Accessibility, Representation and Campus Journalism

Campus journalism serves as a uniquely flexible platform to engage a community in volunteer-based reporting, provide a supportive space to experiment with creative narrative strategies, and hold administrators accountable for decision-making. Unlike other local news sources, the inherently volunteer-based nature and free cost of campus papers facilitate widespread participation and accessible channels to institutional expertise. While the newspaper, often deemed a dying form, certainly makes its way to its fare share of recycling bins and untouched coffee table piles, this resource’s ability to mobilize students around specific issues and offer in-depth analysis by and for the campus community make it invaluable.

To expand this mobilization, multimedia coverage is beginning to play a key role. With photo stories, audio news briefings, and online exclusives, people can access information constantly and begin social media discussions within seconds. Consequently, an audience far beyond a campus’s bounds can easily engage with student-generated journalism.

Considering a paper’s ethical and strategic concerns, a number of questions arise:

How can a single source most effectively encompass the voices of a 2,000-person community?

Which representational strategies make issues most relevant to different community members?

How do priorities change for administrators, donors and campus activist groups based on the pieces editors choose to publish?

Because writing and photography inherently involve revisionism, what gaps emerge in storytelling? How can one most effectively condense a complex narrative into an 800-word summary?

These questions remain constant, and their role in content planning and reporting strategy suggests the strength of a publication’s ethical and representational capacity.

Emma Brenjtens, a news editor and writer for The Davidsonian, Davidson’s independent student newspaper, believes that “the paper is crucial to keeping people informed by providing perspectives from multiple interviewees rather than a student just hearing about an event from their friend or social media.”Rumors can spread quickly on campus, but reporting that not only includes student perspectives, but also substantial research and fact checking can create a definitive record to influence discussions. Editors-in-Chief are responsible for the accuracy of all information published, so the editorial staff collaborates to corroborate claims prior to the paper’s printing each week.

Beyond simply an extracurricular activity, writing for the paper demands a complete investment in crafting a story that accurately represents an array of voices, stretching beyond one’s comfort zone to reach out to strangers in professional environments and conducting in-depth background research as one would for a class paper, but with arguably higher stakes. Instead of grades, each piece’s quality determines the effectiveness of a key public service.

Emma acknowledged, “Sometimes an article ends up taking a different direction than I expected based on interviewees' responses, but that's part of what makes the process of writing an article exciting and interesting. It's difficult to cut out information, because I think that it's all important, but not everything can fit in the article.”

The flexibility, outreach and ethical discretion required for journalism are skills not always attainable through class settings, highlighting the crucial nature of accessible participation. We don’t have an application process or turn first year writers away. We don’t require a specific writing background, and Davidson doesn’t even have a journalism major. Contributing to The Davidsonian demands only a commitment to a specific story or section leadership and openness to feedback. Non-staff writers are also always welcome to contribute opinion pieces.

Expanding accessibility to the journalism industry would increase public trust and engagement in an era when many dismiss investigative reporting as “fake news” or claim they don’t have the energy to stay up-to-date. Community-based journalism utilizes non-hegemonic structures to draw reporting from community members themselves about the issues relevant to their information needs (for instance, the Listening Post Collective offers an innovative approach to this goal). Furthermore, local community residents, alumni and distant subscribers can also access the knowledge of respected academics that students interact with regularly. Thus, campus news sources can facilitate both widespread participation and the availability of highly specific expertise.

Emma shared, “As a news editor, I would like to think our articles are easy to understand, but we always have to be conscious of the fact that we're all students and most of our articles are written with that audience in mind. I also think that news coming from an academic setting may inherently be difficult for people outside our community to relate to.” Davidson, NC is a small college town with a close relationship between the institution and town residents. However, reporting on issues at the county and state levels allows off-campus individuals to interact more with articles while also considering their relevance to a specific collegiate setting. Work to extend the reach of a paper’s coverage serves not only those based in small college towns, but also at larger universities where a particular institution may provide a metropolitan area’s main journalistic sources (affiliating with the local NPR or public television station, for example).

As an editor of The Davidsonian, one of my current aims is to stretch student conceptions of what a campus paper can be. I personally find print journalism attention-grabbing, but photojournalism, video narratives, social media, and podcasting are all emerging as modes of representing new types of stories and expanding the number of students involved. Speaking to different learning styles, speeding up access to information, and covering topics ranging from news, to art, to personal advice, we seek to re-energize community members who may have dismissed the paper as boring or limited.

Instead of tossing out your campus paper or assuming you don’t want get involved because you don’t like writing, I’d urge you to take a closer look. Whether you’re into data analysis, filmmaking, or are simply an opinionated student, you can likely channel this excitement into a journalistic platform. By doing so, you just might interview a famous environmental activist, gain name recognition, and spark controversy. At the very least, you’ll probably make some new friends.

Get publishing!

- Julia

Davidson student, avid planner, and baking enthusiast with a love for river-centered cities.