The Daily Campus has been SMU’s independent voice – produced by students, for students – since 1915. We existed when the typewriter was still a common writing tool. We have remained in print before and after the first radio broadcast and television broadcasts hit the airwaves and have continued on through the first wave of the digital age of newsgathering. Through the years, we have adjusted our award-winning student newspaper many times in response to changes in the industry. Next fall, we will do it once again.
Starting this summer with our AARO issue in July, we will be changing from our current broadsheet look to a tabloid size (similar to the Dallas Observer). In addition, we will also be going to press just once a week on Thursdays, instead of the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule we have now.
In an evolving digital age, shifting away from our print-centric focus is critical. This adjustment to our print product will give our staff more time to focus on producing more digital content more frequently each day. It will also give our staff more time to expand and enhance both our online and print products.
This adjustment to our print product will give our staff more time to focus on producing more digital content each and every day of the week. It will also give our staff plenty of time to polish both our online and print products.
Online is where we will publish our event advances and recaps, live tweet streams, and video content from SMU-TV. SMUDailyCampus.com is where students will turn to for daily coverage of what is happening on and around the Hilltop. Expect more interactivity, with videos, maps, infographics and more. Each day, we will publish something new for our readers. Don’t forget to keep checking back for more.
The new weekly schedule will also give our staff more time to enhance our print product. Instead of looking for daily news, many people turn to print for longer, feature-length stories and in-depth reporting. These story formats will be our focus for print.
Our weekly print edition will also be polished and perfected. Expect more photo essays, graphic design and generally more creative input. We will also feature a specific story on the cover each week. This feature might be in-depth reporting on a sensitive topic (like Title IX or OE2C), but it may also be a feature surrounding a lively event on campus (like Homecoming or Family Weekend). Regardless, this feature, along with its layout and graphic design components, will be a big focus of our week. As a result, it will be the highlight of the print edition.
While The Daily Campus staff will build on and improve our print and digital content, these two products will often work together. Sometimes, we might tease an interactive map online alongside a story in print. Other times, we might publish a teaser for our print featured story online.
And don’t forget our social media presence. Expect more live tweeting, live video streams of events on campus and more consistent publishing across all of our social media platforms. Feel free to reach out to us at any time.
All in all, next semester will be a big change for The Daily Campus. We aren’t doing this because we have to. We are doing this because we want to. Get excited. We are too.
