Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation”… Oops. Wrong introductory statement (clears throat). Three years and a few months ago, our forefathers brought forth to this school a new era, conceived in the wonders of computer technology and expert programming, and dedicated towards sharing the wealth of information embedded both in the halls and on the field of Jesuit. Lo and Behold, The Roundup made its gradual yet successful transition to the Internet, providing all with the myriad of articles present on the website to this very day.
For the past few weeks, about two or three articles are posted to the site each day. Thanks to the technological wonders of the Internet, everyone can see the articles as soon as they are posted. However, things did not start out this way. Long ago, in a land before time, the newspaper was printed. According to Robert Uhl ’11, the Editor in Chief in 2011, “The Roundup was published maybe twice a year.” That being the case, many of the articles that were printed were then outdated, providing the readers with a mere flashback to the events and happening of the past. In addition, at this time, other local high schools had started their own publications website, adding to the need for Jesuit’s own too.
So, with the aid of the IT Department, WordPress templates, and Dr. Degen’s assistance, The Roundup began its trek to creating the best website ever. “At first,” comments Robert, ” it was a pretty basic page: white background, blue banner, a main page for articles, a list of writers, and a ‘contact us’ page. Pretty soon we started adding pictures, especially with the help of Jack White ’13, and changed the appearance so there were two columns with bigger articles highlighted at the top and smaller [ones] at the bottom.”
Over time, the number of students on staff grew exponentially from around six students to over 20 recurring writers. Now, with a more diverse article base, “People started going to the website and reading the articles more often; whereas, previously, a paper copy would come out, people would glance at it for a couple periods, and you would find copies laying around campus for the next two weeks. Then, people became genuinely interested in reading up on what kinds of things were happening and it gave guys the chance to see inside of events and inside part of the community that they hadn’t seen before.”
Whereas the print version allowed the students “to take weeks writing articles, finding pictures, and outlining the paper, the online version certainly created a lot of work, as [we had] to constantly keep up with what’s going on and keep putting new information out there to keep readers interested.” However, despite the constant work effort, it all turned out fantastic in the end. By the end of the year, the paper had grown outwards to reach more of the community.
“Looking back, I am extremely proud of how the group of guys we started with and picked up along the way worked together to create something special and something that will hopefully last a long time. And also, it is something that guys can look back on years from now, see their work, and remember what they did in high school, making it a great memory to have that connects alumni and current students that unites the entire Jesuit Community,” concluded Robert.
The following school year, Clark Durham ’12 was chosen as Uhl’s successor. At the point of the transition from Uhl and Durham, “we had a simple WordPress site. It was cluttered, unorganized, and not particularly appealing, mainly because content was sparse.” However, Mr. Joe Nava, expert programmer and math teacher, helped reorganize the site to make it appealing to the eye. He added a second column and the scrolling spotlight up on the top of the home page.
The paper vs. digital questions popped up again. As a result, Clark was forced to compare the pros and cons of either side. “A physical paper has the benefit of spatial order: all the articles are next to each other, condensed and ordered based on importance. But getting our content printed was a logistical nightmare, especially with inconsistent production.”
Clark was not initially a fan of the digital version, but sooner, rather than later, realized its true potential. “We were able to [add] really cool interactive polls/surveys and report on them. We were able to showcase all the wonderful photography our staff had to offer. We [also] had the prospect of timely reporting that a weekly or monthly paper didn’t offer.”
At the beginning of his term as Editor in Chief, Clark noticed a lack of articles being published. So, he outlined his goals for the year: increase content and relevance to the Jesuit community. “I saw an untapped well of news-worthy stories around Jesuit, and if we didn’t report on it no one would. I wanted Jesuit folks to find their games, trips, competitions, and events covered in the student newspaper…and hopefully check out other news while they were there.” Little did he know that his hopes and wishes would come true.
Over the course of a couple months, “We got consistent, well-written sports articles, which were our most popular pieces to the chagrin of news writers like myself,” comments Clark. “We had strong rapport with the administration, particularly Principal Mr. Tom Garrison. At long last, we established ourselves as a major extracurricular, not [just] a novelty” around campus.
The writer base expanded four times over. Readership increased exponentially, especially when Payton Maher’ 13 wrote “the truly monumental piece about Jesuit’s integration in 1955,” which is still generating hits two years later. “That one still gives me chills when I read it because of the content and the journalistic thoroughness,” says Durham, admiring Maher’s expert writing.
“I put my blood and sweat (but no tears) into the paper, so it was definitely an ego boost to see it succeed.” It must have been a sight to behold when five guys were in serious contention for the Editor-in-Chief job. However, only one man fits the profile, and the next person to assume the throne was Andrew Frank ’13.
Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn about the second half of the website’s history starring Andrew Frank ’13 and our very own Editor-in-Chief for the 2013-14 school year, Aaron Stonecipher!
