In last week’s column, I argued The Cavalier Daily should increase coverage of new journalistic forms and lengths. One of the handicaps I ran into, however, was the constraint of the medium itself. Indeed, it is already strenuous for publications to filter through a great deal of material to be published either on paper or pixel.
There’s a definite difference, though, when the average reader accesses our University’s predominant publication physically or virtually. Surfing the web’s waves onto The Cavalier Daily’s website, one sees not only many more columns and pieces, but one can also dive into a reservoir of formerly published works, as well. The twice-published weekly paper limits this severely, and it is exhibited daily. I have rarely, if ever, seen a fellow University commuter toting a Cavalier Daily newspaper around Grounds before. I have, though, seen many a person on their smartphone, updating the software of their lives as they flit from place to place.
It’s no secret we’re receiving our news and information differently. As I’ve written before, our newsfeeds are providing us data sustenance from everywhere at any time we wish. Novel online sources have the puissance to transmit stories to us at dizzying rates and sizes. Yet we can choose the ones that sate us best and fill us the most. These new media, as Joshua Meyrowitz puts it, break down former physical and social boundaries, allowing us to get our information anywhere, at any time. If you’re reading this article on your phone — hey, thanks! — then you’re creating this kind of situation as you scan these words.
What this phenomenon requires, though, is a higher degree of self-consciousness. As readers, writers and users, we should have a greater awareness of what sorts of effects these means of access can have on our everyday lives. The Cavalier Daily is no different (in this instance, concerning the experimental forms and subjects I talked about last week.) Doubtlessly, it must already choose what to publish on paper as opposed to print in order to place its product on the dishes of news consumers at the University and elsewhere. Even this piece will be subjected to such a decision!
The Cavalier Daily has not completely taken advantage of these new technological opportunities, though, that their new digital platform has offered. Via their website, various social media pages or other digital presences, one might be offered more sections and pieces, true, on their smartphone. But with greater quantity comes… well, the same old quality of work I expect when picking up the paper’s pulp counterpart. And perhaps some of those columns might not attract my eyes long enough to stay on the website. But they might on Volume X, Issue Y.
Of course, our devices enable us to multitask more than ever before — we’re part of myriad situations and we’re spanning our attentions wider and wider. And if my attention can be payable, I’ll want to spread the wealth as much as I can. So why not use the advantages of an online platform to do so? Figure out what captures the mind of mobile users and what caters to those who still love sitting with a newspaper in their hands. Then produce pieces that will maximize the potential of both paper and pixel.
The Cavalier Daily should start by changing up the arrangements of both its paper and online editions. Put the important stories where people will most see them. Let those who want to digest their news do so without the swipe and the screen, and let those who want a quick bite to get it online. Cater to all parties, if you can, and to all situations that our media create for us! Let’s cook up something new, shall we?
Sasan Mousavi is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @CDPublicEditor.
Read More
RASHID: Noncitizen students are under attack, and the University must act
By Muhammad Ali Rashid | 6 hours agoNow is the time to act, proving our commitment by protecting and expanding programs that keep the University open and accessible to all.
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | January 29, 2025Looking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | January 27, 2025Instead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
