As media evolves rapidly today, old newspaper business models are dying and media groups are being forced to adapt quickly to new technologies and business plans.
As consumers are able to access media on their phones 24 hours a day and stream 1080p video instantly (remember the days of 56k?), media providers have responded to an increasingly difficult market by making their products accessible across multiple platforms in record-breaking time.
Online services like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube have had profound impacts on the way journalists interact with their audiences, increasing the immediacy of journalists to their audiences and raising questions about professionalism and accuracy in reporting the news. Something as simple as a 140-character tweet can ruin a career and professionals, especially those in media, are expected to interact with their audiences like never before.
Editors face new ethical challenges, as something like a YouTube video claiming to show soldiers shooting civilians can create an ethical crisis within a newsroom, as editors, in an environment where viewership and website hits correspond directly with revenue, weigh the potential value of the content shown against the potential threat of inaccuracy within the story.
It is in this environment that the Graphic enters it’s 75th year. Over the course of the coming year, we plan to bring stories which will inform those in our community of Pepperdine’s unique history as an institution of higher learning, providing historical photos and articles highlighting important events in the university’s history.
While we look back, we must also heed today’s demands that we continuously look to the future, seeking new ways to bring you breaking news, insightful commentary and worthwhile entertainment. In May 2011, the Graphic went live with a new website, where we bring together a combination of stories, photo galleries, and video content updated daily.
Slated for December is the launch of an interactive phone app, with which students will be able to view breaking news, photo galleries and videos on their Apple and Android phones. With this launch, we will be one of the first weekly campus newspapers with our own app, an accomplishment we hope will set the standard for adaptability and technology in the future.
However, while we adapt, we must not abandon journalism standards that have made the Graphic an integral part of campus life as well as a standard bearer among college publications.
At a meeting with the Graphic staff last week, Pepperdine Provost Darryl Tippens remarked that what makes seemingly timeless universities great is their ability to change what must be changed while maintaining as constant those aspects of the university that must not be allowed to change. So it is with this newspaper: we hope to maintain the standards of professional journalism while adapting to provide the Pepperdine community with access to our content wherever they may be, whether they’re abroad, in-class, at home, or on the road (in the passenger seat, of course).