You’re probably wondering whether or not you’ve picked up the right issue of The Point. “But where are the beautiful color photos? The glossy pages?” you may ask.

While we’re sad to see the magazine go, we are equally excited to embark on a new beginning.

The Point originally started as a student-run four-page newspaper in 2002, when PVHS re-opened. Since then, The Point staff has doubled in size and is now completely funded by subscriptions and advertisements from families and local businesses.

In October 2012, The Point made the transition from a traditional newspaper to a full-color magazine.

After four years of running a magazine, we have made the decision to go back to the roots of journalism.

In a time when news outlets seem to value viewer ratings over journalistic integrity, we realized that our magazine was following a similar trend.

By prioritizing creative designs and “funny” story ideas over actual pressing issues, our publication has suffered a blow to its quality and reputation.

This year, The Point is implementing a more structured and organized system to ensure that each issue maintains the true spirit of journalism.

While everyone has a job on The Point, the work is evenly divided and no staff member is limited to just one role. Staff members are free to take photos for sports one issue, and write a news article the next.

With a limitation on the visual creativity in a print newspaper, students are encouraged to express their opinions and share their reporting through their writing, illustrations, and comics.

Through this new approach, we hope our staff can obtain life skills that can be utilized in all professions.

Our new system is designed to hold our staff to a higher standard that will give them the confidence to step out of their comfort zones, conduct thoughtful interviews, work as a team, and more.

In reducing the number of fluffy articles, our goal is to be unafraid to take risks or face controversy in order to produce relevant and informative content for the student body of PVHS and our community.

Our publication suffered from a lack of timeliness as a magazine due to a ten-day turnaround from the printer, but we can now publish a greater number of articles relating to more current events in a shorter amount of time since we receive the newspaper less than 24 hours after sending it to the printer.

With a traditional newspaper format, we hope that we can create higher quality content that provides an outlet for student expression, while maintaining the truth, accuracy, and integrity of the newspaper.

We’ve not only redesigned the way The Point both looks, but also the way this organization is run.

As we make this transition to a more serious publication, we thank you for your support.