In response to a Nov. 16 editorial, “The State Press in a digital age.”
As a former columnist for The State Press, I was sad to see last week’s editorial announcing the end of its daily print edition.
The newspaper’s ambition to cut costs is certainly commendable, but I question whether the action will have a true impact on the budget. Hopefully this decision is based on financial analyses and isn’t a spur-of-the-moment outburst that editors end up regretting.
I can happily recall my days eating lunch at Smashburger with friends while casually flipping through The State Press.
Unfortunate as it may be, though, I will say it: If I had been forced to read the newspaper on the Internet, it’s likely I would have just typed in a different domain. Undergraduate reporters aren’t necessarily expected to break news or unearth Watergate-like scandals. The only reason I used to visit our website was to share content that I discovered through the print version. I would have never seen it without that broadsheet in my hand.
Even in the worst-case scenario of an impending bankruptcy, The State Press should ride out the wave in print. I can guarantee that students will look elsewhere for news if editors “go digital,” and death will be ushered in by advertisement cancellations even sooner than it would have come otherwise.
Brian Anderson
Alumnus
Former State Press columnist
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