Dear Herald alumni,
I was named editor-in-chief last April, when our world first began reeling over the coronavirus pandemic. The Herald’s print product was suspended, and all of our staff’s work was shifted into a daily email newsletter. This was a great opportunity for us. We were constantly pushing out digital stories, and our newsletter grew to what it is today, with nearly 24,000 subscribers.
This left me with an interesting question to tackle for the fall: How can we retain our digital audience and return to printing once a week? How will our print product maintain relevance when many of its readers already have us in their inboxes?
That’s when my team and I made the decision to return in a tabloid format. However, the summer got away from us, and we ran out of time to complete all the logistical tasks needed to make this happen. Instead, we kept our broadsheet format this fall, but our design editor helped us reinvent our style, giving it a modern and fresh look.
Even so, this spring, we are making the shift to a tabloid, and we’ve begun working on those tasks now to make it happen. My goal is to maintain our digital numbers and show our audience that our print edition is something separate, with good content worth picking up off the stands.
I appreciate our alumni network’s continued support of our work. It’s great to know some of the best of the industry are in our corner!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I always welcome feedback!
Laurel Deppen
Editor-in-Chief
College Heights Herald