Campus News, the unique college paper that hits dozens of two year colleges in the New York Metro Area, returns for its 14th academic year starting Sept. 1.
First hitting in January 2010, Campus News slowly but surely has become the de facto college paper on community college campuses since then, proving that a good number of students will still read print, with a 98% pickup rate.
“It’s counterintuitive, sure,” said publisher Darren Johnson, a college journalism instructor himself, “but there’s really no reason why a student wouldn’t pick up a print publication if it’s tailored specifically for them. Campus News is an enjoyable experience for those students who want helpful advice and news they can use — as well as comics and puzzles!”
The paper survived the pandemic and did not stray from its normal publishing schedule, despite many colleges where it normally distributes being shuttered. Also, because the paper has largely hit community colleges, the general population declines at those had an effect.
Fortunately, just before the pandemic, Campus News got insurance and permits to install news boxes on the streets of New York City, outside colleges. As well, Campus News distributes to scores of other street news kiosks in prime Manhattan zip codes. Campus News plans to separate out the New York City street newspaper for 2023-24 into its own unique product.
“Because people on the street may be interested in not just undergraduate colleges but also perhaps graduate school or general enrichment, we will gear the street edition of Campus News into a paper that also is aimed at people looking to go to graduate or professional school,” Johnson said.
Overall, the people behind Campus News are excited by the new possibilities and for the upcoming academic year.
Improvements for the 2023-24 year include:
- Realizing readers are now living in a Visual Culture and adding and enhancing art and layout design with that in mind, to take readers on a visual journey from page to page.
- More compartmentalized editorial, so that readers get a consistent experience from issue to issue. Sections will include stories on student success, advice for doing well in college, arts and entertainment, higher-ed hot topics, college sports trend stories, student/faculty op-eds on higher education issues and more.
- More student promotions; for example, Broadway and fun-park ticket giveaways.
- Free placement for advertisers on the Campus News web site, which gets about 20,000 unique views a month.
- Semesterly routes into other regions besides New York Metro, including New Jersey, New England and Upstate.
“Stats say most college enrollments will be going back up, and college marketers are a bit digitally fatigued and are looking for an add-on that’s authentic and everywhere — and that’s Campus News,” Johnson said. “So we encourage them to join us again — or for the first time — this coming academic year. Book all 10 upcoming issues and get a great deal!”
To advertise with Campus News for the 2023-24 academic year, contact editor@cccnews.info.
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