“Continued reinvention of our product.”

That’s what news media professionals and journalism educators are doing, and that’s what a symposium panel Tuesday night recommended to Fort Hays State University which is seeking a new direction for campus news media.

The last issue of the campus newspaper, The Leader, was published January 31, as a result of decreased revenues, although there is still an online version.

“‘MoJo.’  Students today need to be taught how to be ‘mobile journalists,'” said Laura York Guy, one of the five panel members, a media instructor at Garden City Community College and National Scholastic Press Association board member.  “Journalism faculty need to teach how to use social media in producing relevant news.”

“Media is merging,” said Gary Shorman, CEO/President of Eagle Communications, Inc. headquartered in Hays.  “Relevant news and information has to get somewhere quickly today, and the delivery method will continue to change.”

In the wake of the student newspaper suspension, a Task Force on Dissemination of News and Information has been appointed by FHSU president Dr. Ed Hammond to create a new model for student media.  The university also has a campus television station and radio station.

The FHSU Task Force will host a town hall meeting next Tuesday evening for public input about dissemination of student-produced news and information.