Let’s face it—newsprint is steadily dying out one website at a time, and news- papers are becoming extinct. While the need for journalists will never cease, solely majoring in print journalism is not always the wisest choice for job security reasons nowadays. Even high school and college newspapers have lost their spark they possessed ten or more years ago as a result of the busy lives and technology-saturated society we are forced to live in.
At the beginning of the semester, the new Pow Wow staff headlined (no pun intended) our first official meeting with the elephant in the room: the paper needed more oomph. For quite some time, we bounced off ideas that stemmed from each new editor’s backgrounds and personal writing styles.
Essentially, this new paper is for YOU, the student. It is tailor-made for a college student leading a busy life who either has no time to read a paper or is jaded by the current society’s interpretation of “news” (eh-hem, mindless, celebrity rumors). Whether one is looking for the current news or simply wants a good laugh, the improved Pow Wow probably has it.
To start, the Verve section has been completely revamped, giving credit back to what it was meant to be: arts and enter- tainment around Tyler and East Texas. The new “Buffalo Chips”—our spin on “Rot- ten Tomatoes”—are movie reviews from the perspective a student using “chips” to determine how worthwhile the film was. Also, Associate Editor Chris Jones will have a regular, featured column of his own rants and raves in the media industry.
In the past, any sports section of any paper is always given a bad reputation for merely being a hard hit to make inter- esting—not so with the new Pow Wow. Fresh sports editors Adam Peterson and Logan Stephens have turned the section on its head with crisp photos, a “Spotlight Athlete” column, and a recurring sports opinion piece, “Down and Dirty.”
Adding to the new vibe, the staff has developed the “Really?” column, crazy and often hilarious snapshots taken around campus that just makes you wonder what some people are thinking. Guest columns will also make appearances throughout the year.
While the new Pow Wow has more fun and energy than before, it will always remain faithful to its good-natured roots. The point of its reconstruction is to enhance appeal, bring new zest to campus, and offer them a warm welcome back to the much-missed underdogs of journalism.
