Letter from the Editor: Welcome to a new Gatepost era!

By Sophia Harris Editor-in-Chief Welcome, Gatepost readers! You may have noticed something a little different about our paper this week. We changed formats, and if you are reading this in print, then, well, we did it successfully. This has been an all-consuming process for many people at this University and beyond. Thank you to all who helped see this feat come to fruition. It is my absolute pleasure to introduce The Gatepost’s new look to you all! This process started over winter break when I received an email from our previous printing press, Gannett Publishing Services, a day after Christmas. The email stated that The Gatepost would no longer be printed by their company and terminated our contract effective immediately. This was because the company had to close its Providence Journal printing plant due to supply-chain issues with the proprietary printing plates used there. It necessitated moving a large volume of the company's work into its remaining print facility in Auburn, where the Framingham State University newspaper was produced. The Gatepost was among the titles displaced by these changes. It is safe to say that after receiving this news, neither I nor Desmond McCarthy, advisor of The Gatepost, had a relaxing winter break - especially knowing we had approximately three weeks to sort this out and have a newspaper for our community when we returned to Framingham State in January. Luckily, Auburn Chaplin, an employee of Gannett Publishing Services, advocated for The Gatepost. She made it possible for our newspaper to continue using Gannett’s services this academic year while we worked to find a new printer. It is because of her dedication to uplifting and advocating for student journalists that we were able to have a print issue for our community when we returned from winter break. Thank you, Auburn, for your dedication to print journalism and to all of us at The Gatepost! Still, Desmond and I needed to obtain bids from printers all over New England, negotiate contracts, and visit printing presses - all with the understanding that The Gatepost has a limited budget despite the generosity of SGA. Thank you, President Evelyn Campbell, and members of SGA for approving our budget request for the new printer! Natasha Bizanos-Ashe, director of procurement and contracts management in Framingham State’s Business Office, was instrumental throughout the bidding process. She offered invaluable assistance and reassurance and played a key role in helping us finalize a contract. Thank you, Natasha, for your support and dedication! In order to have a fair contract selection process, Desmond and I had to scout out newspaper presses all over New England. This process was more challenging than ever because changes in the printing industry have resulted in the closure of many companies. Gatepost Assistant Advisor Liz Banks provided crucial information to us about the printing industry. Liz worked in print journalism for more than 30 years, and her insights and guidance throughout this process were very helpful! Thank you, Liz! Over winter break and through the first month of the spring semester, Desmond spent countless hours working with me to crunch the numbers in order to make the best professional and financial decisions. Most of the contracts we obtained were nearly double what The Gatepost had been spending on printing previously, which was not feasible. Because of his efforts, we were able to find a new printer. It is because of people like Desmond that Framingham State students continue to feel supported by their University. What really stood out to Desmond and me about our new printer, North of Boston, is the kindness Jim Falzone extended to us when we first met him. He gave Desmond a tour of the press and even extended that offer to the entire Gatepost staff. Jim was patient and understanding in all of his correspondence with us, knowing this was a big change for our newspaper and we might need some extra support. The Gatepost is looking forward to this partnership, and we hope it lasts for many years to come! Thank you, Jim! North of Boston prints in different formats than Gannett, which is why we chose our new broadsheet format. This comes with some learning curves. One of the things The Gatepost counts on every Thursday night, along with the dedication of each other and our advisors, is our layout template. Now, we have had to invent an entirely new style guide, color page distribution, and legacy formats for our paper. The Gatepost staff has been absolutely incredible while rising to this challenge. They have all approached it with grace and a common understanding that we are all learning alongside each other. Although The Gatepost strives for perfection, we hope you will be patient as we make this transition over the next couple of weeks. As always, we will try our best to deliver fair, complete, and exciting coverage of the University, but there might be some glitches in the layout. Thankfully, Liz has shared her expertise from laying out broadsheets during her career. And Leighah Beausoleil, class of ’23 and the current editor of Dartmouth Week, took time out of her hectic schedule to help her family in McCarthy 410. She spent the entire night, starting at 6 p.m. Thursday until approximately 4 a.m. Friday morning, using the skills she has learned in the field to help us lay out this first broadsheet edition of The Gatepost. Her commitment to Framingham State and The Gatepost has never wavered, and she and so many other alums continue to show up for us each and every time we call. Thank you, Leighah! I am passionate and excited about this change to the newspaper because it is a physical manifestation of all of the hard work of so many Framingham State community members. This transition was possible because of our community and it was done for our community. The Gatepost looks forward to continuing to serve the FSU community and we hope you enjoy our new format! - Sophia Harris, Editor-in-Chief