It’s summer on the academic calendar, and that means many college publications have ceased publication until August. Those who do continue publication often scale back the schedule for the summer months. #

This, then, is the perfect time to dream big. #

Ask yourself some questions. #

Advisers: #

* _What can our student publications do next year in terms of multimedia/online reporting that we’ve never done before?_ This is the big dream. Is your publication online? If not, now is the time to dream big. _This fall_ you will be online. Are you working with audio or video? If not, _this fall_ is the time when you roll out some audio/video components. Do you already have the multimedia covered? _This fall_ is when you start experimenting with “citizen journalism” in some form or fashion, whether it’s just student-submitted cell-phone photos, or student-submitted stories, or something else entirely. Is your student media split apart in silos? Now might be the time to break down some of those walls. #

* _What tools/training will we need to do those things we’ve never done before?_ It’s not enough to dream big. You have to put some feet to the dream. Do you need to figure out how to host A/V content on your website? Do you need to figure out how to get online? Do you need to figure out what “citizen journalism” is? Now is the time to do so. If you’re an adviser, you might consider making a trip to Washington D.C., Aug. 3-4 for the “CMA Adviser’s Workshop”:http://reinventing.collegemedia.org/index.php?id=156, where we’ll be discussing some of these issues. #

* _What are we doing now that we could really do without to make space for the things we’ve never done before?_ Are your students publishing something that isn’t serving its purpose? Are they spending time in fruitless meetings? Is there _anything_ you are doing that isn’t essential to your core mission? Consider getting rid of that something – maybe just for a while – to make way for something new. Maybe it’s a weekly “web planning” meeting for all staff. Maybe it’s a little extra time for tech training. Maybe it’s discussing how to write for the web, or include links in online stories. #

* _What kind of “risk” can we take to make our student media more relevant to our campus community?_ I still think putting someone on the weblog/social network beat is a great experiment that would be a little bit risky for a student media operation to attempt. But there are other “risky” things you could do. Basically anything that isn’t putting out a dead-tree edition at regular intervals. Are you willing to take a little risk? #

* _When are you going to get serious about online advertising?_ Our CMA survey a couple of months ago showed that most student media are not really working on the advertising side of their site. Now is the time to get educated on what a CPM is, how to sell online ads, and who to target with this medium. _This fall_ is the time when you start taking online ads seriously. #

Students: #

* _How can I make myself more valuable to the student media web site (specifically the online journalists in your midst)?_ That student webmaster isn’t just there to “shovel” your stories over to the online world. She can use a little more thought on your part. Perhaps some links to relevant sites. Or some PDFs of source documents, or some digital recordings of your interviews. Or just an offer of a little assistance preparing a photo slide show. #

* _What kind of “risk” am I willing to take to help my student media do something it’s never done before online?_ Are you willing to learn to shoot video? Or edit an audio file? Or write a weblog? Or monitor campus online communities for possible story ideas? Are you willing to step out of the comfort zone of your beat to make a mark on the student media for the future? The rewards will be numerous. You’ll learn something you never knew. You’ll help your college media expand its presence. And you’ll hopefully make an impact on many more people than just your print byline. Remember that your adviser can’t create the content for you. That’s your job. If you want to do something with campus media that hasn’t been done before, you’ll have to be on the front line. #

* _What kind of tools/training do *I* need to do something I’ve never done before for student media?_ While advisers can plan and implement training, it’s up to you to learn new things. You’ll have to learn the video equipment, or the slideshow software, or the audio editing software. You’ll have to learn how to do an HREF tag in HTML, or use a blog permalink. Now’s the time to get those skills. There are numerous web sites to help you figure this stuff out. Find one topic and start searching. Don’t stop until you feel you’re competent to go out and function in that one task well enough to pull off a full story using that technology. #

These are just a few suggestions. Make for a busy summer? Maybe. But just think about the payoff. The greater the risks, the greater the (educational) rewards. #

(and if you do wind up doing something you’ve never done before, let us know so we can share with others here at Reinventing) #

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