Informer Meets Internet

In one classroom on the Cistercian campus, the air is alive with the sound of printing paper, students shouting facts, and teachers and editors frantically rushing to meet deadlines. Several days later, in a much quieter classroom, one or two students pull out a Sudoku puzzle or read a list of numbers while the sound of a teacher they’re now ignoring drones on in the background. Such is the way of the old informer. For the staff, it is a hectic process of writing in their spare time and short activities periods, a rush to finish pieces on time, and printing on an outdated medium without ever knowing if someone would read it.

In my first year here at Cistercian, the gray walls were lined with carpets, and notably, chalkboards. As we added expo markers, computers, and most recently the Founders’ Hall renovation, our school has continued to make jumps, however delayed, into the modern era. For many, the print media has all but disappeared, and the Informer is following suit.

Beyond simple digitalization, the Informer Online is a paper of the students, by the students, and for the students. In the 1970’s, a group of students decided to start a publication for their voices to be heard; nearly forty years later we carry on this tradition. By opening the Informer to the Internet, participation no longer requires going to the activity’s room twice a week, but just a somewhat decent Wi-Fi connection that can be found at your local library, parents’ house, or fast food establishment like the Chipotle I’m  in now. The interaction doesn’t stop there: if you’ve ever read an Informer article and wished you knew more about the author, or wanted to share your opinion, now you can. The new format will allow for a comments section, journalist bios, hyperlinks, and more.

While many enjoyed the inside jokes and hidden references in the old paper, the digital format gives friends, family (hi, mom!), future colleges and employers, and even renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson the opportunity to read an article you wrote. Don’t worry, though, “By the Numbers” and other beloved informer traditions won’t be disappearing anytime soon, the paper will just have a new air of maturity about it.

In the end, the new Informer Online is for you, the students. For four decades students have gathered together to write for this publication to say what wasn’t being said anywhere else. In 2015, the object remains the same, but the opportunity has changed. The Informer is a student-run newspaper with the same dedication to news, humor, and this school that it has always been; the only difference is that now you can click on it.