Open letter to campus
Oread to publish exclusively online
One publication that did it calls its new existence “treeless.” But we hope the result for us — and you — will be “more” rather than “less.” Reflecting the need to conserve resources natural and financial, as well as to embrace the undeniable trends and reading habits in mass media today, the Oread will become an electronic-only publication in 2009.
This will close a 33-year-long chapter composed of print Oread editions, the only option when it started, of course. But the Oread has had an online presence for more than a decade, so the coming electronic chapter will not be new so much as it is enhanced.
We will continue to dedicate coverage to KU faculty and staff. But we will put more energy into making the e-mail notice you receive and the content at www.oread.ku.eduw – already a national winner for online campus periodicals — more useful, informative, timely and entertaining. We make this move with reluctance — many of us like having ink-stained fingers — but supported by our recent survey that showed a majority of readers, for the first time, prefer an electronic-only Oread. A much bigger majority said they would continue to read the Oread even if the print edition is gone. That said, we recognize some readers will be disappointed. We hope you don’t turn away but rather give us a chance to build the Oread online so it continues to be of value to all KU employees. As we work to enhance the existing online version, we will continue to make a printable PDF version of Oread available. We will continue send out an e-mail notification each time a new issue — every other Monday — is posted online.
We welcome feedback from readers. Please send any comments or questions to Mike Krings, Oread editor, at oread@ku.edu or call 864-8860. Thank you for reading Oread faithfully over the years. We look forward to continuing to serve the KU community in the years ahead.
— Todd Cohen
director, University Relations
