A print newspaper for college students might seem anachronistic, but The Aggie made $50,000 more this year than it expected. On the latest Davisville, two students who edited the UC Davis paper for 2010-11 discuss how it continues to find its audience despite the shift to digital media. The guests are Mark Ling, editor for 2010-11, and Becky Peterson, who was city editor and will return as managing editor in 2011-12. The Aggie earns much less than it did several years ago, but cuts in expenses, easy access to copies on campus, and a steady focus on its audience have kept the paper a solvent part of UC Davis student life.
Joy Cohan, who steps down as director of the Davis Downtown Business Association on July 1, discusses the state of the city's main commercial district and what she has learned from four years on the job on the current “Davisville.” Among other subjects, she talks about initiatives to draw more people downtown, the “Community Covenant” to reduce the drunken excesses of Picnic Day, the gift card program that has so far produced $125,000 in sales, paid parking, and what she’s doing next.
Alex Pacheco and Daniel Watts, whose “Davis State of Mind” spoof has made “middle class in the middle of nowhere” a local catchphrase this spring, talk about the video, why they made it, life in Davis, the reactions they’ve heard, and more on the latest episode of “Davisville.”Pacheco and Watts graduate from the UC Davis School of Law this year. Their video, which parodies
Author Peter Grandbois, formerly of Davis, returns to “Davisville” this month. Grandbois, now an assistant professor of creative writing and contemporary literature at Denison University in Ohio, read from his new book at the Avid Reader on Picnic Day. Called Nahoonkara and set in 19th century Wisconsin and Colorado, it presents dozens of characters but focuses on three brothers as they work to remake their lives. On “Davisville,” he also discusses how the places where he has lived show up in his work, and looks ahead to his next projects, including a book told from the perspective of the creature in the 1950s science-fiction movie “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
The Davis Enterprise rebuilt its website and took down its paywall, at least temporarily, in February. Online Editor Jonathan Edwards called the changes part of a “giant leap into digital relevancy,” and on this edition of “Davisville” he discusses the revisions and how they’re working out so far.
The new approach steps up the Enterprise’s presence online, with the aim of making it more competitive in the increasingly digital news business.
Among other goals, the Enterprise wants to attract more comments and discussions involving online readers, plus draw in UC Davis students who are unlikely to ever pick up a printed copy of the newspaper.
Picnic Day, on April 16, is getting close. Last year’s event was plagued by off-campus drunkenness, arrests, and general obnoxiousness. This year the city, merchants and UC Davis have taken steps to inhibit that behavior. Will the countermeasures work? On this edition of “Davisville,” Entertainment Director Mac Walker and Parade Director Jennifer Mappus, both members of the student-run Picnic Day board, discuss this year’s plans, entertainment lineup, parade, and other attractions. At the end, they discuss how they will be able to tell if Picnic Day met its goals this year, and how they'll spend the day themselves.
