Letter: Our tradition of quality news continues

To our readers:

At least 350 hours of manpower – totaling more than two week’s worth of work – go into producing one issue of The Temple News. And with this issue, we end our 87th year.

This year, we’ve covered it all.

Controversial contract negotiations continued between Temple and two of its unions. Students expressed concerns about graduating in a tough economy. And fans experienced another exciting year of NCAA Tournament appearances by the basketball teams.

The Temple News provided continuing coverage of all these topics and more. It has always been our responsibility to provide objective information to our readers so they can create their own opinions on these subjects.

Our work, once again, has paid off. The Temple News picked up eight statewide honors at the Keystone Press Awards, the highest distinction for collegiate journalism in Pennsylvania. Our Web site, temple-news.com, is in the running for an Editor & Publisher Award and the 2009 Online Pacemaker Award.

It has been my privilege and honor to serve as editor in chief during this exciting time in Temple’s history. My 23 co-workers on staff are some of the hardest working people on campus, and I am eternally grateful for the countless hours of work they have contributed to shape and create our award-winning product.

I think I can speak for many of the staff members of The Temple News with my analysis of the past year. Working at the paper has been the most exhausting, most stressful, most time-consuming job we could’ve found.

And we’d all do it again in a heartbeat to provide you with the information you need.

Good luck to my fellow graduating seniors. Be proud to carry the Temple name with you.

And for those continuing, enjoy your remaining time at Temple. Before you know it, you’ll be in our shoes, wishing you could do so much more but knowing you’ve accomplished everything you wanted.

- Chris Stover
Editor in Chief

Letter from the Editor: Staying on top of a changing medium

To our readers:

Fifteen issues have elapsed before our eyes. We’re ready to clean our hands of the newsprint and take a quick break.

We’ve been fortunate at The Temple News to provide you with coverage of many memorable events and important issues this semester. We’ve seen a historic presidential election, taken an in-depth look at campus crime, watched a Phillies parade 28 years in the making and ranked our favorite lunch trucks.
Our efforts paid off. We’re proud and honored to have received the 2008 ACP Online Pacemaker Award, a national honor only given to five non-daily papers across the country.
Get ready for more.

We’re introducing new technology to the Philadelphia area in our first spring issue. We’ll launch a tighter, more user-friendly Web site with more multimedia content. We’ll increase our Tuesday circulation so there are more copies of our paper in more places. And our admittedly dying blog, broadandcecil.com, will get a burst of life.

With the looming semester, however, come some internal changes at our paper. Temple Living Editor Carlene Majorino, Arts & Entertainment Editor Holly Otterbein and Photography Editor Rachel Playe are leaving The Temple News for new endeavors. The countless hours they have contributed to the paper are unmatched and will not be forgotten.

I hope you continue to rely on The Temple News for the latest news and sports over the next month. Your feedback is always welcomed at letters@temple-news.com.

Have a safe winter break – you deserve it. We’ll see you in the spring.

Chris Stover
Editor in Chief