With all this input, faculty, staff and our architects made some fundamental philosophical and practical decisions about the newsroom.
VIDEO: Jeff Fruit, director of Kent JMC, believes an open space is a key to learning the collaborative mindset.
First, the space had to be large and open, to encourage communication. And the second floor of the Franklin Hall addition was both. The space was about 2,800 square feet. There were no cubicles. Except for four small support posts, there were no line-of-sight obstructions. We put four small offices along one wall and a two-story, glass-walled conference room on the opposite side of the space.
Second, we also knew the room had to have flexibility. Both short and long term. If students wanted to move stuff around -- now or next semester -- they should be able to.
To help gain that flexibility, we raised the floor of the newsroom. Literally. About 8 inches. Small floor panels every 12 or so feet were to allow access to electrical outlets and 
network ports. If students wanted to create an ad hoc team, they should be able to move tables and computers easily.
Third, there had to be a palpable emphasis on multimedia. We planned for about 40 computers in the room, large-screen iMacs and MacPros. We intended to load them with combinations of Microsoft Word, InDesign, Photoshop, Final Cut, Soundslides, and Audacity. We also set aside one large, naturally lighted corner for broadcasting interviews and stand-ups from the newsroom. If you want students do produce multimedia, you need to give them the tools.
VIDEO: Jeff Fruit on flexibility: “We have no idea what people will want or need to do in the future.”
Finally, we put all operations related to student media, including the newsroom, next to each other. In the end, it took up a lot of space. We were really quite proud of ourselves. On paper, it looked good.
And, that’s where we stood in December 2006. Now we had to move quickly. The addition was taking shape. All the walls might not be up yet. Tools and building materials might cover the floors, but, the outline of the newsroom was there. On a quick tour of the space on a chilly winter day, we could almost envision students working in the room.
the hard part: DEVELOPING THE MINDSET