What Topics and Content Types Does Old Gold & Black Publish?

Updated

Old Gold & Black is Wake Forest University's student-run news outlet at wfuogb.com, and it publishes across six standing sections: News, Opinion, Environment, Arts & Culture, Features, and Sports, with City & State coverage folded into the news desk. Content ranges from short staff-reported news items and weekly recaps to opinion columns, long-form features, photo galleries, and game recaps. Every story carries a byline identifying the writer's role, so you can tell a contributing writer's piece from a section editor's.

The sections and what each covers

The homepage organizes stories under labeled section headers, each with a "View All" link to the full section archive. Based on the current front page:

Section What it covers Example stories on the page
Opinion Student columns on campus life and student concerns "Work-life balance at Wake Forest is hard to find"; "A new way to beat the crowds"
Environment National and regional environmental policy and nature writing "Where the wild things were" (on removing the Roadless Rule); "Turtles and trails"
Arts & Culture Exhibitions, local music, and campus arts events Coverage of Reynolda House's "Flash Point" exhibition; "Behind the beat: Students bring D.O.D. to Winston-Salem"
News / Campus University events and traditions "Project Pumpkin welcomes local children to campus" (38th annual event); a photo gallery of the same event
City & State Winston-Salem business and local/national politics as they reach campus Family Weekend business impact on a local bar; mail-in voting doubts at Wake Forest
Features Profiles and student-life deep dives An interview with graphic novelist and alum Steve Nedvidek; intramural sports programs
Sports Wake Forest athletics results and previews Field hockey's 4-0 win over James Madison; women's basketball exhibition vs. UNCG; men's soccer vs. Elon

Article formats you'll find

The site mixes several formats rather than publishing only standard articles:

  • Staff-reported news — event coverage and campus announcements, usually short and attributed to a staff or contributing writer.
  • Opinion columns — first-person argument pieces, labeled as Opinion and typically by contributing writers.
  • Features and interviews — longer profiles, such as the Q&A with an alum graphic novelist.
  • Photo galleries — standalone image posts, e.g., "Photo Gallery: #10 Ranked Field Hockey Dominates JMU 4-0," credited to a contributing photographer.
  • Weekly news recaps — a roundup format collecting the week's City & State and campus items.
  • Game recaps and previews — sports results with score, date, and venue details (e.g., the Oct. 25 field hockey match at Kentner Stadium).

How to tell who wrote what

Bylines follow a consistent pattern: name, role, and publication date, separated by a bullet — for example, "Ruby Stoops, Contributing Writer • October 22, 2026" or "Lydia Derris, Arts & Culture Editor • October 23, 2026." Roles visible on the page include Contributing Writer, Staff Writer, Deputy Editor, Arts & Culture Editor, City & State Editor, Features Editor, and Contributing Photographer. This lets you weigh a piece by whether it comes from a beat editor or an outside contributor.

When this site is the right source

Use Old Gold & Black if you want student-perspective coverage of Wake Forest campus life, Winston-Salem local color, or Demon Deacons athletics results. It is not a general national news outlet — national topics appear only when framed through campus impact, as with the mail-in voting story. For a specific section, start from its "View All" link on the homepage rather than scrolling the front page, which rotates recent items across all sections.