WVU partners with New York Times, gives students free access to content
Posted by Monte Maxwell.September 18th, 2015
By Cameron Gleason, The Daily Athenaeum
Students are now able to take advantage of free access to NYTimes.com and all stories, editorials and extras that come with it through a partnership between West Virginia University and The New York Times.
Laura Reino of The New York Times will present an informational workshop at 11:30 a.m. Friday in room 104 of the Downtown Library to teach students the ins and outs of the New York Times website, the smartphone app and how the paper can benefit them as students.
“The access is important because of the important journalism—and the good writing—that the Times is known for,” said Tom Stewart, a professor in the Reed College of Media and a former newspaper editor. “The fact that it’s free is important because most college students really have to watch their spending.”
Normally full digital access to the paper runs at $8.75 per week after the trial period (99 cents per week, for one month) is up, which equates to $35 per month—a price that most college students would not be willing or able to pay, due to being on the notoriously slim “college budget.”
The partnership between WVU and The New York Times is placing unlimited access to a world-renowned newspaper at students’ fingertips absolutely free of charge—a luxury that most individuals are not lucky enough to have.
The New York Times is a diverse paper providing a wide spectrum of stories with an array of content spanning from hard breaking news to subjects with a lesser sense of urgency, such as food and style.
“The beauty of the Times is that there is something for everyone: politics, opinion, entertainment, sports, the arts, business- it’s all there, and subscribers can choose the types of stories, headlines and updates they’re most interested in receiving,” said Diana Martinelli, the acting dean of the Reed College of Media.
The New York Times has some of the most experienced journalists in the world posting stories daily about not only national events, but international ones as well.
The busy lifestyle of college students sometimes deters them from staying up to date with current events outside of their Twitter and Facebook news feeds, but with this partnership, all that can change.
“The world is a very large place, and The New York Times devotes significant resources to provide information and context to help us become informed about issues we face at home and the implications of issues occurring abroad,” Martinelli said. “Their journalists provide a deeper, fact-checked context and broader world view. The paper also influences other media outlets in terms of the stories that get covered, and can influence the national dialogue around politics, entertainment and the arts.”
To get started, visit the Libraries website, navigate to the New York Times on the databases page, and register for an “Academic Pass” using your WVU email address. Once the pass has been created, you may access the Times on your computer by going directly to NYTimes.com or through the free app for your smartphone. Although the site license does not include tablet apps, tablet users can access the site via Safari or other browsers. Academic passes are good for one year.