Journalism students of all breeds — print, radio, television and online — have a new playground in Weimer Hall.
About 100 faculty, students and guests attended the grand opening of the College of Journalism and Communications’ new 21st Century News Laboratory on Friday afternoon.
John Wright, the dean of the college, said the creation of the lab is a response to a changing industry with evolving needs.
It’s important to train people to tell a story in new and different ways across multiple, emerging platforms, he said.
UF President Bernie Machen echoed Wright’s sentiments, saying the lab will give students a chance to redefine the news in an age where the Internet allows for information overload.
“From my perspective, it’s really quite a mess,” he said.
Special guests included former dean of the college Ralph Lowenstein and CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
Attkisson said the lab will be a factor in increasing the college’s profile and a valuable resource for students to emerge from their education prepared for the workforce.
“This will keep them on the cutting edge,” she said.
A monument in Lowenstein’s honor was unveiled at the ceremony, inscribed with a statement he made in 1976, upon taking the position as dean: “Print on paper is dead.”
Lowenstein spoke briefly, noting how pleased he was with the lab and the recognition.
“I am overwhelmed with this honor,” he said.
The ceremony concluded with a student-produced presentation about the Gulf oil spill that demonstrated the collaboration students can undertake with shared audio, video and text.
“It was really nerve-wracking to present in front of all of these important people,” said Alli Langley, a journalism sophomore who participated in the presentation, which took a month to create.
Wright said the lab cost $750,000 to build, most of which were federal stimulus dollars.
