Classes start up next week and with them comes a new semester for The Battalion as well. You might have already noticed some new aspects, like our Maroon Life magazine. Another change we have implemented is our paper will once again have our full name, The Battalion, included in masthead. This came from hours of consideration with our editorial board and we decided to leave “The Batt” behind to honor our history and the tradition of this award-winning paper.
The Battalion has been around since 1893 and has covered topics such as U.S. presidents coming to campus, the ups and downs of our sports teams, the tragedy of the Bonfire collapse, the first female Corps Commander and so much more.
While we like The Batt, the decision to return to The Battalion stems from the proud tradition and values we want to uphold with our paper and the legacy we want to leave for future staffers and readers.
The Battalion is also excited to announce the addition of our Social Media Desk, the purpose of which will be to provide our readers with an additional avenue to view our content in a convenient way, and create a sense of community with our readers. Expect to see more interaction with the student body, whether it is through our main Twitter or desk Twitter accounts, our Instagram or other social media platforms.
Like many other news outlets across the country, The Battalion has had to adjust to the growing popularity in online content and we will be reducing our print days to only Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However, the quality and quantity of our stories will be maintained. This reduction comes with something we were already working towards — a more online-oriented focus. Content will be uploaded to our website on a daily basis to ensure our readers are as informed as possible with all the news of Texas A&M.
This year The Battalion will be focusing on four new goals: becoming a digital-first minded paper, focusing on our social media content, becoming more engaged with our campus and building lasting relationships with leaders, organizations and administration.
The editorial board feels this is the direction that will most strengthen The Battalion and make our paper fitting with the times.
We will continue our regular goals with new fervor. We will continue reporting the news honestly and accurately, informing our readership comprised of the students on campus, those abroad and our Ol’ Ags by producing stories that matter. Our goal is to go beyond our comfort zone to bring new angles and ideas to the paper. To present the stories that will make readers think, and at times challenge the status quo.
Our editor training took place at the end of last week and our board left with these words in mind — The Battalion as a newspaper is the fourth estate, the fourth and indpendant branch of democracy. The editorial board believes the purpose of a newspaper is not solely to provide reading material, but to present an unbiased look into issues that matter, a belief many in today’s society might think is old fashioned. We plan to uphold these values, to provide you with a well edited and published paper.