I cannot recall a time where I’ve read a book in my free time and have not enjoyed it. The same goes for reading magazines and newspapers. Something about tangible material is so refreshing, especially today where the intake of information is increasingly dependent on the web. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but print media is definitely losing its audience.
That being said, this is not going to be a rant about how society is drifting into a virtual world. It’s more of the opposite. I’ve come to realize how incredible it is that technology can open up so many doors for the flow of information. This was an obvious lesson that I learned– and accepted– with The Red Ledger and this year’s monumental transition online.
I vividly remember the day our staff was told we would be transitioning to an online source. Our adviser Mr. Higgins broke the news to us delicately, fully aware of the blood, sweat, and tears we lovingly dedicated to the print newspaper that year. (Okay, maybe not blood, sweat, or tears, but certainly an unquestionable level of devotion.) We were informed we would no longer be producing a print issue, and similarly to the end of a relationship or the loss of a loved one, I experienced the stages of grief.
“No,” was the first and what turned out to be most repeated word to leave my mouth. Here was this aspiring young freshman journalist, experiencing a mixture of denial, hurt, and outrage, all of which couldn’t find a better way to eloquently express itself other than the stubborn repetition of that solitary “No.” Not one of my proudest moments, and certainly not one of my most open-minded ones.
I wallowed in my sadness, pointedly dismissing any animosity building up towards those expressing even the slightest hint of excitement for the change. I was appalled, how could we go online? “We are a newspaper staff, not a website class,” I kept thinking. I knew nothing of how vitally the two intertwine.
It took a few days before my pity party came to an end, and I decided to explore some of the online newspapers of other schools. I was shocked how immediately drawn I was to some of the sites. I never considered how interactive online newspapers could be—an option nearly impossible for print mediums. I found myself becoming jealous even for the amount of content these schools were able to produce, and in such a timely manner! It took me a second to remember why I was fighting the change. And after discovering the countless benefits of moving online, those reasons seemed nothing short of foolish.
It took a lot of hard work to establish the website and get it to where we wanted. And that’s quite the understatement. My beyond wonderful co-editor-in-chief Ginger Hervey, our second-to-none adviser Brian Higgins, and I were up at the school many days over the summer learning everything about how to make and effectively run an online newspaper. It wasn’t easy, but it would be yet another understatement to say it was worth it.
If there’s anything I’ve learned this year, other than the obvious of how to run an online paper, it would be commitment. You need commitment to your homework if you actually want to get it done, commitment to your team if you want to succeed, and commitment to your friends if you want a healthy, trustworthy relationship. It’s the same with The Red Ledger: you have to be committed to your publication. Through the thick and thin, the good and the bad, the old and the new, you need true commitment to make your publication the best it can be – a mindset I was inspired to take on by last year’s editor-in-chief, Helen Hanson. I speak for both Ginger and I when I say we would not have been even remotely prepared to take on such a daunting task without following directly in her dedicated footsteps.
With my avowed commitment to The Red Ledger in all of its forms, all I can say is that I am hopeful and excited for next year, and all the years to come, as we slowly unfold the secrets and capabilities the web has to offer. I couldn’t be more thankful to be part of such an excellent, hard-working staff, and I only have optimistic thoughts of where this website can and will take our publication.
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