Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
This is the last issue of the Daily Gazette during the 2006-2007 academic year, and it also marks the end of an era: come next fall, the Daily Gazette will feature a host of major changes.
The Daily Gazette prides itself on being a cutting-edge institution. Our first issue went live in 1995, only two years after e-mail was first introduced at Swarthmore. Since then, we have worked to take advantage of the unique opportunities allowed by the internet to send content out to our readers every weekday morning. At the Gazette, we firmly believe the internet is the future of journalism.
To this end, we will be introducing several major new features, including:
* Constant updates. No longer will the Gazette be updated once every morning. Instead, we will bring you the news as it happens. When something happens at Swarthmore College, you’ll be able to turn to the Gazette within hours and start finding out the details as they come in. Stories will still be compiled into a daily email issue as well.
* Comments. We believe the internet is a tool to facilitate communication and interaction. To this end, every single one of our stories will allow our readers to post their own responses, critiques, and suggestions.
* Opinions. For the first time, the Daily Gazette will begin to run a small number of focused and relevant opinion pieces. If you have an opinion on a recent event or change at Swarthmore or if you just want to inspire constructive debates, the Daily Gazette will be the place to turn.
* Events Calendars. The Daily Gazette’s Campus Events listings will be making to move to the standard iCal format, allowing our readers to subscribe to our events through Google Calendar, iCal, or other programs of their choice.
* RSS. “Real Simple Syndication” will give our readers an alternative to our daily emails–using a news reader like NetNewsWire, you’ll be able to subscribe to our website and receive notification of the news as it happens.
All of these changes will be part of a major site redesign to bring the Gazette more in line with major newspapers the world over.
Some things will not be changing, however. The Gazette remains devoted to providing fair and unbiased coverage of everything that happens on Swarthmore’s campus, from theater to judicial hearings. Just as importantly, we will continue to offer world news, menus, and weather jokes.
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please direct them to dailygazette@swarthmore.edu. We are eager for your feedback!