The Online Gargoyle's debut marks a new era in Uni journalism

By the Gargoyle editors
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Gargoyle, opinions

With the creation of The Online Gargoyle, our school is entering a new era in which student media will provide a platform for all who have the desire to speak. The online version of the Gargoyle extends this platform not only to Gargoyle staff writers, but to every student in the Uni community. The site will also allow parents, alumni, and people from around the world to take a glimpse inside of what is really going on at our school.

Aside from increased student interactivity with the Gargoyle, the online paper will allow staff writers to produce certain types of articles with greater frequency. The new online paper and the traditional printed version complement one another to produce a more complete media source.

The new online paper will allow the students of Uni to contribute in a myriad of forms. All Uni students can register on the Web site and sign in with their name and e-mail address and instantly become an interactive part of the Gargoyle. They can submit articles to the online editors to be considered for publication, post discussion comments on articles produced by staff writers, or just pass along your suggestions for future stories or site improvements.

The editors will review student work on a daily basis, so these submissions could potentially be posted on the Web site the same day they are received by the editors. All of these new features will make student contributions to the Gargoyle just a click away.

The editors encourage submissions about a broad variety of topics, but they will not accept material unfit for publication. The Gargoyle is creating a tremendous opportunity for students to better express themselves to their peers, and with this opportunity comes the responsibility to use this freedom of expression in a constructive way.

The online version of the Gargoyle will also increase the ability of staff writers to produce up-to-date, relevant stories. The online sports, news, features, opinions, and entertainment sections will be updated much more frequently than is possible with the print version. Consequently our site will include exclusive online stories as well as articles already found in the print Gargoyle. Many of the exclusive online articles will be shorter pieces written with an emphasis on getting the word out as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and fairness. 

This is all part of how the print and electronic versions will complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

The print version is logistically and aesthetically better suited for longer feature stories and in-depth packages that require intricate layout designs. 

The strength of the online version is speed — up-to-date stories as well as reviews and opinion columns can be put on the site daily. Many newsworthy events occur weeks ahead of the print Gargoyle's publication date, and by the time the paper comes out they are already old news. The Web site eliminates this delay factor.

The benefits of an online Gargoyle are clear. Soon it will be the job of you, the reader, to get involved and make this vision come to life.