This weekend, generations of Posties will have the chance to mingle and reminisce about “the good old days” during The Post’s annual alumni reunion weekend.
It’s a tradition many of us know and love. For current students, it’s is a time to listen and learn, but also a time to share our work and achievements. We know the campus many of our alumni covered is different than the one we cover today.
Many of them remember a time when the paper looked a little bit different (OK, maybe a lot different), the website was a figment of the future and there was a bar in the student center that served as a respite for late-night reporters. They fondly recall the big changes that were made during their time at the paper and smile upon finding out that many of their traditions, however strange, have carried through today.
We all like to think of ourselves as innovators, as setting some sort of example that other like-minded publications can follow. The truth is, however, we know we’re far from perfect. In order to grow, we have to continue changing.
There are times when tradition grounds us. But there are also times when tradition can keep us from reaching our full potential.
Our incoming editor-in-chief, Ellen Wagner, will be making plenty of changes, some of which you’ll see on the surface, but most of which will be internal. One of the benefits of a constantly changing leadership team is that there’s a near-constant stream of new perspectives and new ideas about how we can best cover our community and relate to our readers.
We’re also preparing to move in a new direction with the business side of our paper. Our new student media sales internship manager, Andrea Lewis, has quickly become an integral part of our newsroom since she arrived earlier this month.
Moving forward, you’ll probably notice a few more ads in the paper and a greater variety of advertising online. That’s not a bad thing. One of the great aspects of The Post is that it’s always free of charge for our readers. That’s one tradition that we don’t think will ever change.
However, in order to continue producing the quality journalism we’ve been producing for the past 107 years, we have to bring in stable revenue. We have to think less like helpless college students and more like entrepreneurs running a business.
We hope that these changes will allow greater opportunity within our newsroom as well, from little improvements like replacing broken furniture to giving our staffers the chance to attend conferences that will allow them to sharpen their skills and ultimately, provide you with a stronger final product.
As always, we thank you, our readers, for your constant support. At the end of the day, we do this for you.
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.
