To our readers,

Hello! My name is Joseph Garcia and I am The Louisville Cardinal’s editor-in-chief for the 2020-2021 school year. With the fall semester beginning in a few days, I want to provide an update on the direction the Cardinal is heading.

In March, when the coronavirus initially hit, campus went remote and because of this, and for the safety our staff, the Cardinal did so as well. Now five months later, life has yet to return to what it was before the pandemic, and it probably won’t for a long time.

With U of L shifting most of its classes to a hybrid model of teaching, the Cardinal has decided to focus on where the students are going to be this year—online. Starting now, The Louisville Cardinal will no longer be printing physical issues of the student newspaper. All future content will be published on our website.

The Cardinal’s Board of Directors and myself have spent the summer discussing and preparing for this change and what it will mean for the Cardinal’s future.

One of the biggest changes to ensure The Louisville Cardinal’s future on campus, is that we have chosen to officially become a Recognized Student Organization (RSO)! The Cardinal is now more visible on campus and students can apply to join our staff with just the click of a button on our Engage portal.

I want to make it clear that we will remain unbiased in our reporting as always, and maintain full editorial control of what/when we publish.

So then, what comes next for the Cardinal?

In the coming months you can expect:

  • A relaunch of The Louisville Cardinal website, with an updated look and layout built for a digital-first newsroom.
  • Additional content on our website! With less time focusing on creating page layouts every Sunday, we have more time to experiment with new ways to bring you U of L news like videos.
  • And a weekly recap newsletter. Every Sunday, receive a newsletter recapping the week filled with interesting stories handpicked by the staff. (Be sure to sign up for the newsletter on our website!)

The staff and I are obviously sad by the loss of the print issues of the Cardinal. However, as students preparing for jobs after we graduate, I feel it’s important that we learn to adapt in fast-paced environments.

I am incredibly proud of the work my staff has put into the paper in the last few months. I am even more excited for the work we have yet to do this semester! We are well-equipped for this move to a digital-first newsroom and I am excited to see what new ways of reporting we get into.

Despite all the uncertainties, the future of the Cardinal looks promising and exciting.

In the meantime, be sure to follow the Louisville Cardinal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see when we post next. And sign up for our newsletter on our website if you haven’t had the chance to do so yet!

 

All the best,

Joseph