In a situation like this, there really isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been said. I am saddened to see The Talon move on, but I understand and even applaud the necessity of this next leap forward. Journalism is changing, and change is life. In just a few short years – if not now, even – there will be a generation of children who have never held a paper in their hands, and never will. The idea of getting our news at a preset time and from a preset physical place is already outdated.
When you want to know about something current, you don’t swing by a stand and grab a newspaper. You pull out your phone, or you check your preferred news source quickly on the computer.
In order to stay relevant, newspapers long ago realized the future of our survival is online in a multimedia form. No one in this day and age wants to just read text on a page – we want videos and pictures and choices.
Consumerism drives more than just the economy; think about how much of a news story you actually read, and it quickly becomes apparent that not much more is scanned (unless it’s really interesting) than the headline and the first few paragraphs.
Even papers with a strong online presence can fall behind, as the everyday consumer turns increasingly to Twitter for their news. Why go to a website where you have to pick and choose an article to read when a list is streamed to you, in real time, of the top headlines of the day? Thousands of bytes of information from around the world are passing through your phone, available with a few quick swipes of the finger. This is journalism’s next evolutionary step, and I am proud to help guide The Talon toward this bright new day.
Though I look forward to the day when I can pull up The Talon as an app, I will miss the little innocuous things that come with producing a physical paper product. I will miss the crackle of fresh pages Friday mornings in the Caf, with ink smudging my fingers and a hot cup of mediocre coffee. I will miss walking across campus and seeing students pass around a copy of The Talon, laughing at some photo or critiquing some article. I might even miss the crazy nights preparing to go to print, working on getting the paper looking just right and praying there are no spelling errors in the headlines until the morning sun leaks into the office.
But I am also eager to see The Talon consistently cover events live, publishing a story as soon as it is over. I look forward to the day when Oklahoma Christian University gets its campus news first from The Talon, and more professional opportunities are made available to its staff.
Above all, however, I am proud to continue my part in serving this campus through The Talon’s publication, and in our decision to take this next step into the brave new world that waits.
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