The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Post is toast. The student newspaper serving the Milwaukee campus recently published a front-page editorial essentially begging their readership to come to their aid with advice and financial support. The Post did not mince words: The newspaper industry is dying, they say, and the Post is making attempts to adapt to that industry. Also, they have no money left. The UWM Post editorial has a kernel of truth, but it is a cop-out and sets a dangerous precedent for student journalism.
I placed a call to the UWM Post’s office, but their editorial department did not return my call. I had a few questions about how they intend to proceed with their quest for funding. I assume they will be applying for segregated fee funding, which means they may be funded with tuition dollars, which means they will be attached to UW-Milwaukee.
The UWM Post editorial makes the argument a bankrupt independent paper cannot serve its community properly, and sacrificing independence for financial support makes the newspaper more viable for the community. I fundamentally take issue with this. A newspaper that is not going to fight for its independence is not going to fight for much else. An organization which cannot maintain its core qualities in the wake of a changing industry will likely bend to the pressures of authority.
Universities do pressure student reporters. Earlier this summer, the editor-in-chief and many high-level staff of The Red and Black of the University of Georgia resigned and made national headlines of their own. They released documents which pressed them to do more “GOOD” (Read: “feel good”) journalism, and less “BAD” (Read: “investigative”) journalism, according to the blog “Red and Dead,” which the staff started when they resigned in protest of the restricting measures.
I do not think a good student newspaper has to be independent to be a reliable source of news. Last year, I had the opportunity to meet student editors from around the country. All of them were excellent reporters and editors and we came from a mix of independent papers and papers with histories of advisers and university funding. What I do have issue with is independent student papers that shed their independence when the going gets tough.
The UWM Post sets a dangerous precedent for student journalism: “Running out of money? You can ask the university for funding if the situation gets desperate enough!” If I could send a message to every student editor in the country, it is this: If you sell your independence to the powers that be, you’re setting yourself up to sacrifice your other ideals and notions of good journalism down the road.
Another unsettling tone the UWM Post staff takes in their editorial is one of victimization. They say they are victims of an industry which is already deeply taking root online, where there is little money to be made. Boldly, they state, “Online ad revenue is virtually nonexistent ” and they dismiss the possibility of a pay wall. If a news organization doesn’t print actual newspapers, it will save money. However, good coverage will always cost money, no matter where it ultimately gets published. Cameras, publishing software, secure servers, transportation, fees for open records, etc. all cost money. Lots of money. Ending printed pages will not solve money woes. Simply put, if you had to jump ship entirely from your print publication, the chances of you doing well as a strictly online publication are very slim.
If you think I’m being mean to the UWM Post staff, then good. This is not an easy time to be in working for a newspaper, but as journalists we cannot put our tail between our legs and surrender our values as the industry we are comfortable with shifts to something foreign. We can evolve as newsrooms while holding onto the traits which set us apart from press offices.
Adelaide Blanchard ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.
