It’s official — the Falcon Forum (the publication you are reading) is up and running! After two semesters of preparation, the Falcon Forum was launched today with a ceremony in the Seby Jones building.
Saint Augustine’s University has had “hard-copy” student newspapers going back many years (long ago, it was called “The Pen”), however it was published intermittently. The current edition of the Falcon Forum is the first since 2005. It revives the university’s student newspaper but in a much different form than past versions. This is the first student publication ever to exist in online form only.
The effort was led by Dan Holly, an assistant professor in the Journalism and Mass Communications Department who has taught at the university full time since the fall of 2011. He formerly was an editor at the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.
“You really can’t call it an online newspaper because it will very much be part of the trend toward media convergence,” Holly said. “It will blend elements of newspapers, radio and television through text, photos, podcasts and video.”
Holly stressed that the project was student-driven. Students in Holly’s Directed Studies classes developed the template for the publication and created, acquired or posted the initial content. Students in a Desktop Design class taught by Dr. Shawn Lewis helped create the social media for the publication, and students in Jenny Spiker’s Introduction to Public Relations created the marketing campaign for it.
“News tips and request for coverage are welcome,” Holly said, suggesting that they be sent to info@falconforumonline.com.
