As one saying goes, bigger can be better, but with “great power comes great responsibility.”
The university Student Publications Office (SPO), in which TheLaSallian and the other school publications belong to, has transitioned into the more generally focused and larger-in-scale Student Media Office (SMO) during the 3rd term of the 2011-2012 school year. The change may not have an instant, profound impact on the Lasallian community, and many students may not even care about the new developments, but it will improve information discernment for the University’s denizens. It will allow DLSU to join the new heights in the world of media by adding DLSU-TV (television) and The Green Giant FM (radio) to the SMO.
Why make the change from publications to media? The change in scope from the old name to the new is obvious. The latter has a broader scope than the former.
The SMO is no longer just a body of university publications. This change was definitely not done for mere aesthetics; it is a response to the current trends of modern information dissemination and the community’s increasing reliance on other forms of media.
With almost the entire Lasallian community having access to the latest forms of media, the change was fitting and necessary. In today’s age, the media world is more dynamic than before. News can change in mere minutes or even seconds like the score of a critical UAAP basketball championship game.
This does not, however, says that school newspapers are useless now, but given the pace the world moves today, people need information instantly.
Right now, you are reading this article in a newspaper, but you can actually view everything from our website. As the SMO develops its newfound medias, you just may be able to read this article on your I-pads, cellphones, and such via several mobile and internet applications.
Readers are no longer restricted to media in print form to know the latest and trending University issues and events. Through popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, TheLasallian and the SMO in general can keep in touch with the digitally dependent modern community, with nearly everyone keeping at least one open tab for the mentioned sites.
Making use of the already easily accessible modern resources allows for easier and broader information dissemination.
The profile of modernized community members who are heavy internet users brings up another benefit of the change in scope of the SMO. Most people today are becoming less and less likely to pick up a newspaper or publication, let alone one that belongs to the University, given current technological substitutes. Another realization one has to accept in today’s generation of media is that internet technologies such as online videos, online news, and online socializing have taken the lead. The media expansion allows the SMO to reach these people, bringing to them information in a form that suits their preferences and personalities.
The future of the SMO is endless now that television and radio have joined its ranks. Important news like class suspensions due to typhoons can now be advised more quickly. Important events like the University Week, the start of a UAAP season, and other similar events will see more attendees because of online campaigns. The possibilities are endless, and this too is a challenge that the SMO must take seriously.
Now what exactly is new to the SMO arsenal? Well, simply put, as stated before, television and radio have joined the group. The organization responsible for television is DLSU-TV and the one accountable for radio is the Green Giant FM. LS-TV is one of the biggest projects of the SMO, and is set to be the University’s very own television network. It is still in its early stage of development and there is not much detailed information that can be disclosed as of now, but in two to three years time, it will be one of the biggest features of the SMO and the University as a whole, serving as the most interesting forms of media in the campus.
LS-TV may still be a few years away from completion, but Green Giant FM has been in control of the campus radio airwaves for quite some time. Green Giant FM, or GG for short has its own radio programme suited specifically to the Lasallian student campus life. tbigger connections in media.
By this time, one may argue: With all these forms of media giving the same kind of information, is this expansion just an unnecessary expense?
