By JANIE HARRIS
Editor-in-Chief, News Editor
Whispers of a redesign always echoed throughout the cabin of the Piedmont College passenger van as our newspaper staff pulled away from the Georgia College Press Association Conference. Here, while comparing our paper to other colleges, we realized we were a little behind.
It was an idea that had been thrown around since I joined the Navigator’s staff in 2013. We had always discussed the need and possibility of change within the design of the paper, but it never happened. After watching how students interacted with the paper, we knew something needed to be done. So, for my senior capstone, I decided to take some action. I re-branded the paper, re-designed the student media website and created a mobile-phone application for the student media.
I began working on the idea as soon as I knew I was definitely going to be taking on this challenge, and after months of work, I am going to present to the student body of Piedmont College its new student media.
The Roar was originally our student media’s website, but after sending out a survey to the students of the school, I found that most people did not even know The Roar existed. After discussing the topic with other Mass Communications student leaders, we voted to turn the site and the tangible paper into a more continuous unit.
As for the design of the paper, this is a project I have been working on for months. I hope that the students can better relate to the publication that is supposed to inform and represent them.
The website will have more content than the newspaper. The site will house the video and audio that relate to the different stories students will see in the paper as well as stories you can only find on the site. Meaning, to find out about everything going on around campus, students will have to start visiting piedmontroar.com more often.
But, visiting the site will be a lot easier since the Roar also has its own smartphone app. Once the app is downloaded, it can link students to the website.
I have put a lot of work into the re-branding of the student newspaper. However, I couldn’t have done it without the help of the entire Mass Communications Department. The students, faculty and staff have supported me and helped me with every piece of this project. I cannot thank them enough.
It is a project that needed to be started, and while I know that it may not be totally perfect for years to come, I hope that this becomes the groundwork for students after me to build and grow our student media into something truly awe inspiring and wonderful.