Stony Brook Independent - Format

Format

The Independent primarily focuses on hard news stories of interest to the Stony Brook University community. Feature articles, investigative reports, sports, arts and entertainment, music reviews, interviews, op-eds, polls, and editors' blogs also make up a large component of the Independent's content on a regular basis. As part of the Independent's effort to provide reputable hard news reporting, the Independent has often sent writers to cover major Stony Brook-related stories off campus, including protests in New York City and Washington D.C. in which Stony Brook students participated, and sporting events, such as Stony Brook's appearance in the 2005 NCAA men's soccer semifinals at New Haven, Connecticut. In some instances, the Independent was the only University media organization to have a reporter on location at these events, such as at the NCAA men's soccer semifinals.

The Independent is often seen as an alternative to the established hard-news publication on campus, the Stony Brook Statesman, while differentiating itself from the more established alternative campus publication, the Stony Brook Press, by focusing more specifically on hard news content, as well as taking advantage of its web-based identity to integrate extensive audiovisual content into its articles, including audio and video clips, photography, artwork and complementary external content from such sources as Youtube.

In addition, the Independent features a dynamic events calendar, publicizing events occurring on the Stony Brook University campus, and has also partnered with campusbin.com, an online textbook exchange founded by Stony Brook University students.

Though the Independent is primarily a web-based news publication, through its "Off the Walls," which are published approximately every 2–4 weeks throughout the academic year, the Independent also maintains a constant print presence throughout the University. The "Off the Walls" are typically posted, with University approval, in various high-traffic locations throughout the University, including the Student Activity Center, the Stony Brook Union, the Melville Library and the Javits Lecture Center.

The Independent also works collaboratively with other recognized student media organizations on campus, including the campus chapter of SPJ, the Stony Brook Press and WUSB 90.1 FM, the University's FCC-licensed non-commercial radio station, where some of the Independent's editors and staffers currently host a live, weekly talk show, "In Focus" (http://www.infocusradio.org). The Independent makes its articles and photography available to other campus media organizations, with proper attribution. The Independent also maintains close ties with the University's fledgling School of Journalism, and many journalism students have had their articles published by the Independent, as part of the overall requirements for their course and major. Closely related to its work with the School of Journalism, the Independent's editorial board often sponsors tutorials and seminars for any interested student to learn the finer points of such topics as news writing and photography.

Finally, the Independent also is an active participant in many campus-wide student media initiatives, including the Student Media Council (SMC) and the Martin Buskin Journalism Committee. As a part of the SMC, the Independent's editors have been invited to interview University President Shirley Strum Kenny on a regular basis, and have access to all University press and media events, press releases and other content made available to media entities.