The Pulse, UF’s Student Newspaper, Adapts to Digital Era

With journalism rapidly evolving, the University of Findlay’s student newspaper, the Pulse, is transitioning out of print publications and enhancing its digital news production. It’s one of many efforts to align UF’s experiential learning with current industry standards.
The Pulse announced on Friday, Jan. 13 that it is going from a weekly print publication to primarily digital with one print publication per month. This will allow students to integrate multimedia into news coverage which is a vital skill employers are seeking.
Pulse staffers are adapting to digital media at the same time as leading news organizations such as the New York Times. Although the Times has been a delivery adaptation forerunner, Sydney Ember’s Jan. 17 story about an internal report on the paper’s editorial operations showed that Times journalists recognize they must move even faster.
The Times’s report, compiled by seven of its journalists, indicated several news organizations are restructuring newsrooms due to declining print advertising that is leading to budget and personnel cuts. It encouraged more visual journalism graphics, video, virtual reality and podcasts to reach its audience.
The Pulse, as a part of its transition, restructured its website to incorporate a variety of visuals.
“Going digital will allow the Pulse to publish fresh content more frequently,” said Amy Rogan, assistant professor of communication and faculty advisor to the Pulse. “The restructure of the website allows us to have a breaking news bar, web polls, track analytics, and eventually send push notifications.”
Although there will no longer be a weekly print edition to design, the staff will continue to practice fast-paced journalism industry by utilizing a variety of mediums to cover the news with quicker turnaround times. The staff hopes to increase their readership to both the University and Findlay community with these additions.
Over the years, the Pulse has earned multiple Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA) awards in various categories and has won first place for overall news coverage, the most prestigious award in each division for two years in a row. The Pulse has recently learned it will be the recipient of eight ONA awards for 2016 coverage. The digital transition will qualify the Pulse for additional awards in the future.
The Pulse, a division of the Findlay Media Network at the University of Findlay can be accessed at https://ufpulse.wpengine.com/.

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