Halftone Magazine: Their Origin, Their Plan

​Halftone Magazine is a unique internship that is offered at Rowan University and because it is so unique, it also offers unique opportunities. 

Professor Jason Luther is the man behind the magazine. Throughout the years that it has been in existence, it has been a great success. But surprisingly, this internship is not as old as you’d think. In fact, the internship started up only a few years ago.

The idea came to Luther during a college showcase in the fall of 2019. He just so happened to be discussing cultural criticism in the writing major with a freshman. There seemed to be a lack of space or a way for students to showcase their creativity, they said. At the time, Jason Luther received scholarship money that he was to use in regards to entrepreneurship. With the discussion he had with this freshman in mind, he considered some ideas.

Then, he came up with Halftone Magazine where the idea was accepted. 

Halftone was planned to be launched in the year 2020, but due to the pandemic the plans had to wait. Once the situation began to settle down, fall interns were hired and the people working on the magazine immediately got to work on designing and writing up articles. 

Initially, the idea was to start off small. Even a class was offered for pop culture. But to their surprise, the course had been so successful that it is now being offered every semester. 

Now what does Halftone aim to do?

Writing Arts is considered an arts major, but the major doesn’t give students as much opportunity to express their own creativity as much as one might like to believe. Halftone aims to provide students with that space along with chances to think more critically about their writing. “People don’t talk about criticism that often,” Luther said. His goal is for Halftone to allow interns to think about criticism, why it matters, and how it should go into their own writing.

He is also aiming to have the internship help students establish connections with the city, such as trips to concerts and art festivals in Philadelphia. Not every student is comfortable with the city where most opportunities for a career in writing can be found. If they can get students more comfortable with the city environment, it could help set them up for their future. 

Jason Luther has also admitted to his ambitions for the internship sometimes blinding him from what’s really important: growth and improvement. 

One of his current interns, Casey Wang, said that she has gotten better at writing emails because of this internship. Some interns have now learned how to create zines. 

It is good to have goals for an internship, but Luther is also proud of the current process the magazine has gotten done. His ambitions for Halftone Magazine are going to drive him to help the internship grow even more and he always has those goals in mind while building this project even further.