Monday, August 18, 2008
New editor, features in The Shield
 Jon Webb will take over as editor in chief of The Shield, USI’s student newspaper, in fall 2008. A senior English major with a minor in journalism, Webb served as entertainment editor and wrote a satirical column for the newspaper last year. In July he attended the Management Seminar for College Newspaper Editors at the University of Georgia in Athens. Student editors from across the country attended the week-long conference and visited the offices of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The main emphasis of the conference was online journalism incorporating multimedia elements such as live blogging, audio/video, slideshows, and interactive maps. “They kept telling us print journalism is dead,” he said. Newspaper readership is down everywhere, the student editors were told – except college campuses. Webb sees the potential for a greater audience for The Shield. “I want it to be more of a news source for the students and not a secondary source,” he said. Webb’s plans for The Shield include a broader perspective on the opinion pages, investigative and feature stories, additional reporting staff, and wider coverage of the University in general. On The Shield Web site there will be more frequent updating of stories, Web-only stories, a section devoted to election coverage, and – for the first time – online advertising. To meet the demand for multimedia features including podcasts, The Shield staff will partner on the Web with radio and television students at WSWI and Access USI. Webb would also like The Shield to sponsor campus events. That’s a lot of change – and a lot of work. But Webb is up to the challenge. “I am nervous,” he said. “I’m looking forward to my ulcer, but I’m excited.” The Shield celebrates its 40th anniversary this academic year. A reunion for The Shield and Transitions Magazine alumni will be held on campus October 18. Wendy Knipe Bredhold News and Information Services wkbredhold@usi.edu 812/461-5259 |
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