After more than 60 years as a print publication, Kellogg Community College’s student newspaper, The Bruin, has published its final print edition and this fall transitioned to an online format rebranded as The Bruin News.

The College’s new Bruin News can be found online at http://thebruinnews.kellogg.edu.

A formal student newspaper at KCC is almost as old as KCC itself, with the first edition of the College’s first student newspaper, The Triad, appearing in December 1956, the year the College was founded as Battle Creek Community College. The paper went through a series of changes in style and format over the decades before becoming The Bruin in 1996; the latest version was published monthly, with the final print edition released in June.

Dr. Kay Keck, vice president for Student and Community Services at KCC, which oversees the student newspaper, said the shift to digital was about modernizing the publication and creating new and more meaningful opportunities for student newspaper staff.

“We want to provide our students with the most relevant experiences that will serve them best in the world beyond KCC, and when it comes to journalism and media, that really means providing them with a digital platform like the new Bruin News,” Keck said.

The publication’s content will continue to be provided by student writers under the supervision of student editorial leadership and advising from KCC staff, Keck said.

KCC Digital Marketing Manager Simon Thalmann, the new Bruin News advisor, said the new format follows an increasingly common trend in the news industry that will provide student journalists with opportunities that more closely align with the day to day experiences of journalists working in today’s modern media environment.

“The new Bruin News offers a broader media experience for both content creators and consumers, as the new format allows for a more seamless integration of multimedia content, including video,” Thalmann said. “The hope is that the new online format will also open access to new audiences who will be able to view and share The Bruin News content anywhere, at any time.”

In addition to posting original content on the Bruin News website, staff will also be reporting and engaging with audiences on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, all of which will be run by the student staff, Thalmann said.

“This expanded online presence is new for the student newspaper at KCC,” Thalmann said. “Not only will it provide students with more opportunities and experience in the field, but it will increase access to The Bruin News content for audiences on different platforms accessible across a wide variety of digital devices.”

The Bruin News has already had two scoops among its earliest articles: It was the first to publicly report on the publication’s shift to digital and was the first publication to publicly announce the $100,000 fundraising results from the KCC Foundation’s 2018 Bruin Scholarship Open held earlier this month.

The Bruin News staff are led by Board of Trustees Scholar students Taylor Vrooman, the managing editor, and Sarah Hubbard, the public editor.

Vrooman, a 2018 Union City High School graduate, said launching the new Bruin News has been an awesome experience.

“It’s always exciting to be a part of something new like this. I hope that The Bruin News becomes a highly looked at website and that the Bruin News team is something students willingly and happily join,” Vrooman said. “We’re very happy to see so many views on our articles so early and we hope our articles continue to pique interest from the public, including students and faculty.”

Hubbard is a 2018 graduate of Harper Creek High School, where she was on the yearbook staff for three years and served as co-editor her senior year. Hubbard said her hope for the new Bruin News is that it will help students be more aware of the awesome things going on around campus.

“Some people just go to class and then leave and never get involved. That is not fun!” Hubbard said. “I want to be involved and know about the things going on around campus so I can be informed and participate. I hope The Bruin News allows more students to stay in the loop and have the tools to have a better college experience at KCC.”

Check out the new Bruin News online at http://thebruinnews.kellogg.edu or find The Bruin News:

On Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebruinnews

On Instagram at www.instagram.com/kccbruinnews

On Twitter at www.twitter.com/kccbruinnews

On YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PXVw3vpE2UT4Mu06823mQ

Letters to the editor may be sent to bruinnewseditor@gmail.com.

Pictured above, from left to right, are Bruin News staff writers Seth Allred and Mackenzie Ryder, Managing Editor Taylor Vrooman and Public Editor Sarah Hubbard.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at http://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.