I was thumbing through The Record’s archives, looking for a cool story from a few decades back to feature in a #ThrowbackThursday post on social media, when I came across an uncannily relevant statement in a 1977 issue.

At the time, The Record editors were working to produce a more visually appealing newspaper as photography and graphic design were quickly evolving and improving. The September issue was billed as the first installment of “The New Buffalo State College Record,” seemingly as a testament to the journalistic gold standard of excellence set by The New York Times.

If any former Record staffers from the late ‘70s read my statement regarding our recent digital transition, they must have been overcome with a feeling of Déjà vu. I highly doubt any of them predicted the phasing out of physical newspapers though; that would have been Orwellian.

Their statement had so many similarities to the one I recently wrote to announce and justify our digital transition that I wish I had come across it earlier. Maybe I would have Melania’d a few lines.

Besides, we all have to keep up with the times.

The full statement was printed as follows:

“So what if THE NEW NEW YORK TIMES did it first?

A year later, we introduce THE NEW BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE RECORD. Accordingly, a publication undertaking a revision of format and design is not always a publication worried about dwindling circulation.

At The Record, it is a sign of progressive spirit.

It is our obligation to the students of Buffalo State College to continually revise and modify the Record in accordance with the constantly changing world in which we live.

We, at the Record, are always in the process of maintaining the value a constitutionally guaranteed press freedom holds, while improving in journalistic and visual techniques and habits.

We hope to present important, significant and revealing information on issues relevant to indivisuals [individuals] within this campus community.

It is not enough to report what happened when and where but to report on the thoughts, trends and forces of our environment.

It is not enough to present the printed message, but the visual message as well.

It is our responsibility to act with intelligence, objectivity, accuracy and fairness.

It is vital to affect and be affected by our community.

Besides, we all have to keep up with the times.”

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Twitter: @Almasi_