The Present State of the University Press

 

 

 

 

  The university press has the function of broadcasting, as well as the guidance of the journalism, entertainment, and advertisements like the general public press. Though, those two are different in that the university press carries out its function inside the enclosure of the university. In other words, unlike the general public press, a campus newspaper delivers the variety of campus affairs, and suggests personalized entertainment and helps create the university culture for college students. Inside the schools the journals breathe the love of the school and fellowship to students. Also, it allows the local community to know about university educational policy, social service activities, and other things which lead to a close cooperative relationship between them. Currently, the school press is facing several problems and hardships which have made it nearly impossible to perform all its functions. Sometimes, it is not hard to see people who use the newspaper just as a mat in the grass or use the magazine as a pot stand.

 

   Survey of readers

 

  Chungnam National University has 3 official presses, which are the Chungdae Post, the Chungdae Newspaper, and CNUBS. Although they use different media to contact readers, the intended meaning that they aim to deliver will be the same. A survey was conducted to see how the students on campus think about the CNU website press. The survey was posted on CNU’s homepage and the Uruniv community for CNU students. Over/About 100 students answered from March 14 to March 17.

  According to the survey results, 80% of the students surveyed answered that they have encountered CNU press issues. The most common route was encountering the press by chance. As there are newsstands at the entrances of each college building, most students get the journals by just walking around the school. Also, the speakers around the campus allow students to listen to the broadcasts from CNUBS.

 
 
  The second route to encounter the press was made through the friends’ recommendations. We can find that friends play an important role in spreading the news of the school. The next graph shows the survey results, in which it shows the reason why students’ interest in the university press is decreasing: 31% of people surveyed said that there are no interesting content and 29% of students said accessibility to the journals is not easy enough. Finally, in the last graph, 42% of readers think that in order to attract students’ interest in the press, the use of new media like Social Network Services is needed. In the free writing section in the survey, many people wrote about the CNU press in a sincere way. These are some of their comments that I would like to introduce.

  “I wish the topics were more related to university students.”

  “I think some students are not interested in school. Keeping the essence of the press and adding exciting articles will attract much more readers.”

  “There are cases where the press are operating in an illogical manner. In the other words, in the crisis of the university press, the CNU press need to take a firm stand.”

 

   Survey over the members of the CNU student media

 

  This survey was conducted on the students who are really involved in the media at CNU.

 
  When ordering the hardships in producing student media, both ‘lack of personal time’ and ‘economically poor production environment’ ranked first place. The second place factor was ‘difficulties in recruiting apprenticeship’, and the third place factor was ‘neglected output’. As there are already programmed schedules, producing media in one’s own personal time is kind of difficult. The most time-consuming part of publishing is during the semester, which makes student reporters feel that the time for themselves is much shorter. Personal times and working hours in the press have to be carefully coordinated. Besides, ‘economically poor production environment’ was also ranked as first place. Financial assistance from the university is decreasing. In 2015, the budgets of the 3 main CNU presses have been cut off. As the financial support was reduced, it became inevitable to cut down on food costs, and the Chungdae newspaper had to lower the volume of its circulation. On the matter of the reduced budget, the friction often occurs with the independent student body. ‘Difficulties in recruiting apprenticeship’ ranked second place in the list of hardships. It is not hard to hear from others questions like, “Why do you participate in the university press?” It is getting harder to find new members to lead the CNU media in the coming years. Every year the CNU press recruit cub reporters. To lead the press for at least 2 years, there should be many students who apply to be cub reporters. Also, there are risks of students leaving in the middle of the work. If there are not many applicants, one more wanted advertisement has to be enacted. A shortage of hands causes hardships for students who are really looking for the cub reporters. The third hardship that members of the CNU press are experiencing ‘neglected output’. When carefully prepared, the result is that members feel neglected and might not feel good. The press might be the same.

  In that next graph, except for only 3 members, everyone answered that attention for the school press is decreasing. When asked about the reason why the readership is decreasing, most of the members picked ‘the decline of interest in overall school media’ and ‘lack of advertisement’. When the university media were being promoted in late 1970’s there was no other way to get information about the university except for school newspapers and broadcasting. Back then it worked as a rallying cry for student participation and social protest. As the internet and technology advanced, students could find information on websites which could be accessed easier than newspapers. In fact, there are no promotional activities when the new issue of the Chungdae Post is released. A discussion about having informational activities will be needed as there were many members saying that low promotion is the cause of the low rate of student interest. Thus, accelerating promotion is necessary in order to keep bringing the exciting and useful content and to widen our readership.

 

   Present state of school media

 

  With the course of time, it is hard to keep its position forever. Likewise, the university press losing readers might be just a natural thing. There are still students who want to write articles for readers, and there are also readers who want to read articles. Before rearranging the CNU media platforms, there should be much debate. First, fundamental things such as the goal of publishing or functions should be established firmly with the right philosophy. Without these kinds of basic aims, just saying “Let’s publish our issue just because it is traditional” can make the whole process spineless. Without any further viewpoints, college newspapers cannot properly perform their intended functions, and cannot fully meet the needs of readers. It is natural that the subscriber rate is lowered without a real destination. Setting up fine intention and organizing articles in consistent ways will make the college newspapers interesting to the readers. When preparing to write an article in English, the theme that runs through the whole article should be kept in consistent ways.

  In university press, the freedom of speech is backing (unclear meaning). For example, before preparing an editorial conference preparing items, there is self-censorship thinking, such as, ‘I can’t write about this’ especially when the item in question is sexual or if it is against the school’s policy. Reporters definitely think that this kind of topic will not be printed even before preparing the editorial conference. In the general case of our country, school media have been established by the authorities of the college administration. Under the direction of the authorities of the college, students are the ones making the media. Most universities have school regulations saying that the publications distributed in schools need the College President’s approval. As a result, dynamic opinions and feelings exchanges were barred because university authorities practically ruled over the university media. There should be an independent student media which does not need the signature of the president of the university, but a few of those media platforms have vanished already.

  

 

  

    For a bright future

 

  Having a spirit of ownership over our university might be the best behavior for a bright future. We can see the future of school media in long-term and short-term perspectives. When taking long term views, we must remember that it is a press at a university. Topics and articles must be student centered. If the articles are written only from the viewpoint of the reporter, no one will show interest in that publication and it will keep readers away. Going along with readers and reporters harmoniously will be important. A structure where readers can participate in the process of publishing should also be implemented for further improvement. Interaction between reporters and readers will make a virtuous circle which will carry out the future of CNU media. Next, every press should have clear goals. When we plan our life we establish our biggest aim, and then make detailed plans for it. Publications are the same. Without an earnest purpose, our work can lose its function. As the media have an influence over people, it should be used in positive ways. As a school publication especially influences students it should not be done carelessly. From informing to entertaining, various topics have to express the college student’s diverse experience. In the short-terms, better public relations seem to be needed according to the survey. There are many students saying that accessibility is not very good. Information about when the new issue will be published and where the issues are located should be apparent to the students. Using social network service actively will prove much more effective than other ways. It is obvious that having diverse and high-quality content is ideal. We sincerely hope our school’s media will contribute to making a sound and colorful university culture.

 

 

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