Going Digital
By Op/Ed Staff
The world of news media is undergoing dramatic changes. Every media provider has felt the effects of these changes, as the path to reaching readers becomes ever more challenging and less conventional. The information age has produced many new benefits for the public, but it has also brought forth changes that require adaptations from those providing media content. This has not gone unnoticed by The Carroll News.
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In light of these changes, The Carroll News will be offering a new, online platform to provide access to content created by our staff. The decision to design a new website did not come quickly or easily to those charged with guiding the direction of our beloved organization. Although providing content through an online platform seems necessary to satisfy the demand of those seeking content in new and innovative ways, it nonetheless has sent a pang of anxiety to those of us at The Carroll News who have a stake in its success. We hope that, in providing an online venue, we will encourage further interaction between writers and readers, by enabling commentary and other interactive media. As a result, we hope to see a heightened interest in the service we provide to the University.
Nevertheless, we have doubts of whether the new website will expand our readership overall, or simply divert it from our paper copy. As part of a small university, we find great value in staying in print as opposed to relegating our content solely to a digital forum that lacks some of the benefits of traditional print media. But as any reporter on the beat knows, keeping pace with innovation in the media world is essential to strengthening a brand and guaranteeing effectiveness in delivering the news.
Regardless of whether creating this website will prove to be of great benefit or a waste of time, The Carroll News will always aim to provide our readers with the best reading experience possible. Our traditional physical copy is not disappearing anytime soon, as all of us at The Carroll News immensely enjoy physically holding something that took countless hours and a great deal of energy to create. We hope this decision will pay off and help propel The Carroll News to a higher level of quality and value, which our readers rightly deserve. And we hope those readers will continue to participate in the work which brings us such joy, both in print, and now on the web.
