The Jacket Journal has not always been named so. The school paper started out as the Anemone and was eventually changed to Today newspaper. The change from The Today to The Jacket Journal came about in the fall of 2007 when a committee was put together to decide on a new name and look for the school paper.

One of the ideas behind the new name was something that would connect more with the school.

“Students had a real disconnect with the name,” said Dr. Mary Caton-Rosser, the advisor for the paper.

Today does not suggest any ties to Black Hills State University. Other students at the time felt that Today was a confusing name since the print was published seven times each semester and not daily as the name would suggest.
The staff worked with Corinne Hansen, the Director of Marketing & Communications on the change. The students first met with Hansen and brought a couple of different options for the title and discussed the pros and cons.
Something to keep in mind when deciding on a name change for anything on campus is to “be careful not to lose the legacy or the history of it,” Hansen said.

This is why it is important to not change the name often.

The original list was narrowed down and brought back for the staff and students in the practicum class to vote on. The biggest struggle with the name change was deciding what would best suit the paper and would be something to stick for years to come.

“The staff discussed possible alternative names, Jacket Journal was actually my suggestion,” said Jill Broecher, who graduated in December 2009 with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication and was Editor-in-Chief at the time. Jacket Journal had received the most votes and thus became the new title, debuting in the spring of 2008.
Along with a new title came a new look. “We changed the masthead and a bit of the layout for the paper. It was well received by the student body,” Broecher said.

A major influence on the design of the masthead was to make it easily usable for the online paper as well. This new flag included the use of the Sting mascot. It was clear that there was a goal to make a strong connection with the school. Also, the BHSU logo was used for the first time on the front of the hard copy.

The paper also began printing 20 pages every issue, where under the name Today, print copies only averaged 16 pages per issue. Now the Jacket Journal prints 12-16 pages per issue.
Since then, The Jacket Journal has only seen one more major facelift that took place in the Fall of 2012. Devin Lynn, Editor-in-Chief decided it was time for an updated look for the paper. The staff has changed around a few things in the print copy, but overall this look is what is seen in the hard copy today.

A name change can be exactly what is needed to update a newspaper. But keep in mind when changing anything there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. The name needs to be something easily recognizable and it can help if it is connected to the school. Be sure not to lose the history that may be linked with the previous name.