RIT’s student-run Reporter Magazine is working to returning to its roots as a primary information source by and for the RIT community.

As it heads into its 75th year in 2026, Reporter has added frequent news updates online between its monthly print publication, has an editorial staff interested in communications and journalism, is seeing an interest in students wanting to join the staff, and is again winning awards for its work.

Mariella Santiago, a fourth-year journalism major from Pittsford, N.Y., was elected editor-in-chief in January.

“I was interested in making Reporter more of a journalism publication,” she said. “We have a more streamlined process of how we do our print publications, with cycles every month. We make sure we are published on time and people meet their deadlines. I’m really proud of this team with what they’ve done.”

About 50 students with a variety of majors are on the staff and get paid for their work. Some are freelance writers or photographers, and some receive a stipend. “We’re always looking for more people to help out with our publication,” she said.

The organization is editorially independent and student-run, with an advisory board that offers suggestions as needed. Some revenue is collected from advertising, but the bulk of funding is provided from RIT. All of the editorial content comes from the staff.

The staff meets weekly for a newsroom brainstorming session at 5 p.m. each Thursday in its office, room A-730 in the basement of Campus Center. They hold organizational meetings at 4 p.m. Tuesdays. Any RIT student or employee is welcome to attend.

“We talk about what’s happening nationally and globally, and try to relate those issues to RIT, and what’s trending on campus,” Santiago said. “We want to view issues from a student’s perspective.”

There are 3,000 print copies distributed free each month around campus, and that content is also put online and on social media. Staff members have experimented with videos and podcasts and hope to provide photography and videography workshops to students.

Tom Dooley, former program director for RIT’s journalism option, has been Reporter’s faculty adviser for three years. He said this staff has made “an intentional effort to really serve the student body. They take a serious look at what the people in this RIT community want to know about, and how they can deliver that to them.”

Dooley said the staff has hired more visual journalists, more social media managers, rebuilt their website on a platform with more visual capabilities, and increased their presence on Instagram.

“I think they are doing good work now and are taking the job of being a voice for the students seriously,” said Dooley, a former photojournalist, television producer, and filmmaker. “They know their role is important here at RIT to serve the student body through a perspective they can really connect with in an era of local news deserts, with fewer and fewer journalists covering local communities. Reporter is here to add value to students’ lives and occasionally check the administration. And that’s OK for that to happen.”

Dooley is quick to say he’s not the staff’s boss and has no editorial say or prior review of what gets published, but he does sit in their planning meetings and supports them if they have any challenges or can help them in the creative process if they ask for guidance. One suggestion they followed was to create a manual for the staff with clear editorial guidelines and editorial ethics.

Dooley has also traveled with several Reporter staff members to conferences by the Associated Press Collegiate Press in Minneapolis and College Media Association in New York City in the past three years to learn about best practices among other college publications. Reporter has won awards at the conferences.

A 12-member advisory board, which includes faculty and administration members, communications professionals, and alumni who work in media, also meets with staff members periodically, providing guidance and feedback to the students.

Dooley said he’s encouraged that some staff members are starting to collaborate with local professional organizations, getting co-ops as they learn journalism first-hand and even getting bylines.

Liam Conroe, a journalism major from Jamestown, N.Y., serves as Reporter’s copy managing editor. He completed a co-op as a reporter for Rochester Beacon and hopes to possibly become a sportswriter after college.

Noah Gallo, a second-year cybersecurity major from Danbury, Conn., joined the staff as a writer in March after a friend and Dooley, who taught a communication course he was in, suggested he join. He’s written two stories and two reviews since then.

“While he doesn’t have a vision to become a career journalist, he says he can take aspects of what he’s learning at Reporter and apply them to his major.

For the October edition, he’s writing a review of the videogame Cyberpunk 2077.

“I never thought I would get to write an article about my favorite game,” Gallo said. “Just the fact I can and that people will read it is so cool to me.”

Santiago, who completed an internship with News 10 (WHEC-TV) in Rochester, is gratified at the staff’s work and the product they are producing each month.

“When I see it in print and see my editor’s note and my signature there, that is all worth all the work I put into it,” she said. “Seeing the final product and seeing people reading it around campus is always the most rewarding thing.”