The Ephemerality of the Newspaper: Can Student Journalism Transcend into the Second

Sadie McDonald

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it really fall? If an opinion is expressed in the newspaper and no one reads it, does it really matter? The stories we tell live on again in the reader, thereby having a second life. The newspaper may be temporary, but can student journalism transcend from the page into a second life?

The word ephemeral means to last only for a short time, or in other words, to be temporary or fleeting. It is why theatre is known as the ephemeral art, the mayfly as the ephemeral insect, and perhaps most apt, paper, as defined by Talia Schaffer, “the medium of permanence and ephemerality at once.”

Many writers are familiar with the “second life” that stories take on after they are told, in which their existence lies in the work’s impact on the reader. As print journalism becomes an ephemera, the second life of stories matters even more so as tangibility fades. Many newspapers have made the digital transition to online readership. It is the most easily accessible journalistic resource of the 21st century and reaches

Life?

a larger audience than the papers fresh off the press. While I prefer to read a physical copy, I just love to read above all else, so I will take it in any form I can find.

ly admitting to not having even opened the cover, or at best, skimming the Declassifieds. But the stories we tell can live past the faded ink and creased pages. Their impact has permanence, found in the lasting tug of heartstrings, lingering questions, or a smile of satisfaction.

At the heart of journalism is the story. The power of the narrative in this paper—however long it remains running—is that its ephemerality cannot define its value. We are all made up of stories, regardless of whether or not we decide to share them. The first copy right off the printer can never be replicated again, but its short-lasting beauty is treasured all the same. By connecting us to our community, student journalism can transcend into a second life, defying all impermanence.

Unfortunately, the ephemerality of the newspaper does no good for student journalists, nor journalism alike. It can become easy to be discouraged when overhearing students discussing Mars’ Hill and open-