Opinion

From the Board of Directors

May 5, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Daily Free Press to transition to digital-first, weekly publication

Forty-four years ago today, Boston University students launched The Daily Free Press, uniting two competing newspapers to bring students independent reporting on breaking news. Since then, we have brought BU’s 30,000 students award-winning content, covering everything from student protests following the Kent State shootings to the Boston Marathon bombings. Today, we announce the next phase in the DFP’s history: the transition to a digital-first news publication with a weekly print edition.

Beginning this fall, we will publish content throughout the day on a new, redesigned website, which will launch this summer. More than a news website, DailyFreePress.com will serve as a virtual space for the Boston University community to gather and connect. Less preoccupied with the pressures and constraints of daily print publication, our staff will have the opportunity to expend their time and energy on breaking news, investigative reporting, in-depth features and vivid multimedia.  In this way, our name will continue to reflect our daily online content, as well as the long hours our staff spends every day to bring you timely stories.

Every Thursday, 5,000 copies of the new Free Press will be distributed around campus, featuring in-depth news coverage, sports, opinions and features distinct from our online content. This redesigned print edition will encompass the best of our staff’s work, a printed expression of our commitment to informing our community through multiple avenues.

Approved yesterday by a Board of Directors composed of former editors, this new business model will increase revenue from online sources and gives us the financial security to bring you award-winning journalism for at least another 44 years. We hope this move will mark the beginning of a more responsive DFP staff, in tune with our readers and supporters. Join us in this movement by giving us feedback through an email to editor@dailyfreepress.com or a Facebook message. Our readers’ support and feedback are crucial to our success, and we look forward to bringing you the stories that you want to hear.

 

Alex Nawar

Chairman of the Board of Directors

Back Bay Publishing Co.

The Daily Free Press

board@dailyfreepress.com

Website | More Articles

This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.

3 Comments

  1. Terrific move! Will be watching. Best of luck.

    Andrea Panciera, assistant managing editor, former online editor, The Providence Journal and providencejournal.com (and Columbia J-School classmate of Michelle Johnson)

  2. Makes sense. Keep up the good work.

    All best wishes.
    Prof. Daly

  3. Congratulations on this change, which will strengthen the FreeP. The editors should look at how Variety — the show-biz newspaper — handled the switch from being a daily newspaper to publishing a solid, fat weekly to complement its online presence. A win-win for everyone.