With this being the 75th anniversary of The Chart, we feel it is important to discuss why we, as workers for a paper rooted in tradition, still deem student media important.

You probably know that students don’t major in journalism for a huge payday, well, because there usually isn’t one. In the age of social media and converging newsrooms, it isn’t the safest field to enter.

The paper is both time-consuming and stressful at times (almost all of the time), but it is absolutely worth it.

Why?

No matter where technology takes us, people will always need to know the news. It’s the people’s right to know what is happening in the world, but the ordinary citizen may not know how to find information or isn’t aware of it – whether they want to know it or not.

Throughout the years, The Chart has gained a strong national reputation for delivering the news whether it is popular or not.

By not catering to your sources or withdrawing information someone may not want published, you will probably make a few enemies, but you will also gain respect.

This is made aware through the job placement of graduates who worked on The Chart, with graduates working for The Orlando Sentinel, the Joplin Regional Business Journal and The Joplin Globe, to name a few.

Here’s to another 75 years of student-run print journalism at Missouri Southern.

Online Exclusive: Check online for story and photos about The Chart Hall of Fame dedication ceremony today at 3 p.m. on the third floor of Webster Hall.