Working for The Mirror is one of the more interesting jobs available to students. Some students write to fulfill class requirements or receive extra credit, some write because they have friends on staff, and others write because they simply love to write. When we finally finish on the early, and now cold, Wednesday mornings and we have sent the paper to the printer, we brace ourselves before meeting student reactions as the issue hit the shelves Wednesday afternoon. We hear third hand accounts of complaints of spelling mistakes or poor reporting inside the issue along with appreciated praises for photos and the diligent reporting we produce.
Two weeks ago, before our criticized break (we are on a contract of 24 Issues which means we skip a few weeks out of the school year) we received national recognition for multiple printed pieces. The website received nearly 5,000 views alone on Wednesday Oct. 13, double what the usual traffic is on our busiest day. As editors received Google Alerts, we discovered that The Mirror stories were being tossed around the blogosphere, raising our voice and breaking the bubble of the normal student, faculty alumni and parent audience we aim to satisfy with each issue.
News stories on marijuana legalization, European terror alert, and hot laptops were all found to have merit not by faculty but by other readers. Executive Editor, Annie Rooney’s “Marijuana Legalization on the California Ballot” was picked up by four Marijuana Blogs. News Editor, Alexandria Hein’s “Terror Alert Issued in Europe: Concern for Stags Abroad,” received recognition from two school blogs and Features Editor, Devon Porrino’s “Hot, Hot, Laptop,” was recognized by one blog. The hits appear to come from the strong representation The Mirror was given on Google News that Oct. afternoon.
Having a byline in Wednesday’s printed issue is seemingly not the only incentive to be published by The Mirror. With the expansion of technology and the nice acknowledgements from Google, our website has been recognized as a reputable news source. Google “Perlitz,” and The Mirror is the first news source result on your computer screen (thank you Chris Simmons).
Complaints will never go away. After all, we are a student-run newspaper, ready to receive criticism that we can learn from. Our weekly paper may not be satisfactory to every student on campus or concerned faculty member but Fairfield would not be the same University if the shelves weren’t filled (almost) every Wednesday afternoon. Come write for us. Be apart of the team that cares what their colleagues’ interests are. Make your blogosphere debut and add another line to your resume. Deadline is Sunday at 6 p.m.
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