A student newspaper can be more than just a place for learning how to write, take photos, copy edit or design.
A good student paper will teach its staff the rewards of journalism and all of the hard work and dedication that goes into serving the paper’s audience, whoever that might be.
Here at the Sunflower, we strive to do the same.
I have worked for the paper since August of 2012, my first semester here at Wichita State. I joined the staff because I love journalism, and felt I could benefit from the experience, while also getting paid to do what I love the most.
When I started here, I hardly dreamed of running this newspaper as the editor-in-chief. I always envisioned myself as having the No. 2 job here, the managing editor. However, fate decided that I would run this newspaper, and so far, the journey has been incredible.
As the Sunflower’s editor, let me be the one to welcome you to your student newspaper. The staff is composed of students, many of whom are studying communications in the Elliott School of Communication, but some of our staff members come from other majors around campus. The only person who works for us who is not a student is our business manager, for whom there are not sufficient adjectives of appreciation.
When I took over as editor in May, I had plans to make some changes here to better our product. I have worked with student body president Matt Conklin to improve the relationship between the Sunflower and Student Government Association. Besides that, I have worked to evolve the paper.
This year, the Sunflower and its staff will be more present on social media than ever before. Every reporter and photographer is now required to live tweet an event they are covering. In addition, we plan to do more multimedia stories, especially video, in order to make our coverage of WSU more complete.
The Sunflower is also working to better our relationships with other Wichita media. If there is a big story on campus that other media is going to cover, you can bet the Sunflower will be there. We want to work with the other media outlets to learn from them, while also covering the same stories they are.
I invite all students, faculty and staff to come and visit us at the Sunflower. Our office is located in Room 019 of Elliott Hall, in the basement of the building. We are always open to the public during regular business hours and love to have visitors come down and see what we do.
Stay with us as we continue to evolve our paper, which I am branding, “Sunflower 2.0.” The Sunflower will always strive to bring you the best journalism, and we hope you enjoy learning from our stories.
Newspapers
We publish traditional newspapers every Monday and Wednesday. They will contain news, feature, sports, opinion, editorial and other newsworthy stories from around campus and Wichita.
The S
Similar to the Wichita Eagle’s “Go!” section, the S is the Sunflower’s weekend entertainment guide, which prints every Thursday. The S features an album review, a movie review, weekly recipe, health column and a few feature stories about entertainment around town and campus.
Social Media
To follow the Sunflower on Facebook, like “The Sunflower.” On Twitter, follow our main account, @sunflowernews, our sports account, @sunflowersports and our SGA account, which covers SGA meetings and other affairs, @Sunflower_SGA. Individual reporters and photographers will also live tweet events, and the main Sunflower account will tell you what accounts to follow.
Online
Visit the Sunflower online at www.thesunflower.com. We publish all print stories there, as well as other stories happening around campus that can’t make the print edition, including breaking news. Photo galleries and other multimedia stories will be published on the website, too.
