<< Back 7/3/02 Western Carolinian morphs into the WC newsmagazine By Emily Moore In a campus environment where students are products of a fast-paced, technological age that puts information at their fingertips 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week, convincing them to read a weekly or even bi-weekly student newspaper is a challenge. Western Carolina University’s student newspaper, the Western Carolinian, suffered and almost died under the stress of competitive and financial burdens. Originally a weekly, in the past year the Carolinian cut costs and became a monthly paper which depended on its police blotter to draw readers’ attention. The Western Carolinian, its supporters say, needed to change. So that’s what it did. The result is the brand new WCnewsmagazine, available this summer in two monthly editions and slated to appear weekly when school resumes in the fall. “Media convergence has affected every medium,” said the magazine’s editor-in-chief Michael Davis. “Media consolidation brings changes to our publication. “Instead of attempting to provide the latest-breaking news coverage, WCnewsmagazine invites students into dialogue and analysis of the news. It provides information about campus and community events, drawing students into the community, and providing the community with insight into student life,” said Davis. “We want to provide students with information that allows them to be a part of the community,” said Davis. Jacob Keller, a WCU junior, was excited about the first summer issue. “Overall, I liked the new, visually interesting layout. The content revealed concise, relevant writing,” said Keller. Davis hopes the magazine’s approach will broaden its appeal beyond the borders of WCU. Just as it wants students to connect with the wider Jackson County community, it also hopes those outside the campus community will take an interest in the new magazine. “Western’s students, faculty and staff bring a considerable amount of revenue into this area, making WCU a major financial contributor to the surrounding communities. As a university publication, WC newsmagazine has a responsibility to its sponsors to create a credible advertising venue.” In addition to the professional writing concentration within its English Department and the print media concentration within the Communications Department, WCU is presently developing a journalism program. It is important that the newsmagazine be a part of that — as an outlet for student writers — and as a taste of the “real world” of professional publishing. Davis’ vision is shared by the rest of WCnewsmagazine staff. It is their goal to provide a legitimate outlet for WCU students and a link to their community. “A university’s student publication is the legitimate voice of its students,” said Chad Messer, deputy editor of WCnewsmagazine. “We aren’t here to rant against the system, nor are we here to propagate the system. Our responsibility as journalists is to report the truth, as we see it, with as little bias as possible. And we need to be relevant to student life. We are a link between campus and the community, but first and foremost, we are the voice of the students of WCU.” “By combining some of the best aspects of daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines, the Western Carolinian (WC) has transformed into a newsmagazine devoted to our student life and community. Even though our format may look a little different, WCnewsmagazine is still by, for and about WCU students. Committed to keeping the channels open and the calendars updated, hopefully we can help curb some of the nagging boredom students experience,” stated Davis. WCnewsmagazine is available on the WCU campus and online at http://www.westerncarolinian.com. The WCnewsmagazine staff may be contacted by email at wc@wcu.edu, or by snail-mail at WCnewsmagazine, WCU, Cullowhee, NC 28723.