http://collegewebguy.com/2009/08/12/why-some-college-newspapers-arent-online-and-at-what-cost/ He’s employed at a university. He calls himself a web designer. These are his brain droppings. Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:39:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://collegewebguy.com/2009/08/12/why-some-college-newspapers-arent-online-and-at-what-cost/comment-page-1/#comment-1294 Rick Hardy Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:49:10 +0000 http://collegewebguy.com/?p=472#comment-1294 Drew, thanks for this interesting post. The issue is a tough one for university administrators trying to balance student learning and academic freedom with concerns about how the student newspaper will play with conservative alumni and donors. About 7 years ago I was a VP for enrollment and advancement at a religiously affiliated university and did not approve putting the student newspaper online with a link to our site. If I was the faculty advisor, I would have lobbied hard to do so, but I knew just how offensive some of the content would be to very conservative donors who would only view the material negatively. In today's environment, however, I may make a different decision, given the impact of technology and social media, and the values of authenticity and transparency in play big-time right now. But still, it would be a tough call because the most conservative donors we had are not part of the paradigm shifts in the market. They are older and very values-oriented and would only give their dollars and legacy gifts to institutions that actively reflected those values. I'm thinking of one particular donor when I ask, is the obvious value of putting the student newspaper online worth possibly losing a $3M estate planning gift? That being said, if I was a faculty member now and I couldn't get the newspaper online, I'd find other ways (like blogs) to create the online experience and get the news published online. Drew, thanks for this interesting post. The issue is a tough one for university administrators trying to balance student learning and academic freedom with concerns about how the student newspaper will play with conservative alumni and donors. About 7 years ago I was a VP for enrollment and advancement at a religiously affiliated university and did not approve putting the student newspaper online with a link to our site. If I was the faculty advisor, I would have lobbied hard to do so, but I knew just how offensive some of the content would be to very conservative donors who would only view the material negatively. In today’s environment, however, I may make a different decision, given the impact of technology and social media, and the values of authenticity and transparency in play big-time right now. But still, it would be a tough call because the most conservative donors we had are not part of the paradigm shifts in the market. They are older and very values-oriented and would only give their dollars and legacy gifts to institutions that actively reflected those values. I’m thinking of one particular donor when I ask, is the obvious value of putting the student newspaper online worth possibly losing a $3M estate planning gift? That being said, if I was a faculty member now and I couldn’t get the newspaper online, I’d find other ways (like blogs) to create the online experience and get the news published online.

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