For nearly five decades, Niagara News, NC’s former student-run newspaper, captured life at the College, from campus events and student experiences to community news and milestones that helped shape its history.
Originally created by the College’s Journalism-Advertising Department in 1971, the newspaper provided students with hands-on reporting experience while keeping the campus community informed.
Now, nearly the entire collection has been preserved digitally and made available online through NC’s Libraries and Learning Centres (LLC).
The newly digitized collection spans from the earliest issue in the College’s archives, published in April 1971, to the newspaper’s final issue on March 13, 2020. With only a small number of issues missing, the archive provides a look back at almost 50 years of College and community history.
The project was led by NC Library Technicians Kent Reynolds and Sheri Waldie, who coordinated the scanning of decades of physical issues and their addition to the College’s online archive.
Issues from 2010 to 2020 had previously been digitized and provided to the LLC by the Journalism-Print program. Earlier editions, however, remained in physical form in a filing cabinet in the College’s archive room.
Recognizing the importance of protecting the aging collection, the LLC digitized the newspapers to preserve this piece of College history and make it more accessible for the NC community to explore.
“As a graduate of the former Journalism-Print program here at Niagara College, I know the integrity that went into the reporting and creation of these papers,” said Waldie. “It’s so important to preserve the valuable contribution that print media made to the historical events and facts of the college and community.”
Almost 50 years of news, first-hand accounts, opinions and records of significant events are now preserved as a resource for historical research, general interest and anyone interested in exploring NC’s past.
A newspaper by students, for the College community
Niagara News itself was an important part of the College’s history.
Originally created by Niagara College’s Journalism-Advertising Department, the newspaper served a dual purpose: providing campus and community news while giving students a practical newsroom experience. In later years, it was produced by students in the Journalism-Print program.
Much like reporters working at a community newspaper, students were assigned beats and responsible for covering College events, academic departments and programs, the Student Administrative Council, student life and community news. The paper also featured special features and opinion pieces.
Producing the newspaper was an extensive undertaking for students on top of their regular class hours. First-year students would take over production in April while second-year students completed placements at other newspapers, then continue producing the publication throughout the fall and winter terms until the following March.
The newspaper’s original newsroom was located in the former Black Walnut Building.
A snapshot of NC history
Among the stories preserved in the collection is one highlighting an innovative project from 1978, when the College’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Society built an electric car out of an old Volkswagen.
The story is one of many in the archive that offers a look at student innovation, campus life and the people and projects that shaped NC over the decades. It can be found on page 8 of the March 17, 1978, issue of Niagara News.
The timing of the completed archive is particularly fitting as NC approaches its 60th anniversary. The collection provides students, employees, alumni and the broader community with an opportunity to look back at the College through the reporting and perspectives of the students who documented its history as it happened.
The complete Niagara News digital collection is available through the Libraries and Learning Centres’ online archive here.
