![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Once the backbone of public discourse and community engagement, print journalism now teeters on the brink of extinction. With dwindling circulation, declining ad revenue, and a generation of news consumers captivated by the internet, the demise of print seems inevitable. But is it truly doomed or simply evolving?
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, newspapers were at their peak, informing the masses about everything from local happenings to world wars. The printed word became a cornerstone of democracy, giving a voice to the voiceless and holding the powerful accountable.
Today, that same content is just a tap away on our phones. The internet has brought a seismic shift, offering free, instant access to information. Platforms like X (formerly Twitter, for those not keeping up) and Google have consolidated news sources into digestible scrolls, leaving newspapers scrambling to stay relevant.
“The majority of today’s high school students never got their news from printed publications, so I don’t think the shift toward digital delivery has affected their consumption of news in any measurable way,” said Janice Finnell, the Rampage advisor and journalism teacher at the high school.
An impending deadline looms for the survival of print journalism. According to a New York Times report, the weekday circulation of print newspapers in the United States has plummeted by over 60% since 2004. Advertising revenue for newspapers has also declined sharply, dropping from $49 billion in 2005 to just $14.3 billion in 2020. Industry experts predict that by 2040, most major newspapers will cease daily print operations entirely, shifting exclusively to digital platforms.
Doomsday prognosticators aside, many would argue that journalism isn’t dying; it’s transforming. Digital platforms offer exciting opportunities for innovation, including interactive articles, podcasts and live-streamed breaking news.
Rampage, the Randolph High School news site that published this article, is a fantastic example of what happens when a formerly print publication goes digital and takes on a whole new meaning. The Multimedia section, for example, offers videos specializing in sports, student life and community activity, which is something the printed version of the newspaper could never do.
“Digitalization gave us a chance to reimagine what journalism could look like,” said Emma Kirshbaum, co-editor of the Campus Life section of Rampage. “When we moved Rampage online, we created a platform for storytelling. Videos, interactive polls and real-time updates brought new life to how we connect with our readers.”
Another positive aspect of digitized news to consider is the speed with which it can share news in a digital world. On the other hand, having a platform for the immediate publication of news can also pressure journalists into posting articles before they’re completely vetted, which can lead to the unintentional publication of misinformation and disinformation.
“For journalists and former journalists like me, the transition from traditional print to digital platforms has had a huge effect on the process of news dissemination, in everything from how we gather news to how we write and fact-check it to how quickly we have to publish it,” Finnell said. “Digital news exists in a 24/7 news cycle, so a news story has to go online asap, which means more errors end up getting published, and there are fewer fact-checking entities left to guard this from happening.”
High-quality, specialty news magazines like The New Yorker or The Atlantic prove there is still an appetite for well-crafted print journalism, particularly in affluent or highly educated markets. These are not the daily newspapers of the last century, however; they are passion projects rather than mass-market staples.
Ultimately, print may never reclaim its throne, but it doesn’t have to. Journalism’s mission—to inform, challenge and connect—remains unchanged. Whether delivered to our doorsteps or our smartphones, the news still matters. While print might not represent the future, it laid the foundation for how we consume news today.
This story was originally published on Rampage Online on February 15, 2025.