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COVER STORY

제 8 호 2nd Achievement Review of Web Version of the SM Herald

  • 작성일 2020-12-05
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채사라

Kicker: COVER STORY (REVIEW)


2nd Achievement Review of Web Version of the SM Herald 

+ Interview with SMU Students & The SM Herald Seniors



By Sarah Chae, Editor-in-Chief/Dong-Wook Kim, Editor/Yoo-Jung Kim, Editor

sarah3fran1@naver.com / smartpodo@kakao.com / kyjmimi121@naver.com


  It has been a year since the SM Herald has started off to publish their webzine on the internet. The choice that they made is daring because media is similar to papers more than electronics. Due to a transition of platforms, we would like to know the thoughts of the subscribers. From the perspective of students who go to webzine to read articles, what is the advantage of webzines more than the paper version? What are the disadvantages? We would like to write an article based on the survey done with subscribers of the SM Herald and the interview with the Herald’s graduates for better feedback to grow successfully as a webzine.



Q1. What do you think is a benefit in SM Herald webzine?


  The common answer of students about the benefits of the webzine format was that it is helpful to see the weekly expression when you access the webzine. Weekly expression is a pop-up window with an English expression. Herald editors take turns to share the expressions every week. As new expressions are updated every week, it would be another fun feature that the students can enjoy every time they go in the website. This feature can be possible with the characteristic to be accessible anywhere with an electronic device.

   Following up next, subscribers responded that it is easy to know school news with the Sangmyung news section. Sangmyung news section is an independent space that students can get to know about Sangmyung information only. Compared to other sections, the length of the article is short and highly readable. You would want to check out the Sangmyung news section if you are back to school and do not know what is going on in school.

The latter benefits of the Sangmyung Herald are that the Cover story is fun and helpful and students are curious after they see the thumbnail picture of the article or the title. Different from a newspaper, webzine allocates the articles by the issues. Article’s thumbnail pictures and the text formats are separated, so it is clear which article is popular with the students.   This can lure students to read articles with an interesting thumbnail picture. 



Q2. How can we improve the benefits to be a better webzine?


  There are no perfect websites nor newspapers. It is common to collect its reader’s feedback to improve to be a better media. We also collected the thoughts of the subscriber’s thoughts on what can be much better to improve. 

  A lot of students’ opinion is to more publicize the webzine. We are informing the students by texts that the Herald has been published. This text is sent four times a year. However, a lot of students thought that we have a lack of publicizing the Herald’s webzine. Some students do not know whether the Herald exists; thus, we should find a practical way to spread the webzine to students. There is an essay contest held by the Herald, but there should be more events so the editors can communicate with students. An idea of doing a survey with students about what topics that they want to read can be a breakthrough.

  The readers also pointed out about the readability of the webzine. They said that the webzine should include more bold font styles or more colors. The articles contain useful information, but students give up while reading black text sets. Some students suggest to make posters instead of a format of article for good readability.

Subscribers complained about the single language of the webzine. Since the Herald is written only in English, students who are not fluent in English struggle to read the articles. It can be a good idea to have a translated version that comes with articles. 




  The SM Herald, which asked students of Sangmyung University, heard more wishes of students. Especially, we tried to listen to the students' opinions in detail by dividing them into articles, events and competitions. From now on, we will describe the opinions of students at Sangmyung University about the SM Herald Webzine.



  Q3. What do you think is lacking in the SM Herald Webzine?

  The most common opinion was that it was regrettable that there was no schedule, event or competition promotion by the SM Herald. Next came the opinion that it was regrettable that there was no space to comment on the articles. We felt here a lack of communication with readers of Sangmyung University. The third most common opinion is that overall webzines and articles are not readable. We also thought that we could improve the webzine design by collecting opinions on this issue and discuss how to write articles again.




Q4. How can we improve our deficiencies in the SM Herald Webzine?

  We are going to have an internal meeting to improve the deficiencies, but we have asked our readers at Sangmyung University how we can improve. There were the most opinions about the lack of publicity. There were many opinions that it would be good to continue communication by creating a space for commenting or promoting by holding many events. Also, there were many requests for a design change so that the webzine link could go directly to the SM Herald on the school website. In response, we will request a design change to add a comment space to the webzine and consider posting a link on the website of Sangmyung University so that our readers can visit the SM Herald more often. In addition, we plan to communicate continuously through SNS. For improvement on events and competitions, please see below.


Q5. Is there any event that you want the SM Herald to hold?

  SM herald is conducting SM Herald promotion day every September. This year, we could not proceed with our event because of COVID-19. As indicated in the survey, we plan to hold more events to improve the SM Herald's lack of publicity. Thus, we asked Sangmyung University students about the idea of the event. The most voted event was the SM Herald Christmas event. It was followed by Halloween and multicultural events. Based on your opinions, we thought that we should hold many events to communicate with our students and let them know about the SM Herald. Next year, we will hold an event twice a year to approach you intimately.




Q6. Is there any contest you want the SM Herald to hold?

SM Herald is holding an essay contest every year in November. This essay contest is a contest in which three keywords of SM Herald articles are used. The essay has to be written using those keywords. This year, the competition was conducted by writing and submitting an essay under the Corona situation. When we asked the students about the competition that the students hope to conduct, they were hoping for the quiz competition based on our articles the most. It was followed by making 5 acrostic poemsbased on articles from the SM Herald articles. Next year, we will consider a quiz competition based on SM Herald articles so that students can read it with interest. We sincerely thank all the students who participated in the survey.




  Until now, we looked at opinions of the SMU students. From now on, we will go through opinions of seniors, especially seniors of the SM Herald. We also asked seniors for some advice for school life and what this school meant to them, so do not take your eyes off just yet! 



1. More than a year has passed since the SM Herald launched this website. Could you tell us how you think about it? What got better and what needs more attention? If you have any ideas, what could be fixed?


Kwon Na-young (32nd class): First of all, I think it was a good idea to think of the ‘Weekly Expression’. However, rather than making it as a pop-up, I think it would be better to put it on the bottom or on the first page of the site. When I entered the site from the computer, the pop-up window did not appear, and when I went in from the mobile site the pop-up window did not appear from the second time. I think it would be okay to make the font size a little larger. Increasing the size of the letters will increase the readability when it is read from mobile devices.

Currently, one expression a week is being shown in a pop-up.

Kim Jong-woo (35th class): Hello, I am Kim Jong-woo from the 35th SM Herald class and I majored in English Education from 2011. I mainly wrote articles about politics. Professor Samuel Denny told me that the SM Herald turned into a webzine. I have not received any articles since I graduated, so it was really nice that I could easily get my hands on the SM Herald. Let’s move on to the good and bad things about the webzine. As I said, the good thing is that it is easy to access. I tried to switch our newspaper’ into a webzine too, but it was not easy for us as we were reporters, and at the same time, students. However, the flaw of the webzine is also accessibility. When the SM Herald was made of paper, there were newspapers all over the school, so students could be attracted to the cover. Now, only students who know the existence of webzines can access them. Therefore, promoting has now become more important. 

  When I read newspapers, I am used to reading from the first article to the last, in one scoop and all together. It is hard to do this on the web version of the SM Herald. For people, like me, who are familiar with the paper copy, I think that this would also be a downside. There was always time made to pick up typos after each publication because they could not be fixed in case of the paper copy. However, in case of the webzine I think it is good that typos could be fixed immediately after they have been found.

  When you write articles for the paper copy of the SM Herald, you could make your own unique article through the design process. It looks hard to show off each article’s character with the web version. I think it would be good to use more of the advantages of the web SM Herald. Playing background music or videos related to the newspaper, using the mobility and linking to other websites, or creating a communication channel with readers, such as making a vote on related events would be a good way.


When the SM Herald was a paper copy, you could make your own unique article through the design process.


Lee Ji-sun (39th class): First of all, I was surprised to see how readable the pictures and the arrangement of the text was. It was very neat and the font gave off the feel of an English newspaper, and it was good too. Overall, everything was great. However, the uploaded pictures looked like it was not adjusted enough (the ratio and size), so I think it would be better if the size of the pictures could be increased and the ratio fixed to be the same with the original version. I do not know how the SM Herald is being promoted because I am a graduate, but I think it would be good to make a poster image and put the QR code of the website on it.


Lee Eun-ji (41st class): All the articles were about interesting topics, but among them, the content of the cover story was very informative and helpful. In the recent edition, the cover story talked about tips when using the library, and this actually contained information covered by the library’s information utilization lecture. Especially, foreign students may find it difficult to get their hands on or understanding these lectures if they are poor at Korean. The detailed explanations in the article will be very helpful to them. In addition, through the fact that at least 1,000 views per article were recorded, I was able to know that the SM Herald is making efforts to secure and make a lot of readers come in.

  One thing I was sad about was that there was not a lot of student participation in the debate article and in the comments. The advantage of the Webzine is that it is easy for students to access. Therefore, I think it would be great if there was a communication channel for students to share opinions after reading the articles. I think it would be good to prepare events regularly where the Herald gives prizes to students who post their opinions in the comments or debate section. If students are reluctant to expose their real names, I think it would be good to use the Everytime app to communicate and share posts.



2. What does the SM Herald and Sangmyung University mean to you? 


Kwon Na-young: When I look back on my days in university, I think it (being a part of the SM Herald) was the best thing I did. Including Professor Samuel Denny, I still keep in touch with the SM Herald members at that time. The person who lives with me right now is also someone who I met in the Herald. All the precious people I met at university seem to have come from the SM Herald. 


Kim Jong-woo: Talking about the Herald reminds me of the old days. When I was a reporter, my seniors said that they cannot remember anything other than the Herald when they look back on their life in university. That is true. As time passes after I graduate, we forget most of our seniors and classmates except for the closest ones. However, the Herald alumni seem to last quite a long time. I got married to a senior in the SM Herald, and our friends sang the wedding song and did the host for us. I just hope you get along well with each other because your relationships as seniors and juniors in the Herald can last for a long time.


Lee Ji-sun: Actually, I was too busy this year to pay attention to the SM Herald. However, it was good to know that the Herald members seemed to be improving. I remember the moments when I participated in the idea and review meetings and wrote articles. I felt proud every moment.


Lee Eun-ji: I experienced a small society at the SM Herald. I found out that it is difficult to satisfy students’ needs when writing articles and preparing events. Whenever I had a hard time, I was able to overcome the crisis with the director’s advice and brilliant ideas of the SM Herald members. If it was not for the SM Herald, would I have had an opportunity to prepare and think of something to satisfy the majority? Thanks to that, the SM Herald gave me tough but meaningful times other than just being busy with my studies and assignments, and that helped me become a mature person. 

  Sangmyung University served as a fence and helped me stay on the path whenever I was in crisis or about to go astray. Whenever I asked for help, SMU always helped out appropriately, which helped me stay in good shape. Thank you, SMU!



3. Is there anything you want to say to the Sangmyung University and the SM Herald students?


Kwon Na-young: First, to my juniors in the SM Herald, I want to say that coming into the SM Herald was a great choice (to you). During your time in the Herald, I hope you can do your best without any regrets. In 2009, when I was in the second year of university, I became Editor-in-chief. Due to some circumstances I had to become Editor-in-chief even though I was in the lower grades. I still remember what the Editor-in-chief who seated me in their place said to me, “*Position maketh the person.” Thanks to what the chief said, I gained courage and was able to lead the SM Herald. In some cases, you may have the right person for a certain position, but sometimes that is not the case. By taking the role, you have the opportunity to grow into the right person for a position. Please make good use of your time. You can study English or meet various people and broaden your sight of view. Although the SM Herald was just a small *press in a school back then, I was able to meet many people in society and interview them under the name of “press.” Looking back, it seems that the Herald activities were just like working for a small company, so it was also a practice of life out in the society for me.

*Position maketh the person: Your position makes you who you are.

*Press: Newspapers are referred to as the ‘press’.


Kim Jong-woo: I know there is a saying that seniors should stay quiet and just open their wallet, but I sure talked a lot. Finally, I want to say a last thing as a reporter at the Herald and as a senior in life. First, to the Herald juniors, do not forget that you are a journalist. Journalists should tell the truth and become witnesses of the era. Keep a close eye on power and pay attention with a warm-heart to the weak. This is what I learned by meeting the two journalists Choi Seung-ho and the*late Lee Yong-ma while working as a reporter in the Herald. The level of freedom of speech is high but reliability and trust level is deep down for the press. All kinds of unqualified and rotten journalists are all over the place. It could be hard to be a reporter/journalist in times like this. However, to tell the truth, you can be proud of it. You can be confident and you can stay strong in the face of truth.

  As a senior in life, I want to share some words of my favorite singer, Kim Chang-wan. “Do not get caught up in your youth.” You are living one of the most brilliant, bright times of your life. You can shine by working as a reporter, but you can also glow by studying or even by just going out and having fun. I hope you spend at least some moments doing something you want to do, not just investing for your future all of the time. 

*Late: You use late when you are talking about someone who is dead, especially someone who has died recently.


Lee Ji-sun: The time in the Herald is the most memorable part of my university life, which I guess means that I was very fond of the things I did in the SM Herald. Most of the SM Herald friends that I remember must have already or will graduate, but I hope everyone takes all the good memories with them just like me. For those who I have never met, I hope you can make your dreams come true and keep your passion bright. 


Lee Eun-ji: The SM Herald has jumped over the hurdle and changed the format of the newspaper into a webzine. That is a tough job, but the SM Herald has done a great job with it. I am sure the potential of the SM Herald is limitless. I also think that because we have done well so far, we will be able to resolve any difficulties in the future in a positive way. If there is a junior who needs my help from the Herald, I will always be waiting for you, so please feel free to contact me. 

  To the juniors in SMU who must have been burned out with exhaustion because of the corona virus, I want to say that it is normal to feel helpless when it is difficult to do keep up a normal life. In times like this, especially, you need to make time to concentrate on yourself, and take the time to take care of yourself in ways such as writing a diary, meditating, and exercising.



  Through a survey with fellow SMU students and interviews with the SM Herald seniors, we found out what was good and what needs to be fixed in the SM Herald webzine.The SM Herald appreciates the support all readers have given us. We will have a meeting and make sure we can make a space for readers to communicate and hold lots of events, too. Keep checking on us until the next review, and we will try hard to make your feedback show up in the next edition’s webzine. If you have more questions or feedback for us, please send anything to the SM Herald Kakao Channel (https://pf.kakao.com/_meEFV , ID: thesmherald) or please write a post on the YOUR VOICE board (https://www.smu.ac.kr/press/voice.do).