For decades, across many different mediums, formats and structures, The Talon has persisted as the reliable, dedicated voice of the Avila University student body. The Talon has been a newsletter. It has been a newspaper; a magazine; an assortment of essays and creative writing samples. It has been connected with classwork and existed as an extracurricular activity.
But through its many different forms and layouts, The Talon has always existed to serve a few purposes: chief among them being telling stories that have gone under-told elsewhere, and providing a forum through which Avila students can discuss matters that, well, matter to them.
Those are two essential elements of journalism and storytelling, and it's why the presence and mere existence of The Talon is as essential today as it was when the publication was first founded. And today, our team is excited to transition The Talon into a new frontier. Today, The Talon becomes the Talon Media Network, ready to tell the stories of, about and to the Avila community.
The term "media network" has been adopted because it reflects our publication's presence in the modern media landscape. Gone are the days of print-only, radio-only or television-only publications; here instead are reporters and publications who know how to operate in multiple spheres, across multiple mediums and story formats, and connect the audiences that live in those different spheres. And the best way to connect all of those different media audiences is through a media network - a multimedia, multidimensional storytelling process that still keeps actual storytelling at its nexus.
We're keeping the "Talon" moniker because this publication is designed for every member of our Avila Eagle community. It's a class-linked publication, so every semester students will be at the forefront as The Talon's chief writers and editors, and there will be consistent faculty guidance and oversight; but we don't want to lose what has made this thing so great in the past, which is contributions from students across campus, not just those enrolled in the course.
Instead of being a print-only or even a print-first publication, The Talon in 2021 and beyond will be a digital-first publication, with stories published online on our website (right here!) and then shared to our audience through our ever-growing network of channels and social media accounts. Our stated goal is to tell the stories of the Avila University community and to provide a forum for members of that community to discuss issues that are relevant through them. We plan to accomplish this through columns, essays, editorials, and Q&As.
We encourage our audience to interact with our writers. Comment on our stories through comment sections and social media. Defend your opinion on a contentious topic through a forum post. Nominate impactful people we should highlight in our profiles. And compare your experiences with ours in Q&As. The Talon Media Network is designed to be a source for conversation and discussion, not a one-way lecture of personal beliefs. Like all good storytellers, we seek to educate, inform and entertain; but at The Talon we also seek to understand, learn and grow. That's only possible with contributions from and conversations with members of our entire Avila community - students, faculty, staff, hired workers, families and alumni. We look forward to hearing from you.
We also look forward to beginning this new chapter in the storied history of The Talon. On this week where we are reminded to give thanks, I am thankful for the hard work and passion these students have displayed throughout this process as we identified our creative focus and planned our initial batch of content. I am excited for them to showcase what they've done and to see what comes next. I hope you are too.
Avila Proud,
Tim Hackett
Editor-in-Chief, Talon Media Network
Professor, Avila University School of Visual Arts and Communication/Sports Information Director
Social tease?
Throughout the years, The Talon has served to tell the stories of the Avila community.
And that's still what we're doing.
Our editor-in-chief @thetimhackett welcomes you to a reimagined Talon Media Network, built and run entirely by @AvilaUniversity students
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