One of the last community colleges to launch an online news publication, EC’s Union newspaper will finally catch up with the 21st century.
The official lauch date for the online publication is Thursday Nov. 29 when students and the public will be able to view it with real stories.
A test version is currently available to preview.
“I think it is great because we’re the last junior college to do it, so it’s about time that we caught up with everybody else,” Matt Lopez, editor-in-chief, said.
Most of the staff, as well as its advisers, share mutual feelings about the upcoming inclusion of digital technology.
“Former staff member Sara O’Connell suggested it in an editor’s board meeting and we all thought it was a good idea,” Lopez said.
The Union tried to go online in 2005, but did not because of contract issues that needed to be resolved.
“It will be exciting. We’ve been waiting a long time, and now we finally get to do it,” Lopez said.
Even though there is a lot of excitement, some do admit going online will add to their workload.
“Reporters are going to have more responsibilities instead of just sending it to the editors,” Lopez said.
Many agree however, that there will be more positives than negatives as far as the outcomes of the new endeavor.
“Now we’ll be able to do longer stories and get more people to read them,” assistant news editor Pearl Sheets said.
With many other California junior colleges online, it was only a matter of time before EC joined them.
“This is the future of newspapers; everything is going online,” Kathy Gaytan, web editor, said.
People all over the world will now have access to EC’s newspaper and will have more updates than ever.
“A lot of people don’t know what’s happening on campus and we hope this website will make it easier for them to read the news,” Gaytan said.
While the print edition of the newspaper will continue, the Union staff is going to have to get used to its new digital home.
“We’re testing the waters,” Lopez said. “Next semester will be the true test of how far we’ve come.”
