In a newspaper, what's considered important or newsworthy is awarded the special position "above the fold." It's the first thing potential readers see when they swing by the newsstand.
At the beginning of this week, everyone received an email saying the University of Memphis website was now live, and a new design graced the page. While I think the new design is more attractive (adios to the center photo taking up the entire screen) I'm curious who decides what stories run front and center on the homepage.
Right now, the photos scrolling across the front page of the website jump primarily to the U of M's online Media Room - a page about the U of M's social networking, a timeline of events celebrating Black History Month, another timeline outlining the U of M's presidential search and an article about a new internship program on campus.
It's easy to argue why each story deserves to run at the top. However, I was surprised to see what took bottom billing.
Ashley Parker, a Ph.D. student, and her team are working to create more effective ways to deliver medicine to treat bacterial infections in wounds. On- and off-campus scientists are working on world-changing research projects in the Integrated Microscopy Center. The Memphis River Warriors have collected more than 50,000 pounds of trash at McKellar Lake and are still going strong (full disclosure: I'm Chief Trash Bag Lady during the cleanups.)
They're labeled as the Dreamers, Thinkers and Doers, and it's clear they exemplify what it means to be True Blue Tigers. They're leaving the world in better shape than they found it and using what they've learned on this campus to do it. Yet none of their stories are more important than following the U of M on Twitter?
To me, these are the industrious innovators who should be running above the fold - or above the scroll - on our website.
