Website review
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What is The Broadside?
The Broadside is the student-run news site of Central Oregon Community College (COCC), covering campus life, community events and student perspectives. Its front page mixes news reporting, opinion columns, features and event coverage, written and edited by students. Recent items have covered a KPOV radio DJ class open to the community, a meditation and prayer feature, an AI-and-jobs piece from the college job fair, and a personal essay column.
H3 What you'll find there
- Campus and community news: stories about COCC classes, events and local institutions, such as the KPOV radio class.
- Opinion and columns: pieces like "Opinion: it could be worse" and the featured column "Echoes of Oz," which are personal and argumentative rather than straight reporting.
- Student bylines with roles: contributors, staff reporters and editors are credited on each item, so you can see who reported what.
- Rolling updates: items are published frequently, with dates shown, so the site functions more like a running news feed than an archive of finished issues.
H3 Who it's for Current and prospective COCC students, faculty, and Bend-area residents who want a student perspective on campus and community affairs. It's also useful for anyone weighing whether a class or event mentioned there is worth their time.
H3 How to use it If you're considering COCC or moving to Central Oregon, browse the news and events sections to get a feel for campus culture before you arrive. If you're a student, it's a low-pressure place to pitch a story or try reporting; if you're a community member, check it for coverage of local classes and events you might join.
For official college information such as admissions, deadlines or course listings, use Central Oregon Community College instead, since a student news site reports on the college rather than administering it.
Who can submit articles or story ideas to The Broadside?
Anyone can propose a story to The Broadside, but the site identifies itself as the student news outlet of Central Oregon Community College, so its core contributors are COCC students. The published bylines show the typical mix: staff reporters, contributors and editors. Community members also appear when a story involves them — for example, a KPOV radio contributor wrote about a DJ class open to the public.
If you are a COCC student, the practical route is to pitch a campus angle: a club, a class, a job-fair trend, a student government decision or an opinion piece. If you are not a student, you are more likely to be interviewed as a source than to be published as a regular writer, unless the paper runs a guest or community piece.
A quick decision guide:
- Current COCC student: pitch news, features, columns or opinion; expect an editor to assign or shape the piece.
- Community member with a local story: offer yourself as a source or suggest a topic the student staff can report.
- Local organization or instructor: send a concrete event or class tip with dates, contacts and a student angle.
Next step: check the site's contact or submission information and send a short pitch that names the section you are aiming for, why COCC readers care and who can be interviewed. Compare that with what you see on The Broadside to match its current coverage.
How can I contact The Broadside for tips or feedback?
The Broadside does not publish a contact email, phone number, or staff directory on its homepage, so the most reliable route is through the people who produce it: the student editors and reporters whose bylines appear on each story. Most student newsrooms at community colleges route tips and feedback through a faculty adviser or the journalism program office.
Practical options, in order
- Use the byline. Find the reporter or editor covering the relevant topic and reach out through the college. This works best for a specific correction or a follow-up to an existing story.
- Go through the journalism program or student media office. At a community college paper, the adviser is usually the person who handles correspondence, verifies tips, and decides what gets assigned. Ask the Central Oregon Community College switchboard or the communications office to connect you with the student media adviser.
- Check for a contact page or "about" link. Student papers often keep submission and correction policies there rather than on the front page.
- Visit in person. If you are on campus in Bend, stopping by the newsroom or the journalism department is often the fastest way to reach an editor.
If you are sending a tip
- Say what you know and how you know it, and note whether you are willing to be quoted.
- Give dates, names, and documents where you have them; student reporters have limited time to chase vague leads.
- For corrections, cite the headline, publication date, and the specific sentence, and include the correct information.
For feedback Distinguish between a factual correction, which deserves a direct message to the editor, and general comments about coverage or story selection, which are better sent to the adviser. Letters and opinion submissions typically need a name and a length limit, so ask before writing at length.
The site itself, The Broadside, is the best starting point for identifying the current editor and any contact details posted with recent stories. If nothing is listed, the college's main communications office can point you to the right person.
What types of stories does The Broadside typically cover?
The Broadside covers student life, campus news and community events at Central Oregon Community College, with a strong emphasis on people and activities around Bend and Central Oregon. Its mix is typical of a community college paper: reported campus news, features on students and staff, opinion and columns, and event coverage.
Typical coverage areas
- Campus news and programs: Classes, courses and campus initiatives, including community-facing offerings such as the KPOV radio DJ class described in a recent story.
- Student life and features: Profiles and human-interest pieces, from campus events to student hobbies and interests.
- Opinion and columns: Editorials and personal essays, such as the featured column "Echoes of Oz," which uses personal narrative to reflect on place and change.
- Community events and local culture: Coverage of things happening on and around campus, including job fairs and local arts or music.
- Student perspectives on bigger issues: Pieces on topics like artificial intelligence and the job market, framed through student and employer experiences.
What that means for a reader
If you are a student, staff member or local resident, The Broadside is most useful as a window into what is happening at COCC and what students are thinking about. It is less a national news source and more a campus-and-community publication, so expect local names, campus events and first-person voices rather than wire-style reporting.
A practical next step: if you are looking for a specific kind of story, start with the sections or contributor bylines. Staff reporters and editors write both news and opinion, so checking the byline and section label will tell you whether you are reading reported coverage or a personal column.
Does The Broadside accept advertising from local businesses?
The Broadside's site doesn't publish an advertising page, rate card or media kit, so there's no stated policy on local-business ads. What it does show is a conventional student-news structure: a "subscribe" prompt and a mix of staff-reported news, opinion, columns and community/college events coverage for Central Oregon Community College.
H3 What that means in practice
- If you're a local business owner, don't expect a self-serve ad form or published rates here.
- The realistic path is to contact the publication directly and ask who handles advertising or sponsorships — typically the faculty adviser or student editor for a college paper.
- Be ready for the common college-newsroom answer: ads may be handled case by case, limited to certain formats, or declined in favor of sponsorship and underwriting arrangements.
H3 A quick decision test
- You want a display ad or insert: ask first; assume nothing is automated.
- You want to reach COCC students and Bend-area readers: a student paper is a plausible niche buy, but ask for audience numbers before committing.
- You want a formal contract and invoice process: confirm that exists before you budget.
H3 Useful next step Email the newsroom with a short, specific note: who you are, what you'd like to run, your timing and budget range. If they say no, the same audience is reachable through the college's own channels and through regional outlets such as The Bulletin.
How often is new content published on The Broadside website?
New content appears daily during active publication periods, based on the dated stories shown on the site. The most recent items in the visible feed were published on consecutive days: June 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, 2026, with a featured column from June 12, 2026. That pattern suggests a weekday-style rhythm rather than a fixed weekly issue.
H3 What this means in practice
- Students and staff: Check the site most days if you want campus news as it happens; a midweek visit will likely show several new items.
- Community readers: The mix includes campus reporting, opinion pieces and community-focused stories, so there is usually something new even if you only check once or twice a week.
- Archives: Older items remain available, so a single visit can cover both recent updates and past coverage.
H3 How to judge the pace for yourself
Look at the publication dates on the homepage and note whether they cluster on consecutive days or spread across weeks. A run of consecutive dates indicates an active news cycle; a gap suggests a break between terms. Because this is a student news site, expect the pace to follow the academic calendar, slowing during holidays and breaks.
For a concrete example: a reader who wants to follow a single topic, such as the KPOV radio class or the AI-and-jobs discussion, should check once every few days and use the site's section or author pages rather than relying on the homepage alone.
A useful next step is to bookmark the homepage and scan the latest headlines before diving into a specific story. If you need a second source for comparison, Central Oregon Community College publishes official campus announcements, while The Broadside carries student-reported news and opinion.
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