In early 2020, both of Pierce College’s Student Publications- Fort Steilacoom’s Pioneer and Puyallup’s Post- were losing steam due to different programs being run at each campus and the loss of interest due to the lack of campus involvement. These were the final nails in the coffin for both publications during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Four years later in 2024, the newspaper has been revived with new life. Instead of having two newspaper exclusive to each campus, they have been combined into one- The Pinncale- and is now a district publication.
Now that Student Media is embedded into a much larger program, there’s many more opportunities for collaboration and working together that just wasn’t there before.”
— Laura Taylor
The Pinnacle is not only a printed and digital newspaper; it also has a website and plans for podcasting and video production. The challenge of getting all these projects up and running as a district is not lost on Student Media Manager Laura Taylor.
“I was thrilled to learn that it’s a district paper now because the community should be the “Pierce College District’ not ‘Pierce College Fort Steilacoom’ or ‘Pierce College Puyallup.'”
Regardless, she remains steadfast in her efforts to relaunch the publication. By restructuring the student positions to where some of them work with each other across the different campuses, she has overcome many of the brand new challenges that she has faced and is excited to see the future of Student Media.
“It’s a week-to-week battle if restructuring and figuring out the balance how everything works, and just taking the paper in a new direction that has never been done before.”
