The Daily Texan needed its Web site to change with the times. Journalism has been moving from print to the Internet, and the student editors at the University of Texas at Austin publication were struggling to develop a unique online presence.
But their prepackaged Web software wouldn’t let them, says Lauren Winchester, the editor.
So she and her colleagues decided to rebel against their Internet home of five years, College Publisher, a popular platform that offers student newspapers free Web hosting in exchange for ad revenue from college papers’ sites. Instead, the Texan created its own Web site.
The site made its debut this past spring semester. The editors can now position stories and headlines where they want them, depending on the flow of the news, and showcase different kinds of media. They couldn’t do that before.
Ms. Winchester said the freedom is invaluable. “Students are working on our Web site, and students are deciding how the Web site will look,” she said.
The Texan’s move reflects a concern among some college-newspaper editors that one size no longer fits all. Approximately 600 student newspapers use College Publisher, a content-management system owned by College Media Network. (Many other campus newspapers have a very limited online presence.) The service offers Web-page templates and around-the-clock technical support, a draw for student journalists with limited resources.
However, the uniformity of the templates limits what journalists can do on the Web."It’s been detrimental to their ability to innovate online,” said Daniel Bachhuber, founder of the now-defunct CoPress, a company that also offered hosting and resources to student newspapers. It closed in March for financial reasons.
The Daily Texan‘s new host, Drupal, is an open-source system that allows Webmasters independence over design and content. Ms. Winchester said The Daily Texan was working to incorporate new multimedia elements on its Web site, such as videos and carousel slide shows.
Now, she says, the staff has total control over how the site looks: “‘Where on the page do we want breaking news to be displayed, and how do we want breaking news to be displayed?’” she asked. “Before, we couldn’t really change it.”
Flexibility is the greatest draw of an independently maintained Web site, said Allan James Vestal, online-development editor at The Maneater, the University of Missouri’s newspaper.
The Maneater is hosted on Django, another open-source system that allows its users more freedom to manipulate their Web content. One of the Maneater site’s newest features is a comprehensive housing guide that displays current market listings for student housing.
“That’s something we couldn’t even conceive of if we were on College Publisher,” said Mr. Vestal.
Rusty Lewis, director of affiliate relations at College Media Network, when contacted by The Chronicle about such complaints, wrote via e-mail that “all the design and decision making is driven by student demand and feedback.”
College Publisher does have defenders. They point out that not all newspaper staffs have the technological capabilities to build and maintain their own Web sites. Rich Cameron, online-communications director for the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, said a platform like College Publisher is particularly helpful for those with minimal resources.
“It allows instructors with limited resources and experience in Web architecture to concentrate on teaching journalism skills rather than Web technology,” he said.
That kind of support is compelling at four-year institutions as well. At The Daily Herald, the Brown University student paper, the staff has twice considered moving away from the platform, according to Web Editor Neal Poole, but never carried through. “The one thing College Publisher provides that is very hard to find elsewhere is support—the ability to know that if there is something wrong with our Web site, we can call a number and someone will take care of it,” said Mr. Poole.
However, says Mr. Vestal, student journalists working with alternative platforms are willing to lend their expertise. He encourages student editors not to be intimidated by building their own Web sites.
“Get out there and get your feet wet,” said Mr. Vestal. “Take advantage of the community, and don’t be limited by what you think a particular piece of software can do.”
