News
Start the Presses: Manhattan Globe Makes its Debut
October 25, 2016
Photo: Manhattan Globe staff. Photo by Xing Feng
In this digital age, it’s rare to hear about a newspaper startup. But that’s just what a group of NYIT students are setting out to do.
NYIT-Manhattan has a student newspaper once again. The Manhattan Globe made its debut on October 17, 2016. (The previous paper, The Chronicle, ceased publication in 2010.)
The front page of the first edition of the Manhattan Globe.
“When I was interviewed to teach Communication Arts in the fall of 2013, one of my first questions was, ‘Where is the student newspaper?’” recalls Larry Jaffee, adjunct assistant professor, College of Arts & Sciences. And he wasn’t the only one. “Apparently, Dean Jim Simon had the same question last fall, and I was drafted to serve as advisor.”
Last spring, key administrators and students whom Jaffee reached out to about starting up the newspaper offered lots of support and encouragement. Especially the students.
“I think the Manhattan campus really needed a newspaper,” says Nicole Pereira, co-editor with Marita Williams. “Since my freshman year, I’ve been trying to muster support and start one. When I saw Professor Jaffee’s announcement he was launching a paper, I immediately signed up for the class.”
But why print at a time when newspaper audiences are dwindling? “In the fall of 2015, I queried my JOUR 101 [Introduction to Journalism] students, and two-thirds of the class thought a printed newspaper would have a better chance of getting read than a new website,” he explained.
Did You Know?
• The first NYIT-Manhattan student newspaper launched in 1964 and was called Scope.
• In the fall of 1999, The Phoenix arose and lasted through fall of 2001.
• In the fall of 2002, it was reborn as The Chronicle, and survived on and off until the spring of 2010.
The Manhattan Globe is produced in Jaffee’s Newspaper Lab course, which includes 18 undergraduate and graduate students from around the world, including Greece, Puerto Rico, China, France, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
At this point in time, the paper will be printed three times in the fall semester and three times in the spring. “I’d love to see Manhattan Globe be a biweekly paper,” Williams said. “But right now, we’re seeing what works, what doesn’t work. We are really just trying to get the name out there.” Articles will be written and edited by students, who are also handling production, design, and sales and marketing functions. Stories will focus on campus life, as well as New York news, art, and entertainment.
“We want to be the kind of outlet NYIT students and members of the community will look to for events in the city, local news, and updates on our campus,” said Williams.
