Take Notice of These Collegiate News Website Trends
By Jen London, IHSPA At-Large Executive Board Member
Collegiate press websites are doing some seriously innovative and strategic work right now—balancing journalism fundamentals with savvy digital-first thinking. They, like our high school and middle school students, are trying to figure out the best ways to engage and attract readers in a media landscape of users who have been trained to want information in short (but high-quality), interactive (but not complicated), and engaging (but not overwhelming) formats.
If your students are anything like mine, they will want to spend the last few weeks of summer or the first few weeks of the school year revamping your online news website. Whether you’re using a basic WordPress site, advanced WordPress tools with Student News Online (SNO Sites), or another platform, here are three of the best trends collegiate press websites are using in 2025 and why they matter:
1. Modular Storytelling, Multimedia Packaging, & Data Journalism (simplified!)
Think: articles that combine text, video, interactive graphics, pull quotes, timelines, and social embeds into one scrollable experience. This is one of the best aspects of the tools you can get through SNO Sites, as they have engineered different “widgets” to allow you to bring in a variety of design and engagement elements with ease. Your students can still produce content using the traditional “maestro” method of design, just with digital tools in mind. This method works well because, well, this is how our Gen Z students consume information now. It’s quick, visual, dynamic, and layered.
- Examples: UNC’s The Daily Tar Heel or The Michigan Daily regularly produce these.
- Tools: There are tons of online tools available to give you inspiration for how you can build interactive stories. If you aren’t using the built-in tools from SNO or you’re not a SNO customer, there are lots of other options available. Some, like Shorthand, require subscriptions. Others, like Knight Lab timelines, or even Spline for 3D storytelling, have free versions. You can also try Flourish, Canva Charts, or Datawrapper.
Many collegiate news organizations now treat Instagram and TikTok as primary publishing platforms, not just promo tools. In comes . . . social-first integration. Remind your students that this is how their peers discover news now, and the algorithms love consistency and niche authority, meaning algorithms love to categorize. When your content consistently fits a theme (aka a niche), the platform knows who to show it to. For example, if your publication uses clear headlines and tags/hashtags like “student gov,” “locker hacks,” or “local sports,” and posts regularly in that lane, then the algorithm learns: “Ah, this account is the go-to for student life and campus news. Let me show it to more students, more often.” This might resemble news briefs on Reels, carousel (swipe-through) explainers on Instagram, TikTok videos that break down campus controversies or hype up events, etc. Of course, there’s always room to expand and give your content depth by simply linking to more robust content on the website itself.
- Examples: The State News (Michigan State) and The Red & Black (UGA) do this well.
Student outlets are getting ahead of the misinformation issue with visible ethics pages (like The Daily Illini), corrections logs, and “how we reported this” boxes. In the era of “fake news” and constant dis/misinformation, having these features builds credibility and shows real journalism skills to skeptical readers (and future employers). Consider adding a page or even just a content tag so that readers can easily track your consistency with addressing issues or complex coverage.
- Examples: The Daily Northwestern and The Harvard Crimson add “reporter’s notes” on complex or sensitive stories.
If you have an idea for a blog on a journalistic topic, lesson, or experience you'd like to write about, would love to have you as a guest author one month. Submit your blog proposal here, and we will be in touch.
Get a Start on Journalist of the Year Applicants
If you have seniors interested in becoming Indiana or JEA Journalist of the Year (national), the beginning of the year is a great time for them to start building their portfolios and applications since it takes some time to complete. Plus, with applications for Indiana Journalist of Year not due until Jan. 15, students have plenty of time to fill any gaps in their resume.
The first step is to apply for the Indiana Journalist of the Year by completing portfolios and applications (Indiana applications are due Jan. 15). The Indiana JOY competition standards and rubric are based on the national JEA competition. The JEA website features resources students can use to prepare their state-level entry, including help videos for each of the portfolio categories and examples of past winners. The winner of the Indiana competition will advance to the national JEA convention where the winner will be announced at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention (April 16-18, 2025) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
We want to highlight and share great journalism resources in our monthly newsletters. Use this form to suggest lessons, curriculum, classroom ideas, places to find resources, etc. in a future newsletter. Basically, please share anything you think would help your fellow advisors.
Journalism Podcasts
- A Better Press for a Better World (Michigan Interscholastic Press Association) - Available on Spotify.
- JEA Curriculum Chat (Journalism Education Association) - Available on Spotify.
- Journalism 101 (SNO Sites) - Available on Spotify.
- The Journalism Salute (Mark Simon) - Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
- The Source (Quill & Scroll) - Available on Spotify.
We want to highlight and share great journalism resources in our monthly newsletters. Use this form to suggest lessons, curriculum, classroom ideas, places to find resources, etc. in a future newsletter. Basically, please share anything you think would help your fellow advisors.
School Spotlight: Floyd Central High School
Check out the this full issue of Floyd Central's print magazine featuring articles about Paws for a Cause, student substance abuse, and the impact of rapid area growth. Also, check out how The Bagpiper uses QR codes to add coverage beyond the printed magazine.
In this video series, Ryan Miller, an editor and IHSPA student board member, goes to a practice/rehearsal with different groups and teams at school.
New Indiana Law Prohibits Phones in Schools
This news package about the new Indiana phone band in school was created by multimedia reporter Payton Perez leading into the 2025 school year.
This was a special yearbook page Madelyn Dytrych created to highlight the differences between 1990s fashion/trends and current ones.
This is a cool example of how some less than great photos were saved a bit by some interesting photo editing by one of Floyd's much more experienced photographers.
Designed by Ryan Miller, this opening spread was a cool foray into both photo editing, design, and theme development.
A Sit Down With . . . Jackson Hoehn
This interview was actually done at the beginning of the year, but was held onto it until closer to baseball season. Everyone on staff was assigned an individual evergreen story during the first quarter of school, and they came in really handy to fill gaps in content as things inevitably fell through the cracks or deadlines weren't met throughout the year.
Submit the best of your student's work here. Every month we'd like to highlight great journalism from IHSPA journalists. We'd like to high light a variety of journalism, including print, yearbook, broadcast, writing, photojournalism, podcasts, etc. So, keep submitting your student's work throughout the year!
