College newspaper releases 3D issue

Cerritos College Student Newspaper Issues ’3-D Edition’

Talon Marks Broke from Its Traditional Format for One Day Only

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 8, 2010

Media Contact: Aya Abelon, Public Affairs; (562) 653-7878

NORWALK, Calif. – December 8, 2010 – If you pick up a print version of Cerritos College’s student newspaper Talon Marks today, you will find 3-D glasses.

The December 8 issue of the award-winning Talon Marks is what is thought to be the first 3-D student newspaper – complete with cardboard viewing glasses.

All of the color photos in the special edition were given a three-dimensional effect, but the black and white photos and the text remained two-dimensional.

The idea for this project came a month ago in the editorial board meeting. After some research, Talon Marks Editor Joey Berumen and Production Manager Gregory Horsey Jr. took up the challenge and tested various methods of implementing 3-D pictures in print. They went through three different draft stages and finally found the best way to creating 3-D photos.

“It definitely caught our attention, and it’s great that [Talon Marks] is trying something new,” said student Krystal who picked up the paper this morning.

Advertising revenue from this semester allowed Talon Marks to purchase 4,000 pairs of 3-D glasses that come with the December 8 issue of Talon Marks.

Talon Marks has been striving to transform its print edition all year, according to Berumen. Three dimensional pictures have not been the only technological advancement it has had this semester. The paper also introduced QR codes to its print edition. A QR code is a matrix barcode readable by smart phones or mobile phones with a camera. The information encoded – text, URL or other data such as audio, image or video – appears when scanned.

Talon Marks Advisor and Journalism Department Chair Rich Cameron always encourages innovation in the student newspaper, whether it be story selection or new idea for the newspaper presentation. “Giving students a freedom to try new things at the college level while they are learning their skills is important,” he said.

“In this (3-D) experiment they are developing their Photoshop skills to take a 2-D photo and manipulate it to 3-D. They may never have to do that again, but the process of thinking outside the box and learn new skills is something they will have to do many times in their lives.”

According to Berumen Talon Marks is the first college newspaper to issue a 3-D edition. So far, Belgian newspaper La Derniere Heure issued 3-D newspaper in March and England’s tabloid Sun printed a special 3-D edition to commemorate the World Cup games which contained 3-D ads and editorial in June.

“I feel that students should be on the forefront of technology, running a 3-D issue is simply a statement that print media is changing. Students need to learn and experiment different avenues and methods of telling a story. I feel 3-D is just another way to utilize skills we are learning at Cerritos College,” said Berumen.

“It is exciting to see everyone gather around a project like this, the staff has worked hard on this and I feel in a changing world we have to meet a changing standard.”

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