, we hope to bolster our social media presence by creating content specific to our Instagram feed (give us a follow if you haven’t already).
We’ll also be experimenting internally with a new system for deadlines in an effort to get you the news you need more efficiently and at a higher quality.
We’re thrilled to announce the upcoming rebrand of one of our most popular sections. For the past two years, our “blogs” section has had some of our most-read pieces. However, the content we produce under this section, which includes everything from localized listicles to TV reviews, has often been difficult to categorize.
Seeing as they aren’t “blogs” in the traditional sense of the word, we knew something needed to change. So after months of deliberation, we decided it would be best to create our own moniker — something a little more original and identifiable than “blogs.” We settled on “The Beat,” and in the coming days, that change will be reflected on our website and in our print edition.
In other exciting news, we’re close to hiring our first ever student media sales internship manager — an exciting step in the right direction for our business department, which has stayed afloat this year despite lack of a figurehead. This person will be working with a talented team of business interns to keep advertising revenue flowing and find innovative ways to connect with readers.
At the end of the day, we realize that these changes, big or small, are necessary. We know that in today’s media environment, in order to meet the wants and needs of our readers, we must continue to evolve and develop creative solutions to keep our presence on campus relevant. As valued readers, your feedback and ideas are always welcome and encouraged.
Here’s to a year of changes, big and small. From all of us here at The Post, have a wonderful semester.
Lauren Fisher is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Lauren at lf966614@ohio.edu or tweet her @Lauren_Fisher.
