A new partnership between the Norfolk Daily News and Northeast Community College is currently underway.  As a part of the collaboration, the Norfolk Daily News is now available to students in the residence halls and the on campus housing.  According to Norfolk Daily News Editor, Kent Warneke, “This is to ensure that the young people attending college right now are, not only getting a good education, but are staying informed about what is happening in northeast Nebraska and throughout the world.”  He adds that research has shown when a newspaper is made available to students and is free they are more likely to pick it up and read it.

The second part of the collaboration will allow content to be shared from The Northeast Community College newspaper, The Viewpoint to the Norfolk Daily News.  “We also wanted to do something to make use of the nice and impressive content that The Viewpoint staff is doing now that they don’t have a print edition,” said Warneke.

The plan is to pull Viewpoint stories to a special section of the Norfolk Daily News website called “To The Point.” They also intend to occasionally run these stories in their print edition as well. They are especially interested in college related stories that may not be covered by their own news team. This will benefit the Norfolk Daily news by bringing a younger demographic into their readership. Warneke added that it will get people of all ages interested in what is going on at the college.

Nancy Sutton Smith, The Viewpoint adviser and Mass Media instructor says the chance for real-world experience for the Northeast journalism students is invaluable. Sutton Smith said, “The challenges for the newspaper and media industry are changing daily because of the internet and its global reach. It is hard to keep up with the changes and what we as educators should teach our students in the confines of the classroom. This collaboration with the Daily News puts us in direct contact with the professionals dealing with technology changes and the rapidly evolving media landscape. We are deeply indebted to the Daily News for allowing us this fantastic opportunity.”

For the Northeast students, it will give them a chance to have their work published to the Norfolk community and the surrounding area. Warneke hopes that this will make them realize that the things they are working on for The Viewpoint aren’t just class assignments, but something tangible that they can take home and show their parents. Viewpoint Assistant Editor in Chief, Jackson Miller said, “I feel honored that my works are considered good enough to be featured in the Norfolk Daily News.”

Not only is this partnership good for the college and the Norfolk Daily News, it’s good for Norfolk too. “We all know the college is an important part of the community, but if we don’t have any direct connection to the college. . .the college is something of an island. So if we can improve the lines of communication, to make the other people in Norfolk better aware of the interesting and exciting things going on at the college, its good for everyone involved.