When I started out my Freshman year at Salem State University, I had a hard time finding the right niche within the thousands of students that attend my school. I remember thinking, “Well, if I just join a club or whatever, I’ll be fine. I’ll meet people that like the same stuff that I do.” While I was on the right track, it took me a while to find the right community that I was seeking.
Of the first few clubs that I joined, I found that I would never go to any of their meetings. This was probably because I was too lazy to actually get out of bed some mornings, but nevertheless, I didn’t have much of a desire to actually go to these meetings. From working at my University’s library, a co-worker told me that she was the Editor and Chief at the time of the Salem State University’s student newspaper, “The Log.” She has said that they were having an open party for people and that I should join her.
When I attended this event, it was clear that the newspaper was in dire need of more employees. With the EIC graduating, along with others of the staff leaving, there were some holes to fill. On a whim, I then became the Web Editor for the Salem State Log.
Okay, so that’s how I got the job – I raised my hand and I “volunteered as tribute.” So what has it been like? Why am I telling you this? To put it simply, newspapers, in general, are dying, and it’s a shame.
From my time at The Log, I have met so many wonderful people on the staff and have learned so much about writing and journalism that I would have never learned on my own, or in a class. When I then became Social Media Manager, I had started introducing the school newspaper to people in my classes and dorm, letting them know that I wrote an article, or saying “did you read the article in The Log?” to be honest, not many students knew that our school even had a newspaper.
In critiquing different media to learning about different events at school, I felt so much more involved in my community. I felt like I really was the voice of the students. And yet, one thing still irks me. With hundreds of journalism majors or minors at SSU, why are there eight editorial positions, with only five being filled? Why don’t we have an EIC for the Fall? Why do we struggle to put out a paper every other week? The answer is – the students are not involved. It breaks my heart to know that there are thousands of journalism majors, who have never worked at a newspaper before, when their university’s paper is struggling to stay alive.
So, my message to you – pick up your school’s newspaper, or check them out online! Be involved on campus, and if journalism is something you’re interested in, check it out! Newspapers are more than just news articles – they are event postings, opinion pieces, art reviews and so much more. Newspapers are dying, but you can change that.
