By Bailey Brammer | Editor-in-Chief
Welcome back from break, Bears! Whether you are choosing to read the Lariat for the first time or you have been a longtime reader and follower, thank you for choosing to bring our publication into the new year with you.
Last semester, the Lariat went through one of the largest changes it has made since its inception in 1900; in today’s digital-based society, journalism has ventured online, and in keeping up with our audience, so has the Lariat. By decreasing our print days from four to two, we have committed to bringing you your Baylor news in a way that appeals to you, while also keeping the tradition of print journalism alive.
Change is a natural occurrence, and last fall I shared with our readers the importance of embracing change in all aspects of their lives. Whether that change is moving to a new state to start your collegiate adventure, making new friends when old ones have failed to see your value or simply switching from being a business major to being a studio art major, change can be refreshing and invigorating at any time in your life but especially at the start of a new year.
With a new year come new opportunities for change. Although New Year’s resolutions may or may not work, acknowledging the need for a modification in the way you live can be the first step toward transforming your life.
This semester, we are looking to expand upon our own adjustments with two incredible additions to our coverage – an update app and a biweekly newscast. The Lariat is no stranger to change, especially after last fall, and we are anxious to continue developing and improving ourselves to be your very best source for news.
Every member of staff of around 40 students has their own visions and passions, and the Lariat gives them a place to pursue these dreams. Our publication not only produces print and digital articles, editorials and columns, broadcast and radio shows, but also offers a resource and outlet for young journalists to publish their work. While most journalists do not write for themselves, the Lariat is as much ours as it is yours, and it changes as much for us and our personal goals as it does for your news necessities.
In 2012, the Lariat released an app dedicated to serving our readers in their smartphone-filled lives. Just six years later, cellphones have permeated our daily routines from waking to sleeping (and sometimes even disturb our sleeping), and the Lariat has responded by updating our app to better suit your news preferences.
Set to debut before the end of January, the app has gone through countless designs and redesigns, and we have considered students’ opinions through surveys before deciding upon the most user-friendly version of it. Our updated app, which is free to download in the iTunes App Store, aims to deliver your Baylor and Waco news right to your fingertips any time of day.
Our second addition to the Lariat this semester is a first for us and for Baylor. Under the guidance and direction of our student publications director Bruce Gietzen, who spent more than 25 years in television journalism, our staff will be anchoring, writing and producing our very own newscast to be broadcast on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The newscast, entitled “Lariat TV News Today,” will be available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube following the filming of the broadcast, and we are in the midst of searching for an outlet to show our newscast live.
Jorge Ramos, renowned Mexican-American broadcast journalist and author, said “My only advice is follow your dream and do whatever you like to do the most. I chose journalism because I wanted to be in the places where history was being made.”
Although it can be difficult and a little cliche to say “follow your dreams,” I’d like to implore upon you the clean slate of a new year. If you’re toiling away at a job you hate, stuck in classes you dislike or spending time with people who don’t build you up the way you need, it’s time to make a change.
Here at the Lariat, we make changes all the time. These changes can be as minuscule as edits on a story or as major as decreasing our print days and releasing a new app. Each member of our staff, while still pursuing their education at an incredible university, is following their dream. What’s stopping you from following yours?
Bailey Brammer is a sophomore journalism major from Phoenix.
