We’re big fans of change at The State Press.
We’re fans of creativity, ingenuity, entrepreneurship and storytelling. We’re fans of serious news reporting and in-depth feature writing, but we’re also fans of silly Tumblr accounts and memes. We're a fan of viral videos, reality television and multimedia storytelling. We’re also a fan of you, the reader. Our reader. We’re the ones in the stands waving our “You’re #1!” foam finger in the air, rain or shine, because this paper is all about you. We're also the people tweeting and Tumbling about you. The changes we’ve made reflect our attitude toward the ASU community and will bring more relevance into the lives of our readers.
Who we are and what The State Press becomes — is who you want us to be.
With that thought in mind, we re-imagined how we define ourselves at The State Press:
“We are a bold, risk-taking digital student media organization intent on ethically serving, provoking and challenging a large changing university audience.”
How do you be bold, provoke, serve and challenge an audience of more than 70,000-plus students, staff and faculty? You go where they already are. You go online.
Uprooting more than 100 years of a print publishing system also uncovered that The State Press contributed to University life in an essential manner. Students may remember when the unsavory visitors to North campus dorms in 2012. We can all remember when ASU baseball returned to the College World Series in 2010. Faculty can recall when ASU did not grant Barack Obama an honorary diploma in 2009, and when Dennis Erickson opened his tenure with a 10-2 season in 2007. Within the last 10 years, The State Press has been there for each milestone.
We’ve gathered a talented team of reporters, photographers, videographers, opinion writers, visual designers to cover four sprawling ASU campuses with a digital eye, examining modern issues and finding stories that show our University’s game changers and shortcomings.
Starting Thursday, Jan. 10, we would like to introduce to you the new State Press — whether it’s at your doorstep in a dorm, on campus in a newsrack or on your computer screen online. Here’s what we have in store for you:
Our blogs will take you behind the scenes of ASU sports, add more updates about the University, and follow culture and the arts scene of ASU.
Our arts and entertainment section will bring you the best of Valley art, music, dance and theater. The section will also comment on national trends, television shows, movies and culture. We'll also feature a calendar of events to let you know in advance whether an interesting speaker is coming to campus or a new art exhibit is opening close by.
Our multimedia department has boomed in the past three years. Longform, documentary-style videos as well a podcast and new web-only show called State Press Weekly will bring another visual dimension to statepress.com.
When our editors huddle for story meetings, we’re constantly asking what you like to read. But there’s also a better way you can tell us:Share your comments and opinions on Facebook page. Laugh, reblog and scroll with us on Tumblr. Follow and talk to us on Twitter.
Write us a letter about our stories. Our opinion editor is waiting to hear from you at opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com.
Comment on our posts. We’re not exaggerating when we say we read each one of them.
We’re fans of you. We promise we’re not just fishing for compliments. We want you to be fans of us.So, read the stories, consume them. And share them. And write to us. Let our reporters, photojournalists, multimedia storytellers and editors know what you want to see.
Because at the end of the day, this is about you, our State Press readers.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
