Collegian introduces changes to print, online and social media

By Lizzie Kipp
Campus Editor
thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com

Big changes are coming to The Hutchinson Collegian this year, including joining a national organization and establishing a larger social media presence.

This semester will be the first that the Collegian is part of the ACP – Associated Collegiate Press. This allows the staff to compete at a national level and also attend national conventions and workshops.

Every year, the ACP gives awards for collegiate publications throughout the country, including newspapers, magazines, and broadcasting.

For years, the Collegian has been competing at the state level by attending the Kansas Collegiate Media conference and convention. The staff has won the All Kansas Overall Publication Award for a two-year school two years in a row, as well as numerous individual staff awards. They also received the Big J Award at last year’s convention for their coverage of the NJCAA women’s basketball championship in Casper, Wyo., which Hutchinson Community College won..

Knowing this, Collegian advisor Brad Hallier speaks highly of the Collegian staff.

“The Collegian staff has done well at the state level in competitions,” Hallier said. “The next logical step is to see how the staff competes nationally.”

After joining the ACP, the Collegian will also be able to publish an e-edition of each newspaper.

Another update came at the suggestion of HutchCC president Tricia Paramore for the Collegian’s website, www.hutchcollegian.com. Users will now have the option to listen to the Collegian’s articles online. This way the website will be more accommodating to students who want to access the staff’s work.

“Right now, you have to highlight what you want to listen to,” Hallier said. “But we are working on a plugin that will allow users to click a play button and listen to the entire story.”

Additionally, the staff is increasing the newspaper’s social media presence. The Collegian has been present on most forms of social media for several years, but this year will bring new content on more platforms accessible to students. The updates will include more content on Instagram and a new account on TikTok for promotional reasons.

Editor In Chief Jolie Shultz said the Collegian Instagram account grew significantly during the 2024 NJCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.

“By posting three interviews, we reached over 1,000 people, a majority of which weren’t followers,” Shultz said. “We want to expand our reach to more than what we have already.”

Shultz also said she wants to emphasize the analytics of the Collegian’s social media accounts. She will be managing the new Collegian TikTok account, which has one video posted on it so far.

“While we don’t see ourselves posting news-related content as much, we want to expose our views to the amazing staff who puts so much time, energy, and effort into the paper,” Shultz said. “It’s a more personal space for our viewers to see us as more than student journalists.”

The Collegian also has a new email address to keep all comments, suggestions, and reviews in one place. This will make it easier for staff members to assess feedback and communicate with readers. One can email the Collegian at any time using the address thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com.

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