Before we begin, we would like to thank you for reading this article and express how excited and grateful we are to be writing it. Honestly, when we were first appointed to our new positions at CHIPS this past spring, we were uncertain how, or even​ if, ​CHIPS would return this year. As you can see for yourself, at least the latter query has been answered, though the former’s answer is still a work in progress. Therefore, before we publish our first issue, we wish to present to you all our current plans for this year’s production schedule:

First, most of our weekly content will be published online only this year. Due to budget cuts and our desire to retain as many of our staff as possible, we have determined that CHIPS’s wisest course of action during this unprecedented time is to print a physical copy of our paper once a month. While this may disappoint some readers, we feel that this decision will allow us to produce content of a comparable quality and quantity to our usual production plan, in addition to our stance that this medium shift is the most ethical choice. Our website will be edited as follows, on a weekly basis: News and Sports stories will be published online on Tuesday afternoons, while Features and Arts and Entertainment will be uploaded on Fridays. This schedule is subject to change due to weekly impediments unique to our times. An opinion piece will be posted on both of these days.

Second, our subjects and staff’s safety is of our utmost concern, and to that end, we are taking as many precautions as possible. Whenever feasible, interviews will be conducted through Zoom or other video conferencing platforms, and all large group meetings have been moved out of the CHIPS office. Only during weeks in which we are producing a physical paper will the editing staff be in the office. During this time, all members will wear masks and maintain physical distancing.

We recognize that these changes are very drastic and abrupt, and we hope that you will bear with us as we forge ahead with this new type of newspaper. In addition to keeping the Luther community informed, the purpose of CHIPS has always been to create and train new journalistic minds. In the past, CHIPS has had to change with the times, and with our move to an online format, we are doing so again. Hopefully, these changes will prepare our staff to work in a journalistic world where most content is published and read online. The changes to our format, while exacerbated by COVID, have been a long time coming.

Finally, we ask for patience from you as we begin the transition to this new era of CHIPS. While we will always strive to create and post strong articles on time, we recognize that this year will present some unique challenges, many of which we may be unable to anticipate. Events may be postponed or canceled. Illness or other factors may delay a piece. Technology may fail us from time to time. But through it all, it is our intention to continue moving forward with stories about our school, our community, our Luther.