Posted by The Editorial Board
Current society has become accustomed to the instantaneous dissemination of information. On April 15 of 2013 at 2:49 p.m. EDT, two bombs crafted out of pressure cookers exploded on the sidewalk next to the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon. Within three minutes the first tweets including the stems "explod*," "explos*" and "bomb*" were published on the social media website Twitter. The New York Times ran their first full-length article detailing the attacks Twenty-eight minutes later at 3:17 p.m. EDT.
The modern individual has more news source options to choose from than ever before. And not only are there more news sources, but as New York Times writer Brian Stelter pointed out during his on-campus lecture last spring entitled "Twenty-Somethings," there's an entirely new method of packaging information to the public. Websites like BuzzFeed and Twitter have become enormously successful due to their intelligent integration of advertisements, eye-catching headlines and, most importantly, their clear, concise and punchy delivery. This year the New York Times audited 593 newspapers and reported a 0.7 percent daily circulation decline.
From major publications to fringe newspapers, the changing landscape of journalism has been a prominent table topic. Inevitably, the form of news delivery that society prefers is changing-but with a definite perk. Readers can now comment on and share news with the click of a button. Thanks to modern technology, the public is now a more integral part of the dialogue. The Skidmore News hopes to emulate and encourage this readership involvement in our own publication to the best of our ability.
Why read articles when you can receive sound bytes of information from numerous social media sites? President John Kennedy once noted about the press that its role is "not to simply give the public what it wants-but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and even sometimes anger public opinion." There is something lost in the sensationalism of the news circulated by media sites. At The Skidmore News, we believe that there is enormous value in carefully crafted, researched and artistic journalism.
We are here not to make news, but report it. Our job is to not only to observe and record Skidmore's accolades and achievements, but also to recognize and point out its mistakes and faults. In return, we ask that the reader identify our faults when they are apparent so that we may correct them. As Skidmore College's sole official newspaper, we are inherent to the critical debate regarding this campus-but the reader is equally as indispensable to its dialogue. We not only could not silence your dissent, but we welcome it.
As the only club chartered for the specific purpose of printing campus news we aim to serve as a source of unbiased and factual information, meaningful and well-researched opinions and, finally, as a common ground for opinion and debate. As the reader you fuel us with feedback, criticism and contestation. Without you, we could not grow.
Founded in 1925, The Skidmore News was chartered as the official campus newspaper with , "the purpose ... to act as a source of communication and dissemination of information for the students, faculty and employees of Skidmore College as well as the general Saratoga community." We are deeply proud of our role in Skidmore College's historic trajectory and equally excited to continue on with our tradition as custodians of information. We're looking forward to a great year.