The media landscape is changing rapidly, and student-run media like the Montana Kaimin is no different. In April 2015, the Kaimin shifted from publishing four times a week to publishing a print edition once a week and publishing every day on the web, including weekends.
It hasn’t been a simple transition, nor did we expect it to be one. But the new model is teaching our students to excel, adapt and master different kinds of writing. They’re focusing on features and long-form writing for the paper, and smart, quick, breaking news and analysis for the web. We’re still working on striking the right balance between the two, but I’m confident it’s helping mold journalists who are better suited to tackle the modern media world than ever before.
Kevin Van Valkenburg, a 2000 graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism, is a senior writer with ESPN The Magazine. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Jen, and their two daughters. He advised the Kaimin and was the fall 2015 T. Anthony Pollner Distinguished Professor at the UM School of Journalism.
