GREEN BAY & OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Is this week’s announcement that the UW Green Bay student newspaper is ditching print, and going solely digital, a sign of the times?
With a special ceremony Thursday, UW Green Bay said goodbye to its print version of The Fourth Estate.
Sarah Seifert, Editor-in-chief of The Fourth Estate, tells WLUK..
“Since 1965, we’ve had a paper edition of The Fourth Estate”
Seifert says the decision was made due to printing costs and an evolving digital landscape.
“The printing costs have sort of crept up on us these past few years, and recently, we’ve seen a shift in the audience from traditional newspaper to online”
At UW Oshkosh, Jessica Johnson, Editor-in-chief of the Advance Titan, says an all-online switch could come in the near future, but not yet.
“We do have two different audiences we’re reaching, both with online, and with the newspaper.”
While the print version of the Advance Titan still has high readership numbers, the editorial staff says that since the launch of their newer website this school year, they’ve had an increased focus on their online presence.
“We’re getting better about pushing stories online, and through social media right away, and then doing a bigger picture/different angle for our paper. That’s kind of been a newer experience for us” Johnson said.
For Johnson, she’s hopeful the Advance-Titan’s print edition sticks around, even though more people consume it online.
“Something about being able to just actually grab a newspaper and see it in its entirety, I think its really special”
But whether online and in print… or exclusively online… these college newspapers realize being digital will keep them competitive.
Both Lawrence University and St. Norbert College also have online and print versions of their student newspapers.
