Editorial: Weekly: A New Chapter for The Exonian
By the 146th Executive Board
If you’re an avid reader of The Exonian, you’re probably wondering, “Why am I holding a May 2 issue of The Exonian right now? Wasn’t I just fighting through the crowds of fans to pick my copy up last week?”
Jokes aside, we don’t deny that The Exonian no longer has the presence or competitive hype on campus that it used to. After the pandemic, the unprecedented growth of social media platforms, and the pace that news spreads over the internet, newspapers around the globe have faced an ultimatum: catch up, or fall behind.
The 144th and 145th boards made the wise decision to move from a weekly to a biweekly schedule because we were going too fast, and we needed a breath. Concerns were being raised that The Exonian’s rigorous schedule was negatively impacting the mental health of the paper’s staff in the already-stressful climate at Exeter, and the schedule alleviated this pressure.
Now, the time has come for us to join the race again. As The Exonian’s presence on campus—from the morning carts in Agora to the stands in the library, bookstore, and the scene center—has become less frequent, it has made it more difficult for us to cover the topics and events that matter to us as a community in a timely fashion, the heart of our mission since the beginning of The Exonian in 1878.
By opening up communication systems between ourselves, our writers, and our editors, we are confident that we can create ways for our staff to feel heard, supported, and appreciated through their work in the paper, while pursuing their love for journalism, curiosity about the unfamiliar, and enthusiasm to inform the community.
For these reasons, The Exonian editorial staff has made the decision to return the school’s newspaper to a weekly format.
In an era of unprecedented misinformation and the decline of print journalism, we believe that maintaining The Exonian’s presence and relevance on campus is more important than ever. For the remainder of our tenure, we will strive to not only bring consistent, diverse, and relevant news in our weekly print issues, but expand through social media platforms and a new, entirely student-programmed website to leave a lasting positive impact on The Exonian and the Exeter community.
We encourage everyone—prep or senior, day stud or international, STEM whiz or history buff, athlete or pro dancer—to join us in this journey. We are so grateful for and proud of our current staff writers, experienced editors, talented artists, and creative designers, and would love to have any, or every, one of you join our team.
But you don’t have to join The Exonian to have a voice. We welcome all suggestions, from article topics to opinions pieces and creative artwork, which can be submitted through the QR codes below.
As always, we are thankful for your continued support of our publication. Please cheer us on as we enter this new phase in The Exonian’s history.
