The Mycenaean

There is a lot of work and preparation that goes into preparing the physical newspaper for the students of Leesville, but is all the work worth it?

It starts with  The  Mycenaean news writers raising 500 dollars through ads from local businesses. If the newspaper team does not reach the 500 dollars, then there is no newspaper that semester, this almost happened for the April 2024 issue. 

Once the newspaper team raises the money, Newspaper has to log into school computers to map out the pages of the paper. To create these pages, writers have to write some new articles to put on the page and make sure that the articles are relevant when the paper is published.

All of this has to be done several days before the paper is officially published so that it is then sent off to the printers. After all of this is completed, the paper is distributed to the students of Leesville. 

The enthusiasm of some students who receive the newspaper makes all of these struggles worth it. 

“I like to see what people have to talk about, see what’s going on. I like the fun and games page, I like that crossword puzzle on the back,” said Alli Reese, junior.

Even though there is this enthusiasm, many students differ in opinions of the paper, some students love receiving the paper and make a day out of it, but there are some who haven’t heard of it all that often. 

“Honestly no cause I kind of forget about it,” said Sydney Clemons, senior.

Those who do receive the paper have many reasons they enjoy receiving it. “I like all the different sections in it,” said Daniel Lee, sophomore. 

Some people don’t read the school paper for varying reasons of their own. Some don’t have an interest in it at all. 

“Normally I don’t read the school newspaper because I have my own stuff,” said Braiden Brown, sophomore.

There is a common struggle with the paper — a majority of people don’t read the newspaper for different reasons. 

Most of the articles written for the newspaper aren’t in the physical copy that gets passed out to the school, instead, they are put on the website. When asked if they’d heard about the website, those interviewed gave varying answers of No. 

Many of them believe that the website and newspaper in general are not advertised enough. “No, definitely not, I only see it when they come into class,” said Clemons. 

Even with efforts by the paper to better reach the students like social media, many students believe that the newspaper doesn’t get advertised to them enough. “No, I only see it on Instagram reels and stuff,” said Lee.

So then why does all this work if the students don’t read it? Of those students who do read it, many of them have strong opinions on why they like getting the physical newspaper. “I definitely would [be sad] because it gives me something to do in pretty much any of my classes if it’s print day, so I would definitely be sad,” said Reese.

Many students have expressed this same feeling of sadness they would feel if the physical newspaper was ended, no matter if they read it or not. “I think it gives a decent amount of art students something to do and I like all the different parts and seeing all the different things other students do,” said Lee.

The physical newspaper is something that connects the school, “I get to see what’s going on around the school and what’s special,” said Brown. The physical print helps bring the school together to see the hard work of countless other students around the school. 

Even with all of the differing opinions, the physical newspaper is still widely cherished, with many hoping to cherish it for years to come.