The McMaster Courier is moving to a monthly publication schedule effective Jan. 15.

The decision to change to a monthly format from its current bi-weekly
schedule stems from a number of factors.

“The Office of Public Relations produces both the McMaster Courier
and the Daily News Web site. We have been considering
this move since the launch of the Daily News Web site a year ago.
The Web site provides the best vehicle for us to deliver
timely and topical news to most of our stakeholders. We believe there's an
opportunity here to enhance University
communications by evolving the Courier into a newsmagazine that is
theme-oriented and addresses university and educational
issues in a more detailed, analytical and feature-style format,” says
Gillian Howard, director of public relations, University
Advancement. Howard believes the mix of news and information provided
through both vehicles will better serve the
University's internal and external communities.

The change is endorsed by the Courier Advisory Council, an ad hoc committee
of University staff, faculty and administrators.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Courier to deliver expanded
and first-rate content on many of the issues that face
McMaster and other universities today. It's also a viable way for the
publication to expand its readership base. I think it's a
terrific idea,” says advisory council member Dick Day, professor of
psychology.

Changing the design and format of the publication was one of the
recommendations that resulted from a recent Courier
readership survey. Survey respondents suggested a cleaner, neater format
and the addition of colour photographs. A number of
other university publications have already adopted new formats for their
newspapers which include colour photographs and
paper stock superior to newsprint.

“This new magazine has the potential to increase McMaster's profile within
the province and across the country. Our people,
our research, and our programs are among the best in the world and this new
publication will provide us with another avenue
to showcase those talents and accomplishments,” says executive director of
University Advancement Roger Trull.

The publication will continue in its current format until the spring when
the newsmagazine rolls off the press. Publication
dates have been set for the next two Couriers: Feb. 12 and March 12.
Deadlines for submissions are Feb. 2 and March 2,
respectively.

Preliminary plans for the new magazine call for the continuation of
advertisements, Faculty sections, sections on arts and
culture, sports, facts and trends, research and education, and articles and
columns written by members of the local and broader
university communities. The publication will likely have a new name.

“The University community has enthusiastically embraced the Daily
News Web site. We hope people will show the same
support for this new magazine,” says Courier/Daily News editor Kelly
Curwin. “Our goal is to deliver a product that is
informative, thoughtful, and well written.”