Re(Imagining) Campus Newspapers As Community Media: The Case of a Student-Run Publication at a State University in Western Visayas

Abstract

Campus newspapers play a vital role in universities, serving as a training ground for future journalists and providing students with relevant academic and institutional information. In Industry 4.0, student publications shifted from printed to digital formats. Forum-Dimensions Online (FD Online), the official student-run publication of West Visayas State University, was launched in 2011 on Facebook. It has become the main source of information and a hub for seeking connections. FD Online has undoubtedly created a community, but whether it fits the bill of being community media is the question. This study aims to assess FD Online and its online content and articles using the community journalism scale and evaluate its potential to become community media. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design, a content analysis of 50 purposively selected FD Online Facebook posts was conducted using the adapted community journalism scale. The data gathered from it were used to guide the series of interviews with selected members of the student body to make sense of the quantitative findings. Results indicate partial but positive alignment with all three principles of community journalism, specifically 57.14% alignment in revealing community structure, 57.14% in encouraging diversity of viewpoints, and 66.67% in integrating feedback, with an overall alignment of 60%. Themes from the interview showed that respondents value FD Online’s reliability and visibility but see the need for it to evolve beyond a news outlet toward a truly participatory and inclusive community medium. Overall, FD Online possesses the values and principles that lean more towards community journalism rather than conventional journalism in terms of gathering, interpreting, and distributing information. This study can provide evidence in the discussion of reimagining the roles of student-run publications in universities and promote their role in community-building