• E-Mail
• Print
• Larger
• Smaller

Published: Thursday, Sep. 17, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Sep. 17, 2009 10:56 AM

Saving trees, $ publishing online

FORT MILL -- 

The newspaper crew at Fort Mill High has taken steps to protect the environment while saving the school thousands of dollars.

The school's newspaper, the Loudspeaker, is no longer available in paper form. That's because the publication has gone green through online publishing.

“The paper has grown up,” senior Alyssa Davis, a Loudspeaker co-editor said of the paper that dates back more than 30 years. “It can play with the big boys.”

Friday marks the crew's second online effort. It is available at theloudspeaker.webs.com.

“We're the only one in the area that's going paperless,” said Angela Niccum, teacher advisor.

Surrounding school districts with the exception of Clover are still turning out tangible newspapers, school leaders said. Clover will not produce a tangible paper this year and is pursuing the notion of going online later this year, said Ron Wright, assistant superintendent for administrative services.

Last year at Fort Mill High, the news crew cranked out an eight-page newspaper about every five weeks. From October to December 2008, the school spent $1,095 on each issue.

With the January 2009 issue, the staff looked for cost savers, such as reducing the number of pages, making do without color and producing fewer copies. In the end, the effort ran about $800, Niccum said.

“We made some sacrifices,” she said.

Then the school changed its newspaper production methods, cranking out its next three issues online. The cost? $25 per each effort.

“It's an unbelievable savings,” Niccum said.

Principal Dee Christopher favors the change.

“Going green is an environmental friendly practice,” said Christopher, who noted the economic impact. “These are lessons we hope our students are learning. When they see the school being good stewards of public and natural resources, it reinforces what they're learning in the classroom.”

Making the change is two-fold, Niccum said.

“The paper is not good for the environment,” Niccum said. “When you have a student body of 1,400 plus, that's a lot of paper going out. A lot of it isn't recycled.”

Money restrictions also played a role in taking the paper green, she said.

“With the recession we experienced along with the budget cuts the school districts received from the state, it was nearly impossible to produce a tangible product as often as we wanted to publish,” she said.

“If we didn't make the change to online, we couldn't have survived.”

Newspaper leaders had the option of conducting fundraisers and seeking dollars from advertisers. Still, relying on either option didn't seem promising. Meanwhile, budget shortfalls ushered one certain reality for the paper.

“Without those funds, the paper would have folded,” said co-editor in chief Katie Wilbanks, also a senior.

So, the paper went green.

“Distributing it was kind of a pain,” Wilbanks said. “Now, the people who want to read it can go online, and we don't have a whole lot of wasted paper.”

Some are nostalgic for the print version, however.

“I miss the feeling I get when my peers can physically grasp my work,” Davis said. “But I'm really proud of the change we made. It really benefited the school.”

Publishing online also brought another advantage.

“We learned that we could publish every two weeks,” Niccum said. “By publishing every two weeks, we get more coverage. More students are in the paper. Everyone wants their face in the paper.”

And going green echoes a move many are embracing, she said.

“With the way society is moving, we all are using online sources,” Niccum said. “Now, students have the ability to not only read what the newspaper staff has published but also leave comments and suggestions for future issues.”

Just like the big boys, Davis said.

“There's no reason to go back,” she said. “I can see a great future on the horizon.”