Editor in chief unsure about taking paper to the web
By Natalie Melnick, Ferndale High School
Rokeyta Roberson nervously stares off in the distance and wonders about the future of her school’s newspaper, The Rising Phoenix. The editor in chief at Renaissance High School in Detroit said she knows her newspaper needs a change in order to gain more readers, but she doesn’t know how to do it successfully.
“Our student body isn’t full of newspaper readers, but full of Facebook, Twitter and blog users,” Roberson said.
By switching to an online publication, she said it will “reach the student body fast, and in a way they prefer their information.”
Roberson’s opinion corresponds to current data. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2005, 76 percent of teens got their news online. Roberson said that by adopting this new trend it will make her publication more accessible and appealing to students at Renaissance.
Jim Streisel, newspaper adviser at Carmel High School in Indiana, said something similar.
“If (the newspapers) don’t go where readers are going they will lose the readers,” he said. “Readers are going online.”
With his frequently updated website that has been running for over 15 years, Streisel said he supports the new push for newspapers to go to the web. He said he knows the change may seem scary or overwhelming but “the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.”
Roberson said she imagines the prospect of a website that students update at least weekly, and whenever something interesting happens at the school. She said as of now “our publication isn’t appealing to readers” and said she hopes the website can have more teen-related topics to encourage more readers to emerge from the student body of about 2,000.
Bonnie Bucqueroux, a retired teacher who now manages multiple websites, said that newspapers on the web are a “model of the future.”
“(You can) use the web to tell your story and share it with people all over the world,” Bucqueroux said. She said creating a website makes it “cheaper to spread your message.”
Roberson said she is excited for her school’s newspaper to transform, but change can be unsuccessful. She said she worries that all the extra work won’t pay off. With only five returning members on a staff of 17, Roberson said she also worries that the lack of experience will cause issues.
“Can they compensate?” she said. “I don’t know.”
But, Nancy Hanus, a Michigan State University teacher and former journalist at The Detroit News, said that to survive in this competitive news world, new technologies have to be incorporated into the newsroom.
“To be a journalist in this environment, you have to be constantly learning, constantly trying new things,” she said. “If you want to be successful you’re going to have to change faster than ever before because the world is changing.”
Even with the fear and uncertainty, Roberson said, “In the end, (going online) is not only better for the readers and student body, but for the editors as well.”
She takes a deep breath, wondering how to become prepared for the upcoming year.
“It will be hard,” she said. “But sometimes that’s what you have to do.”
