Comments on: Take That Newspaper Death Watch: Part II

By: Daily Nexus Editor: Print Newspaper Still in Play on College Campus! « College Media Matters

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:52:16 +0000

[...] She further confirms a truth I’ve fought hard to get recognized over the past year (through this blog and via a chat with CICM’s Bryan Murley): College students are still reading print [...]

By: A Discussion About College Newspapers’ Present and Future « College Media Matters

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:49:35 +0000

[...] newspaper specifically. The discussion came at his request, partially as a follow-up to my recent posts about college print papers’ (at least temporary) invulnerability to the doom-and-gloom [...]

By: ICM Discussion: print and college newspapers – Innovation in College Media

ICM Discussion: print and college newspapers – Innovation in College Media — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:18:55 +0000

[...] the current strength of the college newspaper print product. Our discussion was prompted by an earlier post Dan wrote on his weblog College Media Matters. What follows is a transcript of our chat (conducted [...]

By: Is it time for Journalism 101 2.0? « College Media Matters

Is it time for Journalism 101 2.0? « College Media Matters — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:07:43 +0000

[...] Dan Reimold The debate between the power of online and print in collegemediatopia continues. (See previous post!) Another back-and-forth made popular as of late: Should the inverted pyramid be rejected from a [...]

By: Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:56:45 +0000

Check your e-mail. I have a proposal.

By: Coming up this week on ICM – Innovation in College Media

Coming up this week on ICM – Innovation in College Media — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:56:22 +0000

[...] trying to work out a blog post/interview with Dan Riemold, author of College Media Matters, about a recent post about the high readership numbers for college newspapers’ print [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:31:56 +0000

This is a *great* discussion topic overall! It’s a back-and-forth that has played out in the blogosphere and within the collegiate and mainstream press at an especially fervent pace this semester. My two cents in response to Bryan’s excellent points… First, absolutely, it’s true that the professional press in general does not exist in the “captive audience, extremely local environs” of the typical college campus. My response: Why not?? It’s obvious this is a key part of college papers’ success. Maybe hyper-local is the way to go? This new media world is ripping the heart out of many professional papers’ old-school operations. Anything and everything should be considered. It seems foolish for the professional j-industry to not look at college papers’ more sustainable retainment of readers and not ask: What are they doing that we could learn from or what do they have going for them that we do not? And one other thing to consider: College newspapers are no longer anywhere near monopolies on a number of campuses. Alternative publications have cropped up, in print and online, in recent years at an astounding rate, especially at schools with dedicated j-programs. (The most I’ve come across is at Northwestern, which boasts at least 16 alt mags and newspapers in addition to The Daily Northwestern.) The Web has made the start-up process especially palatable and convenient for students’ alt ventures. Many are niche certainly and publish less regularly but they definitely possess the power to veer eyeballs away from the student paper. What the college paper might still boast is a monopoly of reputation, an ‘official’ status similar to the Dems and the GOP in American politics. And it also has printed paper conveniently placed across campus. And whether considered old media or not, this paper is still being picked up regularly and at times even passionately by the papers’ uber-diverse audience base at or near their home campuses. Amid all the talk about the death of printed newspapers, why is that? And what does it mean for the future?

By: Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:56:55 +0000

Along with what students need to learn about the professional press awaiting them in the future, isn’t it time for the professional press to look back and learn from certain facets of the studet media’s obvious print success?

I don’t think so. The “professional” media do not live in the captive audience, extremely local environs that the college press lives in. College students read the paper before their classes, etc. There is not as much competition on the college campus for news about the college itself.

Further, print product success isn’t necessarily “up,” as readership numbers have always been in the 80s percentage wise.

And this quote is telling:

“We haven’t done any official surveys,” said Andrew Dennett, editor of the weekly The Defender at St. Michael’s College, “but based on observations of the dining hall and other common areas, I would say that most of the student body and faculty read The Defender every week.”

Never confuse anecdotes with data, right?

It is a “chicken and egg” phenomenon, but I’m curious to know how much of the print product’s success is actually attributable to the writing/design of the current crop of students, and how much is attributable to the fact that it’s still a more-or-less monopoly product.