From expectations to feedback, UofR students have a lot to say about their university newspaper
Local community based media outlets have an important role to play. One of their strengths is their ability to tell those stories that may not attract major attention. Outlets like these have more specified goals and objectives than larger media outlets.
With their place in the community, comes a responsibility toward the community. When you think about any local media and publishing outlet, questions like its strengths, weaknesses, hiring processes, style of reporting, types of stories, and what it’s known for can be answered by the target audience. Moreover, their responses can shed light on whether or not the said outlet has been performing as per expectations.
Being a similar organisation, the Carillon is subject to the same scrutiny. To know what its readership thinks of the Carillon, I went and spoke to the students. Their responses serve as a mirror for the Carillon; telling them where they lack and how can they do better.
What is the Carillon to UofR students?
On the carillon’s website it states how “this newspaper has continued to serve as a symbolic bell tower on campus: a loud and clear voice belonging to each and every student since 1962.”
I wanted to know whether the sentiment echoed within the student body. While talking with the students, I posed two questions to them. The first being, do they know what the student newspaper is, and do they read it? And secondly, if they do, what would they like to see from the newspaper moving forward?
After speaking with students on campus, it became clear that most were apathetic. Many were unaware that the University of Regina (UofR) even has a students’ newspaper. Those who knew about the Carillon’s existence said they rarely read it. A few students mentioned that they pick up the newspaper for their parents, but aside from that, the number of students engaging and reading the newspaper turned out to be alarmingly small.
While talking with students, a majority of them questioned whether the newspaper is important enough to want to read it.” -Joshua Potter
Students’ expectations from the newspaper
The Carillon has been trying its best to report on what’s happening around campus and the important issues relevant to the students. While talking with students, a majority of them however questioned whether the newspaper is important enough to want to read it.
From the students who were spoken to, a few mentioned how they would like to see more advertising for promoting events that are happening around campus. One student went on further to say that they would like to see news stories being covered from around the city of Regina.
Another student mentioned how they felt as though the Carillon doesn’t have enough “presence on social media and isn’t making enough of an effort in terms of outreach for students.”
Although the newspaper has a website and social media accounts across multiple platforms, the Carillon has been struggling to attract a dedicated audience.
The organisation’s efforts to promote engagement
After the Canadian government’s policy, the Online News Act, or Bill C-18 which has led major platforms like Meta (Facebook and Instagram) to block news content in Canada, efforts for creating a strong social media presence have been made by the Carillon.
They have tried to post at least twice a week since the summer 2025 on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Posts include interviews with the faculty and staff at the UofR, covering events, getting students’ feedback on these events, or debriefing about the University of Regina Students’ Union debacle.
Recently more focus on sports and arts stories have also been made in the arts & sports section of the newspaper to engage students involved in the UofR’s sports teams. They have attempted to give space to our local artists and athletes to talk about their journey and highlight their talents.
Are these efforts enough?
The issue for the students was how they feel that the Carillon has not been doing enough outreach, whether that was gaining traction in person or building an online audience.
Before I joined the organization, I too was unaware that the UofR had a student news outlet, nor did I know what types of stories it reported on before I did my own research.
From the students’ point of view, the general consensus is that the newspaper has been struggling to attract the attention that it desires.Responses by students have given the Carillon a lot to work on and it would be interesting to see how and if the organization delivers.
