The Cadet newspaper, the independent voice of the Corps of Cadets and Alumni of the Virginia Military Institute, went from a signed contract with Presteligence to a completed 20-page publication in under three weeks time using My News 360 CMS, InDesign extension and STATUS.
The Cadet, first created by cadets and alumni in 1907, is one of the oldest independent college newspapers in Virginia and the United States. It sadly ceased publication in 2016 due, in part, to pressure from most of the media being online. The alumni mentors for the paper and core group of cadets volunteered their time for this renewal project and looked to Presteligence to help restart the student newspaper — with a focus on an e-edition and website.
They hope to have alumni and cadets volunteer their time and collaborate on weekly editions with donations as the primary source of funding. To garner attention and generate excitement for this new venture, they coordinated a print run of 900 copies with The Lexington News-Gazette to distribute free across campus during graduation weekend. The News-Gazette and other journalists contributed relevant articles to the graduation issue.
All hands on deck
Typical deployment of such feats takes months for most publishers. From a project management perspective, Presteligence was all-in to get this publication out. The team divvied up the tasks to configure the site, manage workflow, create InDesign templates, add users and facilitate training within a week. The cadets and alumni absorbed it all with ease. The cadets managed to add stories to the CMS regarding school news and features, opinions, sports and reprinted articles — courtesy of The News-Gazette. Presteligence then worked directly with an alumni volunteer on the layout and design using the My News 360 InDesign extension while cadets completed their final exams.
Success
This proof of concept was a tremendous success garnering high praise from cadets, alumni, parents and several media outlets. It was funded 100% by donations and advertising. The team is currently seeking additional advertising and donations to return the paper to full weekly publication starting in the fall.
The Cadet remains true to its 1907 roots as a publication completely independent from the official VMI publications with the opinions and news produced solely by cadets and alumni.
