Brooks Clarke Editor-in-Chief

So, the semester is almost over. It’s without a doubt the quickest one I’ve ever had here at MC. I hope you’re doing fine in your classes. Wouldn’t want to retake anything, right? Anyway, this is the last printed issue of the Advocate, and I’m sure there are some who aren’t so keen on the idea of moving completely online.

We’ve always had the intention of increasing our presence online. The thought of going completely digital happened to come up in conversation between Stephen Weigel, the photo editor, and myself. We were contemplating doing some audio and video stuff, and the more I thought about it–the direction of the journalism industry, that is–the more it made sense to acquaint ourselves with tools like Final Cut, for example.

True, we are a news organization, but we’re also students. We’re here learn how to be professional journalists, and I honestly feel that continuing to turn a blind eye to such an invaluable resource like the Internet would retard my staff’s development as journalists in the age of Twitter and aggregate sites like the Huffington Post. You don’t get a week-long lead time in a professional setting. Everything has become instantaneous, which also benefits you, the reader, I might add.

The website also enables us to pursue more fun projects like our new podcast, the Rockville Pulse. We can have extended discussions on stuff that you are interested in. We could have forums where students can share their experiences at MC, or in life in general. We’re toying with some live broadcast stuff right now, which I’m really excited about. How about comedy skits performed by theatre arts students? It all sounds awesome, right?

I can’t promise that this will all happen over night. We’re still in foreign territory with a lot of the tech and idea stuff right now. But isn’t that the fun part? Sharing ideas and figuring out how to make them happen. I apologize to those upset by the change, but visit MCAdvocate.com at least once before deciding to hate us forever. I know you can’t use it as a makeshift umbrella, but I promise you’ll love the site as much as we do.

Oh, and don’t forget to check the website during winter break. We’ve got some fun stuff planned.