Publication analysis
About the publication
Title: Spartan Daily
ISSN: N/A
Website: http://www.sjsunews.com/spartan_daily/
Purpose, objective, or mission: The student newspaper for San Jose State University, covering news, sports, arts and entertainment, tech, and opinion relating to the campus and its students.1
Target audience: San José State University students and faculty.
Publisher: San José State University.2
Peer reviewed? No.
Type: Civilian publication; student newspaper.
Medium: Print and online.3
Content: Articles on recent campus news and issues, opinions, sports, and student life.
Frequency of publication: The print version is printed every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and the online version is updated daily.4
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: No submission guidelines for the Spartan Daily could be located.
Types of contributions accepted: Letters to the editor (opinion pieces) and news tips.5
Submission and review process: Submit a letter to the editor or a news tip by emailing spartandaily [at] gmail.com.
Editorial tone: Informal.
Style guide used: None.
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Writers interested in reaching this audience can use this publication. While an opinion piece in a school paper would not increase your chances of tenure, it would increase your reputation within the university community and could be used to promote library issues or garner support for the library.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: The Spartan Daily distributes 15,000 copies per week.6
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Published in San José, California, it is safe to assume the readers (faculty, staff, and students of SJSU) are located there too. This is an English language publication and the audience, as part of an institution that requires English language skills, likely reads and speaks English.
Reader characteristics: According to the 2019 Media Kit, there are 35,400 students enrolled at SJSU.7 The SJSU student population is a diverse mixture of 41.9% Asian, 28.9% Hispanic, 16.1% White, 9.2% Other, 3.3% Black, .4% Pacific Islander, and .1% American Indian.8 As this is the publication of an educational institution, readers are likely interested in education and improving themselves. Other than possibly sharing an interest in their school, any biases, values, and attitudes would vary widely.
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Slightly better than the general public given the readers’ affiliation with the university. LIS jargon would still need to be avoided or defined if used in your writing.
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
The readership of this publication would expect writing that concerns them or their school and is written with a youthful approach.
Last updated: September 27, 2020
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