There is no question the journalism industry is struggling to adapt to changing economic paradigms. Newsrooms across the nation starved in the last five years, finding themselves no longer able to skim off only the fat. Nearly everyone cut back at core services and capabilities. The Badger Herald was not an exception and we do not shy away from that fact – our tax returns, as with any 501(c)(3), are publicly available for anyone with access to the Internet. We took losses during the Great Recession, the result of unprecedented advertising declines. We experienced the pains of many other small and large businesses in many other industries. We are also recovering with those same valued customers.
I encourage our readers and critics to look at our FY2011 returns when they go online later this fall. I encourage them to look again next year at this time. It is not easy to keep a small business, especially one focused on newsprint, viable in these uncertain times. But we continue to thrive 43 years after several students on this campus decided a one paper system was unacceptable.