By Harrison Leone
It’s no great revelation that print journalism has seen its prime come and go. As the situation stands now, we may one day have to explain to our grandchildren the basic concept of a newspaper. It is a field that seems to become weaker with each day, as newsrooms everywhere are stripped to the bolts and the hum of the presses grows softer and softer. Newspapers are no longer on life support; arrangements are being made for the funeral.
It is in this bleak context that we are thrilled to announce that, after a semester of bi-weekly publication, The Bona Venture will be back to our traditional weekly print schedule. For you, this means that every Friday morning for the next thirteen weeks, you can expect to see what had hopefully been a familiar sight: newsstands around campus and crammed with stacks of St. Bonaventure goodness. Besides being thorough examinations of events and stories that directly effect the lives of students or otherwise reflect the collegiate experience, a newspaper is surprisingly versatile. You can read it, ball it up and stick it in your friend’s muffler, use it to line the cage of your contraband gerbil, or clean up splattered art projects. We print a thousand copies each week, so feel free to get creative with their use.
For us on the production end of the paper, it means twice the work as last semester, but I can assure you with full confidence that we are all genuinely grateful to be back to doing things the way we’re used to. We joined this club to create newspapers, not blog posts. Going back to a weekly print schedule will allow us to express our creativity and employ our knowledge of writing and reporting in a way that hitting “upload” on a webpage cannot compare to.
This, of course, does not mean that our online presence will be diminished in any capacity. In fact, it will continue to be a goal of ours to solidify and improve our space on the web. Our website will still be updated weekly, we will continue to be an active (and annoying) staple of your Facebook and Twitter feeds, and we will look to build on our digital presence in an effort to match the consistent quality of our hardcopy editions.
The BV
has survived to this point on the daily dedication of its staff and the continued support of incomparable alumni, support that was never more apparent than last semester. The quality of the Bonaventure graduate community is often touted as one of our school’s greatest strengths. It is said from the first day you arrive on campus: St. Bonaventure is not just a four-year experience, but a lifetime embrace into a bonded, united “Bona Bubble.” However true statements like this may or may not be, there is no doubt that we felt the full strength of a truly exceptional network of donors, advisors and well-wishers. Knowing there was a legion of BVers past standing in solidarity with us during our uncertain times last year was source of great reassurance, and the extent of our gratitude to all those who have continued to offer us assistance and guidance is truly limitless.
Scarcity seems to have become a reality of St. Bonaventure for the time being, not just for The BV, but also for every club and organization, and this return to a weekly printing schedule does not mean that hard times are by any means over. This is a call to anyone who believes there is still value, however nostalgic or sentimental, however impractical, in preserving a genuine campus tradition. Your moral support will help to sustain us during these lean times.
We do not want to be the last crew of a sinking ship, stubbornly refusing to go under while an ocean of adversity swells in anger and contempt around us, although it certainly may feel that way occasionally. We are not ignoring the all-too-obvious tea leaves that are saying online content is the way of the future, and, in many ways, the present. It would be foolish to say that a weekly newspaper can compete with instant access to individualized information from any source imaginable.
The BV
is not, nor has it ever attempted to be, a replacement for 4G or Wi-Fi. It is a piece of the St. Bonaventure experience, a staple that has, for nearly a century, been an indelible part of a small, unique university in the cold woods of Western New York.
Harrison is the Editor-in-chief for The Bona Venture. His email is leonehj11@bonaventure.edu
