I am a big fan of college newspapers; they often bring notice to viewpoints and events that otherwise go unnoticed by larger outlets. I think they are a cornerstone for a healthy democracy at both local and national levels. That being said, during my short tenure as a college newspaper opinion writer and since, I have been continually concerned for the state of student-run media.
A good starting point is at the macro scale - local news is dying throughout the US. Arizona is faring better than many states for now, but one cannot deny the collapse in advertising revenue outlets are dealing with. How does this affect volunteer-based, campus & community outlets? Websites have to be hosted and physical papers have to be printed, for those that still produce them. Many volunteer-run outlets provide similar benefits to the community as campus papers. Flag LIVE! is owned by the Arizona Daily Sun (another for-profit local outlet), which manages advertising and printing for them. Not all outlets have this connection, though. It is important to note that like many, the Arizona Daily Sun have been bought by one of the many media conglomerates that have come to prominence in the last few decades.
In tandem with the changes of the news industry, there has been the rise of social media. Big hubbub, I know. I won't bore you with the social media rant - you've heard it all before. It does have benefits, such as allowing for voices to be heard that otherwise wouldn't and discussions to occur in the comments sections of posts. The quality of those discussions I won't comment on, although I do want to give a shoutout to Twitter/X's community notes feature. What I do want to highlight is social media's increased focus on headlines and few-sentence news (and one-sentence clapbacks). Those who get their news primarily through social media (a lot of young people) are often in-the-loop on world events, but likely do not receive the in-depth knowledge behind those events. If they do, there is ripe opportunity for severe bias or outright misrepresentation in coverage. For better or for worse, those posts do not go through the editorial process like news outlets do. We also see a massive focus on national & international events on social media, drowning out local issues that often affect people more directly.
Touching back to campus newspapers, many are struggling with recruiting students top-to-bottom. Many students are not aware of their campus newspaper, those who are may not take them seriously due to many reasons, but particularly the online emphasis of national issues, and those who are interested may be scared to write. Having a public opinion these days can be scary, especially among youth and on college campuses. Being in Higher Education myself I worry about the impacts of the words I write, even though I do not consider them radical or harsh. I believe college campuses and college media should be a platform for thorough discussion and debate, but the pendulum of speech is swung far from that ideal.
For those who do take the courageous step to write, I have personally found many articles... lacking. Normally I would refer to specific articles, but out of respect for the students who wrote them I will generalize. I do believe in criticism of student writing but I cannot not give them proper individual attention here. Many that I've read over the last few years have been lackluster. One source news articles, poorly written and reasoned opinions, and even blatantly wrong statements can be found throughout student news' sites. That's not to say there aren't examples of excellent journalism; this article in the Lumberjack by Zach Markewicz was an impressive piece of writing this semester.
When it comes to the poor articles, I am confounded by how they came to be published. Is it an issue of education & practice when it comes to the individual student's writing and (if applicable) persuasion abilities? Are editorial standards established and enforced? Are the editors themselves willing to criticize the content in their writer's pieces? Are there enough editors in place to properly give each written piece its time? Does the paper have effective leadership? Are leadership positions filled? Is there a fear or outright refusal of covering competing viewpoints? I worry these are simply the results of a declining yet necessary medium.
Student media is essential to speech and should be breeding grounds for unique viewpoints and topics. It counters the fanaticism that social media is so well known for and should bring reason and legitimate debate back to our campuses.
Maybe I'm wrong or misguided - I'm just a guy with a website after all. Without direct examples I know this is really just a rant, but oh well. Would love to hear from you via email: webmaster(at)brendans.life
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