For Immediate Release

February 16, 2025

The Omega Relaunch to Take Place April 10

Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) student paper is holding an event to announce its relaunch on April 10, 2025.  This exciting event will introduce the fresh new direction that the paper will be taking to better engage the student body.  The event will be taking place at the Columbo Lodge in downtown Kamloops B.C from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and will include a DJ, food, drinks, and speeches from journalism students and TRU faculty.

The goal of the relaunch is to shift The Omega to cover a broader range of student interests.  This shift will broaden the paper’s coverage from mostly covering traditional news to also covering arts, culture, and sports.  This transformation hopes to make the newspaper more relevant and interesting to TRU students while also keeping its reputation for good traditional journalism.

“The Omega was very geared towards an older audience, focussed on hard news.  These stories don’t always speak to student interests,” said Robert McAlaster, Editor-In-Chief.  “We want to maintain strong reporting while expanding our coverage to what TRU students care about.”

Those in attendance at the relaunch event will hear speeches from both Robert McAlaster and Sean Brady, The Omega’s manager.  Both McAlaster and Brady will touch on how the paper has already evolved as well as how it can continue to evolve to meet its current and future goals.  The evening will also include speeches from TRU faculty and journalism students who will be discussing the role of student journalism, networking and experience opportunities, and previews of stories to come. 

  For years The Omega has been the pillar of student media at TRU.  Although it is independent from the university it is funded by student fees, this makes it a for students by student’s publication.  The relaunch as a whole will put a heavy emphasis on student engagement and encourage students to pitch stories, attend editorial meetings, and contribute as writers and photographers.

The Omega’s editorial office is located in the Old Main building on campus in room 2768.  Pitch meetings are held every Monday at 5:00pm in the Old Main building, room 2622.  Any students who are interested in writing or contributing are welcome to attend.  With more students contributing to The Omega the more successful the paper will be.

For more information about the relaunch event as well as to stay updated on The Omega’s posts their website theomega.news.

Contact:

Adam Calne

acalne@mytru.ca

The Omega

Distribution Plan

In order to receive as much attention as possible the press release will be distributed across many different platforms and media outlets.  The outlets chosen have the highest potential of directly reaching TRU students and faculty, as well as the surrounding Kamloops community.  Local media outlets such as Kamloops This Week will be contacted to inform the Kamloops community of the event.  The use of TRU communication channels such as the universities website and newsletters will be essential to directly inform students and faculty.  A social media campaign using The Omega’s Instagram, X (Twitter), and Facebook accounts will be implemented, featuring countdowns, and teaser content to create excitement and engagement.  On top of that a targeted email campaign will be sent to key stakeholders such as TRU professors, student clubs and teams and the students themselves.  The email campaign will include invitations and details about the event.  Lastly, collaborations with student clubs and sports teams will help to spread awareness of the event to the student body.  The combination of these distribution channels will drum up more than enough attention.

Distribution List:

1. Kamloops This Week – news@kamloopsthisweek.com – Local newspaper to help inform the community.
2. CFBX 92.5 FM – cfbxnews@tru.ca – TRU’s campus radio station.
3. TRU Communications Office – communications@tru.ca – For university wide distribution.
4. TRU Student Union – info@trusu.ca – Direct communication with TRU students.
5. The Omega Social Media Manager – social@theomega.news -For social media promotions.
6. TRU Journalism Professors – Professor Richard Amante – ramante@tru.ca – Encouraging student involvement.
7. TRU English Department – englishdept@tru.ca – To notify faculty members.
8. TRU Business Faculty – businessfaculty@tru.ca – To notify faculty members.
9. TRU Library – library@tru.ca – Share information on bulletin boards.
10. TRU International Student Services – international@tru.ca – Reaching international students.
11. TRU Indigenous Student Services – indigenous@tru.ca – To connect with indigenous student writers.
12. TRU Clubs Coordinator – clubs@trusu.ca – Encouraging club participation.
13. City of Kamloops Events Coordinator – events@kamloops.ca – For wider community awareness.
14. Kamloops Chamber of Commerce – info@kamloopschamber.ca – Networking opportunity for student journalists and students not involved in journalism.
15. Local Bloggers and Influencers – Working with student influencers and influencers around the community can help bring attention.