“Moving home” is the way Marty Sturgeon, general manager of The State News, described the publication’s move from its current space on the first floor of 435 E. Grand River Ave. to the second floor of 435 E. Grand River Ave.
“We’re an ideal second floor business because we don’t rely upon foot traffic for our business and so, in a way, this feels like we’re moving home,” Sturgeon said.
The State News moved to the first floor of its Grand River Avenue location in 2005 from Student Services on MSU’s campus.
The entire staff will move operations upstairs. The decision to move came primarily from the hope of increasing profits for the publication.
State News Alumni Association president, former reporter and editor-in-chief for The State News and MSU journalism professor Jeremy Steele said the move will turn the bottom floor into a financial asset and there are plans to rent it out to other businesses.
The profits will go toward keeping the paper afloat, Steele said.
“The move will not change the way news is distributed and the only change for the organization itself will be the location of its employees’ desks,” Steele said.
Members of the management staff said they expect the move to have only positive impacts.
“It will be a much more open area than what we have here where, clearly, we’re divided into departments,” Sturgeon said. “Everything will be wide open and so everybody will be able to work with each other.”
Sturgeon said she expects the new space to be a more permanent one.
Writers for the publication foresee the same outcome.
“State News staffers are all excited to move upstairs and begin our next chapter of producing award-winning student journalism,” The State News Editor-In-Chief Olivia Dimmer said. “Having a new space, which better fits our changing needs as a staff, will no doubt empower us to better serve students and the MSU community.”
Though the publication has relocated multiple times, its purpose, content and goals have remained the same.
“(The State News) provides a voice for students to be heard on campus,” Steele said. “We provide a direct voice to students who have opinions to share on the pages. The student reporters and editors are also providing a voice for people on campus to talk about the issues that are important to this community and also to explore issues that are important to the wider East Lansing community.”
