Last year, a UA student tweeted to the Daily Wildcat that carrying around a large crinkly newspaper made her feel like an old man.
That student’s comical tweet raises a valid point about journalism today: the industry is changing. With the digital age upon us, more and more readers choose to get their news from online sources and social media sites.
The Wildcat is proud to be one of the few college papers that still releases a print product five days a week, and we plan to continue to do so. But for the past few years, we have also increased our online presence as we grow from a daily newspaper into a 24/7 news organization. Our Twitter account @DailyWildcat now has more than 4,000 followers, and we also reach thousands more people on Facebook each day. We’ve amped up our quantity of online exclusive articles, and last semester, we took advantage of this digital platform in new ways, such as using our website to release a musician’s new single.
But we’re not satisfied to just stop there. We know there are thousands of additional students we could be reaching, and our paper isn’t complete without them. As the independent voice of the university, we want to ensure that we’re covering an array of student interests, and incorporating many unique perspectives from UA’s diverse campus into our paper. Want to help us reach that goal? Whether it’s through the physical newspaper, our website, Facebook or Twitter, we’re always excited to interact with you.
Next semester, we’re also adding one more option to our list of digital features that will make networking between the Wildcat and our readers simpler than ever. Facebook and Twitter are great, but it’s about time the Daily Wildcat released an app — so we’re getting with the program.
In a little more than a month, you’ll be able to download a free Wildcat app for your iPad or iPhone. There will also be free HTML5 and native apps. These new digital features will allow you to get instant updates from the Daily Wildcat and take us anywhere with you. We also hope that when you access the Wildcat on your phone or tablet, it’ll be easier to leave comments on our site and get in contact with us via social media and email.
No matter how you choose to connect with us, we strive to be UA’s number one source for news, so we’re always open to your feedback about our paper and our online presence. Stay tuned as the school year begins for more updates about our app.
—Miranda Butler is the editor in chief. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions .