We are the CU Independent, and we recognize that journalism is currently in a state of disorder. We choose to embrace change, to move forward, to be different.

We choose to be epic.

Random disorder creates frustration. Frustration creates a choice. Choose forward. Choose positive. Choose good. Choose order. Choose epic.

— marknewt (@marknewt) April 21, 2013

As a student-run news organization composed of a few dozen staff members, the CUI reports on news, sports and entertainment while also providing a forum for student voices. We publish online every morning and when breaking news calls for it.

The goals of the CUI are very different from a normal news organization. We strive to teach, innovate and report, in that order.

Run by students, many not considering journalism as a career, the CUI has the responsibility to teach skills that the staff can take out into the real world. Because we have room to experiment and are always encouraging our staff to be forward thinking, we have the ability to test and innovate news-gathering techniques where other news organizations cannot. And we must report the news, of course.

The students who work for the CUI are exposed to tools that their majors may not provide. We encourage students from all corners of campus to join the staff and explore journalism, advertising, marketing and IT.

No matter your skill set, the CUI has a place for students. And now is a great time to apply because this fall, many new things will be happening.

Over the course of this semester, we will be rolling out a new, responsive website that matches our commitment to new forms of storytelling. We will also be pursuing longer investigative stories and featuring a staff blog.

New media

Being part of an agile student newsroom, compared to a traditional newsroom, has numerous benefits. CUI editors encourage reporters, writers and one another to tell stories in new ways. This could mean including a photo slideshow in a pre-existing story, or it could go as far as a custom-coded news app that is the story.

This semester we will be introducing a number of new projects, including the CUI News Minute broadcast, Colorado Stories audio pieces and a database journalism team.

Investigations

In addition to the new projects, editors in every section will be encouraging staff members to look deeper into stories. For every event and press release, there are dozens of stories that never get told. And those are what we’re looking for.

While many newsrooms focus on speed and quantity, we will focus on accuracy and quality while providing stories in a timely fashion. This may mean less content published every morning, but everything published will be strong.

Blog

We are 100 percent committed to quality journalism.  We also want to provide a space for our staff to express themselves on more personal levels and experiment outside traditional formats. That’s why we’re introducing a staff blog for our contributors to write about whatever they want in a non-formal setting. These pieces will still be edited and fact checked, but will come in a much more conversational tone.

If you are a student and want to be a part of what’s going on at the CUI, you can apply here.

If you are more curious about how the CUI operates, please feel free to email the managing editors at tips@cuindependent.com.

Journalism is changing and so are we. Here’s our new mission statement:

We are not a paper.
We are an interactive media site on the forefront of journalism.
We are dedicated to informing the CU and Boulder communities respectfully and accurately.
We are the future of student media.
We are the CU Independent.

Welcome to the CUI, and thanks for reading.

Rob Denton
Editor-in-chief, fall 2013