Tommy Bruce, vice president for university communications, recently met with Chronicle editors to discuss the forthcoming changes in the way the Chronicle delivers the news.

Why is Cornell ending weekly publication of the Cornell Chronicle newspaper?

We are very lucky to have had three things converge to make this possible. We have budgetary constraints, a technological landscape change and Chronicle editors who have been thinking long and hard about these changes for the good of their own business. That is very rare. And I should mention that we are all aware of the need to reduce paper through the campus paperless initiative.

These decisions are being taken as a way of building for the future. I do not think the need for communications is going to go down. it is going to go up. And the trick for us is to be even more effective and to be sure that what we do has even greater resonance. I think we are in this very unique place, one in which the Chronicle is on the verge of leading the pack in some ways. It is a very exciting time.

Can the Chronicle continue to be an effective voice without a published newspaper?

The importance of getting the word out about Cornell University and what is going on at Cornell is only increasing. And if you think about when this budgetary crisis is over, we are still going to be competing with our peers for the best students and the best faculty; we still are going to be pushing the frontiers of knowledge through the genius of our faculty; and we are still going to be engaged in translational work to benefit the people of New York state. So increasingly we will need to pass on information and reach more and more people. The urgency behind that is only increasing. The question is how do we do position this great institution to shine, and I think that is what we are talking about with these Chronicle changes.

Do you see the Chronicle's news coverage changing in any way?

The Chronicle offers the best compilation of what is going on at Cornell University at any given time. We are going to report the great work of this campus just as the Chronicle has been doing and will continue to do. What I worry about is that in this process we make sure that people know where to get access to the Chronicle. The issue to me is a distribution issue, not a reporting issue. That's why we are planning both a weekly e-newsletter and a print-on-demand digest.

Will the campus community feel any less connected to the university without a weekly delivered newspaper?

I have a concern that those of us who are used to getting their hands on the paper will find the adjustment difficult. But I'm an optimist. I worry because a newspaper is an experience, and to the extent that people have an experience with the Chronicle, then I think the challenge is how do we maintain the relationship the Chronicle has developed. However, the Chronicle has instituted editorial decision-making that is very effective and is working well. That editorial decision-making will still be evident on Chronicle Online. After all, why do 80,000 unique visitors go to Chronicle Online every week? And why do 1,500 people a week download the PDF of the Chronicle? For me, these are huge, fascinating numbers. There is a real consumer base there.

Do you believe the weekly print-on-demand Chronicle digest will also gain a consumer following?

I think part of the challenge that we have is that you have wonderful features in the print version -- Cornell in the News, Focus sections, Things to Do -- so how do we use the digest to keep them going? The e-newsletter will also be constructed so as to bring people to these sections. Whatever we come up with, it will be different from the past, ahead of the pack and truly exciting.