Leapfrog has now been in operation for over a month, and has published 45 articles, 2 crosswords, 2 sudokus, and 2 comics from 8 authors across 4 issues and 489 copies. Here’s how Leapfrog is growing and changing to be the best student newspaper it can be.
Leapfrog goes online @ hampshireleapfrog.org
Leapfrog now has it’s very own website!
Accessible at hampshireleapfrog.org, the website finally makes the staff list, advertising information, ethics guidelines, mission statement, and past issues accessible, all in one place. In the future, the website will also hold articles, corrections, comics, and interactive puzzles, all easily shareable with a link.
What’s online?
- Our Mission Statement
- Print delivery and mailing list sign-up
- Advertising information
- Staff list and biographies
- The Leapfrog ethics guidelines
- A complete digital archive of every print issue!
What’s to come?
- Individual articles
- Interactive puzzles
Additionally, Leapfrog now has an Instagram account,
@hampshireleapfrog. Important information, like corrections, calls for comment and submissions, as well as a a link to every issue will be posted there for maximum shareability.
Physical & Digital Delivery
Starting with next issue, #5, Leapfrog will deliver physical copies to your mod, mailbox, or office, and/or digital copies to your email inbox, all for free.
Leapfrog Financial Report
After three issues and launching a website, Leapfrog has managed to keep it’s total lifetime expenses under $100. Not including expenses for this issue, Leapfrog has spent $95.65.
$83.79 was spent on printing, making up the vast majority of expenses at 87.6%. The remaining $11.86, or 12.4% of the total, was spent on website costs, including an upfront payment of $6.86 for the domain name, and $5 for web-hosting.
The domain name will have to be renewed for ~$10 every calendar year, and the web-hosting will be a $5 monthly expense.
Not included here are expenses related to the distribution of paper, most notably, paperclips, rubber bands, and index cards. Going forward, these expenses will be tracked more rigorously.
Aside from website expenses, future anticipated expenses are primarily related to paper delivery and distribution expansion: paper clips, rubber bands, index cards, bags for newspaper delivery, raw materials for distribution boxes, etc.
Funding thus far has come from founder and editor-in-chief, Blaise Paine, F23, as well as a one-time donation to Issue 3 printing expenses from Raymond Kasei, F23.
As Leapfrog becomes an officially recognized student group, it will also become a beneficiary of the Student Activities Fund, which is paid for by every student at Hampshire College. With that, Leapfrog assumes a fiduciary duty to the student body of Hampshire College, and an obligation to be as transparent as possible with its financial dealings.
To that end, over the course of the coming weeks, Leapfrog will make financial documents available online, and establish bylaws to ensure the regular publication of financial reports like this one.
Expenses
| Issue 1 Costs: | $15.75 |
| Issue 2 Costs: | $26.04 |
| Issue 3 Costs: | $42.00 |
| Website Costs: | $11.86 |
| Total Costs: | $95.65 |
Funding
| Blaise Paine: | $81.65 |
| Raymond Kasei: | $14.00 |
All figures as of 10/15/24
Expanding distribution
Leapfrog has so far been available in the Dining Commons, the mail room, the Airport Lounge, the bench between the library and the APL, the QCAC, the CFF, the Kern, and Emily Dickinson Hall.
Starting with this issue, Leapfrog will also be available at Mixed Nuts and the Bridge Café.
Mixed Nuts will be the first location to receive a snazzy green distribution box, marking where Leapfrog can be found.
The Reader Survey will be collecting opinions on other places the paper could be distributed to expand there in the future, and we’ve also been collecting data on how popular each distribution location is, and will adjust circulation accordingly.
In the near future, Leapfrog will transition to printing through Duplications, which will hopefully be cheaper and less labor intensive, as well as looking better.
Becoming an official group
Leapfrog was submitted to Student Engagement for consideration as a formally recognized student group on October 11th, with founder and editor-in-chief, Blaise Paine, F23, as first signer, writer and illustrator of Dirk St. Antique & Nemo the Sheep, Ryan Nivus, F23, as second signer, and contributor Kenzie Doherty, S23, as third signer.
Recognition as an official student group will hopefully aid in expanding the writing staff of the paper by being listed on HampEngage, secure funding from the Student Activities Fund for printing the paper, ensure the longevity of the paper for years to come, and bring legitimacy that will hopefully help the paper establish a permanent presence on campus.
Going forward, Leapfrog will establish formal bylaws and policies to govern the operation of the paper and ensure it’s accountability to the student body.
These bylaws and policies will cover matters like the election of the paper’s staff, financial transparency, and editorial guidelines.
