How a unique training program is helping a university newspaper learn the digital skills newsrooms need

Student-led media outlets across the United States are often set up separately from the university’s journalism school to maintain independence. However, this can mean a knowledge gap in students learning some of the digital skills that are needed for a career in journalism.

Penny Riordan and David Arkin with David Arkin Consulting have seen a huge success partnering with one university over two semesters in adding practical and actionable digital skills to the toolkit of one student newspaper group.

Our work has been with students at University of Central Oklahoma’s The Vista, with support from Faculty Advisor Erika Williams.

Here’s what students have accomplished with just one hour of virtual ‘class’ over the course of a semester:

Using custom WordPress features to build story packages

Many student newspaper groups are produced on a WordPress CMS, but they don’t always have the opportunity to learn all the formats and tools available for publishing in WordPress. We worked with students on how to work with to embed story enhancements such as forms, YouTube videos, or things like pull quotes and different text elements.

Learning website and social media analytics that matter

Newsrooms today are awash in analytics, but how and when do you learn the basics of tracking metrics in your career?

One of the first things we train on in the program is to work with students to gain access, understand and analyze the analytics on the website.

After viewing metrics for the first time, especially on views on Instagram Reels, the students were able to make more informed decisions about what story topics to assign or what content to distribute on social media.

Discovering the different types or alternative story formats

Students who take journalism writing courses in college will leave with a strong foundation of journalistic writing such as fact checking and writing ledes. But they don’t always learn different ways to present information for busy readers.

Our curriculum shows them many examples from across local media, from lists to Q&As to by-the-numbers stories. This section of the program is often the most engaging, as students like the idea of ‘unlearning’ some of the traditional journalism writing methods. 

Here’s an interactive Canva graphic that they created

Here’s a Q&A the created about everything readers need to know about Homecoming

Here’s a list on a feature on five local women-owned businesses

How to create maps, reader surveys and other engagement tools

Another area of the curriculum students get excited about is learning how to create interactive elements or tactics to engage with audiences even more.

We provided training on how to use free tools to create things like embeddable maps, and provided best practices for surveying audiences. The first-ever UCO campus and community audience survey went live in March 2026. 

Here’s a link to holiday gift guide map

Here’s a link to audience survey they created as part of the project

Learning the basics of SEO optimization

One of the most important lessons early-career journalists can learn is content discovery, and writing content that will appear higher in search rankings.

We introduced the students to the concepts of SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and what are the basics of writing for search.

Students learned how to re-write headlines, how to use keywords, how to customize urls in WordPress, and how to use the Yoast SEO Plug-in.  

In just an hour a week with a few real-world homework assignments to apply to the student media outlets, the students were able to move quickly through a digital journalism crash course. 

Students learned strategies they can act on

Penny Riordan, who was the lead David Arkin consultant working with the students, said she was impressed with how eager the students were to embrace new formats and tools.

“It’s important for journalism curricula to focus on the fundamentals of writing and reporting, but we don’t always see students experimenting with new tools or diving into things like analytics or SEO at the college level,” she said. “Yet, David and I know from our experience working with dozens of newsrooms across the country that these skills are in demand from entry level jobs.”

Erika Williams, the faculty advisor for The Vista, said she is impressed with how quickly the students have learned the new digital skills. 

“I believe the experience they have gained will be extremely valuable in helping them find a job after graduating. In higher education, changes to curriculum take time. This program allowed our students to gain important modern-day skills without our department having to make massive degree changes,” she said.