At the recent annual conference in Saskatoon, I repeatingly told the student press they can easily beat me (and every other reporter) to stories on their campus.
In the case of myself, student newspapers have better location, more resources, and are not limited in how they deliver information on the Internet. Most importantly, “beating” doesn’t mean have a fully composed and edited piece; it means providing accurate information to your readership.
Last night, the Schulich School of Business student newpaper The Insider did exactly this. It posted a letter from their Dean informing students classes would resume Monday.
This information was up long before my story appeared. It was actually up before I even knew there was a story.