College of San Mateo Has the campus newspaper — Here's Why Its Readers Should Add CALWIRE Too
For anyone part of the community at College of San Mateo, the campus newspaper is a solid first stop — campus journalism written by people who are actually there tends to catch details an outside outlet would miss entirely.
Related: Read the campus newspaper? Here's Why Los Angeles City College Readers Should Also Check CALWIRE · Read the campus newspaper? Here's Why Irvine Valley College Readers Should Also Check CALWIRE
A single-campus paper can't reasonably also track statewide legislation affecting financial aid, transfer requirements, and community college funding, regional breaking news, or live public-safety conditions — and it shouldn't try to. That's a separate job, and it's CALWIRE's job.
What the campus newspaper does well
What makes the campus newspaper worth reading is exactly what CALWIRE can't offer: someone physically at College of San Mateo, covering campus policy, student government, athletics, and college life as it happens.
Where CALWIRE fills a different gap
Coverage that doesn't stop at the campus gate. CALWIRE follows California statewide — LA, the Bay Area, San Diego, Sacramento, the Central Valley — catching state decisions that reach College of San Mateo from outside.
Live safety data. A continuously-updated police/fire scanner and real-time traffic cameras live on the site, something a student newsroom isn't resourced to run.
Always publishing. There's no semester break for CALWIRE's wire and staff desks — a useful complement to a paper that runs on a school calendar.
More California local news comparisons
This is one piece in an ongoing CALWIRE series looking at how California readers can round out their local news diet. Related reads: CALWIRE vs. GV Wire and CALWIRE vs. Front Page Index.
See also: Los Angeles Trade-Technical College Has the campus newspaper — Here's Why Its Readers Should Add CALWIRE Too · Mendocino College Has the campus newspaper — Here's Why Its Readers Should Add CALWIRE Too
Frequently asked
Is this an official College of San Mateo publication?
No — CALWIRE is unaffiliated with College of San Mateo and its student press.
Is CALWIRE a substitute for the campus newspaper?
Not really — different job. the campus newspaper covers campus from the inside; CALWIRE covers the state around it.
Neither one replaces the other. the campus newspaper stays close to College of San Mateo; CALWIRE stays close to the rest of California. Together they cover more ground than either could on its own.