WKU "News"

The following are 12 of the most recent new stories posted by WKU News:  

• WKU RECOGNIZES TOP VOLUNTEERS, ALUMNI AT 2014 SUMMIT AWARDS
• WKU NAMED TO MILITARY FRIENDLY® SCHOOLS LIST FOR 6TH STRAIGHT YEAR
• DR. SUSAN BAUM MAKES PRESENTATION AT 2014 TWICE-EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS SEMINAR
• PARKING/TRAFFIC INFORMATION FOR WKU VS. UTEP ON NOV. 8
• WKU GERMAN PROGRAM TO MARK 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF FALL OF BERLIN WALL
• STUDENT ACTIVITIES ANNOUNCES CHAIRS FOR GREEK WEEK 2015
• PARKING/TRAFFIC INFORMATION FOR HOMECOMING 2014 EVENTS NOV. 6-8
• WKU YEARBOOK WINS PACEMAKER AWARD — 17TH OVERALL, 7TH IN A ROW
• STEAK ’N SHAKE TO HOST LAUNCH PARTY NOV. 6 AT WKU LOCATION
• WKU FORENSICS TEAM WINS LARGEST TOURNAMENT OF FALL SEMESTER
• WKU DEPARTMENT HEAD COMPLETES 8TH AROUND-THE-WORLD TOUR
• GROVES MAKES PRESENTATION AT U.N. WATER CONFERENCE IN CHINA

Out of these 12, I would say only half can remotely pass for news stories. Steak and Shake is having their grand opening? Parking and traffic information? That's some hard hitting journalism right there. Even the stories that I think could pass for news stories are soft stories. It seems as though this is a source I would go to if I wanted to know about some general campus news and events, but not for deep, interesting stories. Interestingly enough, none of these most recent WKU stories are featured in the local Bowling Green news (not even the Steak and Shake one! Shocking, right?) This is probably because someone who doesn't attend this school wouldn't care about smaller things going on around campus. I think perhaps alumni or other members of the community could be interested in the stories about Forensics Team, the Around-the-World Tour, and the U.N. Presentation, but the public most likely doesn't care about the chairs elected for Greek Week. These stories all seem like the easy catches. This probably has something to do with the size of the paper. Or maybe there is simply nothing controversial or impactful going on around campus (although I highly doubt that).  I'm sure there aren't many people relying on WKU News for their daily news and that's probably a good thing considering their seems to be no coverage of anything in the community. I know that I personally will to be using this site for my daily news. These stories may produce a nice public image for the university but it's not the whole truth if part of the picture is cropped out.