By Renee Sessions (UWIRE)
Although student newspapers long seemed immune to the budget troubles of the newspaper industry, many now face the same economic hardship as their professional counterparts.
All over the country, university newspapers are scaling back to accommodate flagging funds, from slashing staff to going online.
Below is a list of the most recent cutbacks, from most severe to least severe, and how their editors either explained or justified the situation.
Washington Square News
School: New York University
What’s Being Cut: Friday issues online only; circulation reduced by 30 percent; reduced staff pay; reduced summer issues; culture magazine online only
Why: “Because of severe revenue loss, a proposal to make significant cuts to the paper was being considered by the newspaper’s managing board. The managing board of WSN voted to approve that proposal.” Read more.
The California Aggie
School: University of California–Davis
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated; office on Fridays closed; staff pay reduced or eliminated; circulation number reduced; other expenses scaled back
Why: “Historically, The Aggie’s expenses have been fairly even with advertising revenue. For the past several years, however, ad sales, The Aggie’s only source of revenue, have been in sharp decline. This year marks a new low.” Read more.
Minnesota Daily
School: University of Minnesota
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated; bonuses slashed; staff pay reduced; sports and news sections combined
Why: “Advertising had been declining steadily, and in September, ‘everything blew up,’ said Vadim Lavrusik, the paper’s editor-in-chief and one of three co-publishers.” Read more.
Daily Californian
School: University of California–Berkeley
What’s Being Cut: Wednesday print edition eliminated; staff pay and staff size reduced
Why: “Falling print advertising revenue coupled with steadily rising costs are affecting newspapers across the nation and those effects have, without question, reached Berkeley.” Read more.
Daily Nebraskan
School: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
What’s Being Cut: Number of pages per paper reduced
Why: “Simply put, fewer advertisements being printed equals fewer pages being published in our industry.” Read more.
Daily News
School: Ball State University
What’s Being Cut: Friday publication eliminated
Why: “Instead of sitting in a corner lamenting the glory days of print media, we’re going to do something we should have done a long time ago: Use our Web site for what it was intended and be a true, daily news source.” Read more.
The Daily Free Press
School: Boston University
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated
Why: “The Daily Free Press made drastic cutbacks in fall 2007 because of a decline in ad revenue, and although our situation has improved, it is not fully remedied. In order to maintain our status as a purely student-run and independent newspaper, we must take care to cushion ourselves against a debt that could threaten that status in the future.” Read more.
Columbia Missourian
School: University of Missouri
What’s Being Cut: Weekend issues eliminated
Why: “The Columbia Missourian has reached an agreement with MU administrators to scale back the number of its weekly print editions in order to ensure its future as a community paper and a teaching lab for young journalists.” Read more.
Sidelines
School: Middle Tennessee State University
What’s Being Cut: Entire paper potentially moved to online only
Why: “A work group responsible for reviewing non-academic units at the university has proposed a restructuring of Sidelines that would save $100,000.” Read more.
Daily Orange
School: Syracuse University
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated
Why: “The Daily Orange will no longer publish a print edition of its newspaper on Fridays because of a series of financial setbacks that make printing and distributing a paper on the week’s slowest day impractical.” Read more.
Daily Utah Chronicle
School: University of Utah
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated
Why: “Chronicle Editor in Chief Dustin Gardiner says the paper started the year with a $40,000 deficit and a decrease in ad sales this year has added another $20,000.” Read more.
The Spartan Daily
School: San Jose State University
What’s Being Cut: Friday print publication eliminated
Why: No reason given.
The Spectator
School: University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
What’s Being Cut: Position eliminated; staff salaries cut
Why: “Because of multiple factors, including economic concerns and lowered advertising revenue…”
