Heights editorial board members (L-R) Megan Kelly, Emma Healy, Owen Fahy, Madeleine Romance, and Lauren Wittenmyer.听Photo by Peter Julian.
If journalism is the first draft of history, then The Heights has done its part in helping tell the saga of Boston College for the last 102 years.
Since it launched in 1919, the weekly student newspaper has covered landmark news and events that shaped the University, from the 1920 announcement by President William Devlin, S.J., that 精东影业 would erect a science building (which now bears his name) to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Heights also has reported on 精东影业 student life outside the classroom鈥�1920s-era 鈥渟mokers鈥�; the seniors鈥� 鈥淲elcome Freshmen Show鈥� of 1953; popular undergraduate-produced YouTube videos鈥攁nd published student perspectives on everything from academics to political and social issues to personal relationships to the arts.
Now, The Heights is about to add a milestone of its own to 精东影业 history: Editor-in-Chief Owen Fahy 鈥�22 recently announced that the newspaper will cease its print operations on May 3 and shift to an entirely digital format beginning this fall.听
The news was hardly unexpected. Like many newspapers in recent years, The Heights has struggled with the increasing gap between operating costs and advertising revenue (the newspaper became an independent student organization in 1971 and receives no funding from the University). The paper had already scaled back its print production while expanding its online presence through newsletters, social media, and its .听
In a recent interview, Fahy said the possibility of an all-digital Heights was a subject of discussion in previous editorial boards well before he joined the paper as a freshman. Once he became part of The Heights leadership team, he and his colleagues ascertained the situation and felt it was an opportune time to build on the work done by their predecessors, make the move, and align the paper with emerging trends in student and professional journalism.
鈥�The Heights could鈥檝e gotten by if we kept things as they were,鈥� said Fahy, a San Francisco native majoring in International Studies with a minor in Leadership and Management. 鈥淏ut we want to put all our resources to work to make the great journalism we鈥檙e doing as widely available as possible. Through the paper edition of The Heights, you鈥檙e reaching about 1,500 people on campus; a Tweet reaches 50,000, all over the world. It鈥檚 impossible to ignore numbers like that.
鈥淪o, now we can rethink where and how we spend money that had gone to printing and distributing the paper. Maybe we send our reporters out of town to work on compelling stories, or to cover away football games; or we can create a well-designed web feature.鈥澛� 聽
Still, for Fahy and his editorial board colleagues, the decision was not one made lightly or without regret. As part of their orientation at The Heights, staffers are given an overview of its history and tradition, and are unfailingly impressed by the legacy they are furthering; their perspectives are often strengthened through contact with Heights alumni.听
鈥淭here are plaques on the wall in the editor-in-chief鈥檚 office that list every student who鈥檚 held the position,鈥� said Fahy. 鈥淭hey remind you of its rich history, and all the work that鈥檚 gone into making The Heights last as long as it has. The letters, emails, and phone calls we receive from alumni鈥攚hether they worked for The Heights or not鈥攕how how intense its connection with students has been over the years. When you鈥檙e a 20-year-old in charge of a century-old organization, you are very conscious not only of tradition, but of the mission you鈥檙e expected to uphold.鈥�
鈥淲hat really strikes me is how, from the start, The Heights has always stayed true to its mission: 鈥榝or a greater Boston College,鈥欌�� said Digital Director Margaret DiPatri 鈥�22, a communication major from Wilmette, Ill., minoring in film studies and marketing. 鈥淓verything we do, and everything that those who came before us did, is truly with the intent to serve the 精东影业 community鈥攁nd that is a really inspiring thing to be a part of. The decision was difficult to make since the print edition is something we all hold very dear, and we know it means a lot to many members of the 精东影业 community and Heights 补濒耻尘苍颈.鈥�
Since not all Heights staffers arrive with journalistic ink in their veins nor envision a future in journalism, The Heights may be their sole turn in the profession鈥攚hich can make it all the more powerful an experience. Managing Editor Madeleine Romance 鈥�22, a Miami-born English and political science major with a journalism minor, remarked on the 鈥渟trong element of sentimentality鈥� that Heights print issues inspire, recounting all the times she鈥檚 collected copies from the racks to take home so her parents could see 鈥渨hat their daughter spends so many hours a week doing.鈥� And like their antecedents, Romance and her cohorts look back at sleep-deprived late nights of getting the paper ready for printing, 鈥渄ebating headlines and page layouts, but doing so with smiles on their faces.鈥澛�
For these reasons, there was initial hesitancy to make the digital transition, she said, but on further reflection 鈥淚 knew we were in a unique position in Heights history, and I knew that if there ever was a time to do it, it was now.鈥� Producing an 鈥渆Edition,鈥� she said, will preserve something of the 鈥渨eekly snapshot鈥� The Heights has provided.
General Manager Mac McGee said the transition鈥攚hich involved finding a digital host, creating appropriate digitals to advertise the changeover, communicating with the administration and community, and raising enough revenue to ensure a successful last semester of printing鈥攈as been a 鈥渃omplicated but rewarding experience that required everyone鈥檚 complete dedication.鈥� The Arlington, Mass., native, who majors in environmental geoscience and minors in finance, is 鈥渕ost excited to see the many possibilities that will arise from this decision.鈥�
DiPatri, who as the paper鈥檚 first digital director has a primary role in the new model, cited the transition campaign鈥檚 title, 鈥溾�� as a philosophy and a goal.
鈥淚 love that we now have the opportunity to focus in on making The Heights the most accessible it has ever been for the 精东影业 community and beyond, and that our content can mirror that change and make a positive impact. I see this as the ultimate way to fulfill our mission statement.鈥澛�
Visit 聽to order a copy of the final Heights paper edition and to learn about other ways to support The Heights.
Sean Smith | University Communications | April 2021