Lois Perschetz, Gazette editor, Office of Communications
"Newspaper stories pounded out on typewriters? Catching up on world news by turning on the TV after you got home from work? It all seems so long ago, when we think back today to what life was like for Johns Hopkins employees when the Gazette first showed up in their workplace.
"It was 44 years ago—Sept. 7, 1971, to be exact—and the four-page weekly newspaper was launched as an innovative way to inform and bring together faculty and staff in a decentralized university. (Page 1: 'Garland Hall Opened at Homewood.') Over the years, changes ensued as need and print technology developed: The paper grew in both size and page count; spot color and, later, four-color printing were added.
"Then came this thing called the Internet, and news from around the globe was soon flying at us 24/7. The Office of Communications launched the Hub—a continually updated website that could centralize news coverage about Johns Hopkins—and the once-a-week Gazette had an opportunity to reinvent itself as a monthly magazine that could dig more deeply into stories for and about our internal readership.
"Today, technology and innovation are driving us again, and this is the last issue of the Gazette. So much is happening every day at Johns Hopkins—news that affects each of us who works here—that we need to get information to you faster. And we want to do it in a fresh, exciting way.
"So we're taking it online. Starting this summer, Johns Hopkins employees will have a new go-to place for everything they need to know on a daily basis. In the "At Work" section of the Hub, you'll find departments you're familiar with from the Gazette and many new elements, too—ones that we expect you'll find not only useful but, we hope, just fun and interesting. We're excited by the opportunity to create this new, resource-rich communications vehicle, and we hope you will be surprised and delighted by it. Watch for it, and please let us know what you think. You can reach us at hubatwork@jhu.edu."
Posted in University News, Voices+Opinion
