It’s going to be an exciting year for the Royal Purple student newspaper. Working with the Editorial and Business Departments has already yielded some important results that will move the paper forward to better serve the campus and community.

We are happy to announce that Wingra Printing Group in Madison will print the newspaper this academic year. Through this new business relationship, the Royal Purple joins other prestigious publications such as The Wisconsin State Journal and the Badger Herald, one of UW-Madison’s student presses.

One goal this year for the newspaper is to expand coverage of the City of Whitewater. Our reporters will be pounding the pavement around town and sitting in on government meetings.

The Royal Purple is also expanding its online presence with more emphasis on breaking news and multimedia content. Please send press releases, story pitches and advertising needs to the students. Be sure to add www.royalpurplenews.com to your favorite internet browser. There is even a phone application that is functional for both Apple and Android phones.

With all this expansion, the section editors are in need of reporters of all kinds. We are also seeking advertising, social media, graphics, and photography employees.

A recruitment kickoff will be held Monday, Sept. 11 at 9p.m. in room 101 of Heide Hall. The staff is looking forward to working with some fresh faces in the newsroom and business department.

As the new adviser, I’m already impressed by the values and skill sets of the staff.

I’m coming to Whitewater from four previous years at Carroll University. I’ve worked in both professional and academic capacities, which I think brings a nice well-rounded view of the media landscape to the advising role for the Royal Purple.

In the field of journalism, I was a city/county reporter for the Tomah Journal & Monitor Herald and campus reporter for the Daily Cardinal student newspaper at UW-Madison. In strategic communications, I was manager for the University of Wisconsin Press and strategic communications assistant for InBusiness Magazine.

In addition to advising, I will be teaching journalism classes such as Writing for News Media, Reporting for News Media, Feature Writing, Sports Journalism and Cross-Cultural Communication.

News is a passion of mine and I strongly believe in the importance of journalism as a societal institution. News affects us all and I believe it is important for a healthy democracy. Many journalists have lost their lives defending the ability to share ideas and information freely.

I’m excited to guide the Royal Purple students in their own journalistic pursuits this year. I will be overseeing the quality of news and editorial content, as well as layout and design of the paper in print and online.

Additionally, I will guide printing contracts, advertising and campus/community outreach. I have a ton of ideas, strategies and tactics to help them reach their goals. I will also be listening to the campus and community to learn how best the newspaper can serve its readers.

Starting next calendar year, the newspaper will be out in news stands on Monday mornings to fill you in on important highlights from the weekend and to inform you about the week ahead.

We’re looking forward to these changes that we believe will improve our product and create better content tailored to students, faculty, staff and citizenry. Extra! Extra! Read all about it!