The culture of student media at specialty schools

By Jessica Clary
Savannah College of Art and Design

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College student media groups are an integral part of the university experience at every school, and students have many reasons for getting involved. Whether it’s for career experience, or just for fun, students from all different majors and programs come together through student newspapers, magazines, radio stations and more. But what about students at colleges where journalism isn’t a major? What about specialty colleges, like art schools?

While some students going to art colleges to escape certain parts of the university experience (sports, Greek life or something else), plenty don’t want to give up any of the activities and opportunities available at larger universities. Student media programs at art colleges are thriving across the country, and while some students involved may never use their student media experience in their pursuit of their dream career, plenty will, and have. Continue reading “College newspapers: Not just for journalism students”

Why you should recruit non-communications majors for campus media, and how to get started

By Allison Bennett Dyche
Assistant Director of Student Media, Savannah College of Art and Design

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Maybe your university doesn’t have anything resembling a journalism department. Or maybe you do, but those students are historically lazy and impossible to recruit and retain on staff for more than a year.

You don’t have to wait around for your journalism/communications/writing majors to get to their senior year, realize they don’t have a portfolio and are staring down the barrel of an impending graduation to join your staff out of desperation. So how do you convince students from other majors to not only see the value in student media, but to believe enough in what you do to actually become part of your staff?

Amanda Permenter Garlow was recruited for the newspaper staff by her freshman orientation adviser at Georgia Southern University. The double major in English and writing & linguistics ended up holding three section editor positions at the campus newspaper, The George-Anne, and serving as editor-in-chief of it for two years before she graduated in 2005. Continue reading “Diversifying your student media department”