Written by Kailyn Shalosky ’24
After nearly a four-year hiatus, students at Muskingum University have given the previous student newspaper, The Black & Magenta, a new, digital look. To celebrate the return of the publication, The Magenta Journal team held a launch party on April 17 in Muskingum’s Roberta A. Smith Library.
With a mission to “provide fair, accurate, and impactful journalism to inform and tell the stories of the students and alumni of Muskingum University. Through interdisciplinary student collaboration and independent reporting, we seek to elevate all voices of the campus community through engaging writing and multimedia storytelling,” The Magenta Journal is entirely student-driven and advised by Assistant Professor of Journalism, Dr. Natascha Toft Roelsgaard.
The Magenta Journal launched on April 17. Issues of past Black & Magenta newspapers were available at the launch event to view.
Roelsgaard joined the Muskingum community in Fall 2021. Part of the reason Roelsgaard was hired was to reimagine the traditional student newspaper on campus and transition it into a more digital platform.
“I really wanted the students to be a part of the process, so it was really important for me to collaborate with students and get their input,” said Roelsgaard.
Roelsgaard credits current copy editor, Katelyn Lindsey, for working with her last semester on building the website and deciding on what content would best serve the campus community.
“It was fun. We kind of got to play around both with the visuals, but also the content and how we could kind of take some of the principles and values from the traditional newspaper, but then transfer it into a more digital era,” said Roelsgaard.
The team is composed of five members, including:
Editor-in-Chief – JW Dennison
Copy Editor – Katelyn Lindsey
Photographer – Caitlynn Todd
Staff Writers – Ady Baesmann and Hailey Hill
Any student can be involved in The Magenta Journal, regardless of major.
“Students deep-diving and highlighting the stories or voices that might be overlooked in mainstream media, that’s really my hope,” said Roelsgaard.
Along with Lindsey, Dennison was a driving force behind the rebranding and rebuilding process of the newspaper.
Katelyn Lindsey and J.W. Dennison spoke at the launch event on April 17. Both are current staff members for The Magenta Journal.
Dennison focused on rewriting the mission statement for The Magenta Journal.
“A lot of it was incorporating general journalistic principles that needed to be kept in line, but also understanding how we want to focus on our commitment to our community,” said Dennison.
The Magenta Journal seeks to serve and inform current and past Muskies. Their stories are written by and for the students and seek to elevate the stories of all campus community members.
They can also be found on Instagram @themagentajournalmu.
The website features personal narratives, Q&As, a variety of professor spotlights, and more.
Any student interested in learning more about joining the Magenta Journal can email Roelsgaard at toft@muskingum.edu.
