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The 2009-10 school year has been one of growth for The Appalachian student newspaper. As our predecessors predicted almost one year ago to the day, the economy and the ever-changing world of journalism have presented challenges for the newspaper over the past 12 months, but they have endured.
Among other things, the 2009-10 Editorial Board has experienced turbulence involving its own make-up, defining each member’s specific responsibilities with the addition of so many new elements to our staff, and fully affecting every goal they set out to achieve with a limited amount of both human and financial resources.
Of all the lessons we will take from this year’s leaders, however, the one most central to our success is simple: in this business, at this school, and in this town, it is a shear force of will that enables us to discover the news and accurately report it to our readers. While we cannot foresee the details of the hardships we will invariably endure over the course of the next year, we, the 2010-11 Editorial Board, pledge to honor the spirit our predecessors have exhibited by making the necessary sacrifices each day to ensure you have a source of news that is accurate, relevant to you, and available on your terms.
To achieve these goals, we have already begun to reorganize our staff to maximize our coverage and reduce the lag time between when news happens and when we have it available for you. We will continue to publish twice-weekly print editions of The Appalachian, but we will put in place the processes that allow us to update theappalachianonline.com five days per week, ensuring the most important campus news of the past 24 hours is always available for students and the rest of the Appalachian community.
Unfortunately, our efforts alone will not be enough. We need the entire university, including students, faculty and staff, to help us deliver the news: write us letters and online comments to tell us when we show you something new or when we screw up, tell us about the stories we are missing, or, if you are so inclined, fill out an application at theappalachianonline.com and help us make the paper better first-hand.
We wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer, and we look forward to serving you when you return in the fall.
Sincerely,
LILES NEAL
Editor-in-Chief
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