Ferrum College’s Student Newspaper Launches a New Website to Reach Broader Audiences
The clacking of keyboards. Giddy laughter. Nervous tension filled the newsroom the morning of the website launch, as reporters awaited the start of the next chapter for their paper.
The Iron Blade, Ferrum College’s student run newspaper, has been publishing for 67 years, and last year won a first-place award from the American Scholastic Press Association. However, this year marks the first year of digital publication on the website, a step forward for the student-run newspaper.
“What I love about the site is that it goes far beyond its hardcopy predecessor by being a multimedia window in the heart and soul of Ferrum College,” President David Johns said, following the launch of the new website.
The website went live Sept. 1 and will contain a variety of news content, including sports, entertainment alumni news, and videos. The site is being frequently updated by staff writers to provide up-to-date and current stories.
“To be able to have an independent website that may be constantly updated with current information really takes the program and the publication deeper into the 21st Century,” David Campbell, journalism professor and advisor to The Iron Blade, said. “This is where journalism is today, and our students are meeting it head on.”
The staff intend to use the new website as a way to reach a broader audience, and connect students with the goings-on both on campus and in the Ferrum Community as a whole, a goal the college supports.
“This provides the opportunity for our award-winning newspaper to reach a broader office and to provide even more current information,” Kevin Reilly, Vice President of Academic Affairs, said.
The Iron Blade’s new website can be reached at www.ironbladenews.com.
