By Tina Kelley | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The Daily Targum has received a $100,000 grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium that could be “transformative” for Rutgers University’s student newspaper, the publication’s board said.
The paper, founded in 1869, is one of the oldest college newspapers in the country and has a staff of 30 on the New Brunswick campus. It will use the grant to expand its digital presence, attract advertisers and work to secure a student fee referendum next year to restore campus funding, according to the consortium.
In 2019, the Targum lost funding from student fees, its largest source of revenue, when it failed to receive 25% of the votes in each of the schools on the New Brunswick campus in a referendum. The fees amounted to $11.25 per student and supported the paper, which is now online only, after it became independent from Rutgers in 1980.
At the time, Targum editors blamed student apathy for the loss in funding, saying close to 70% of students did not vote on the referendum.
The $100,000 grant will help the Targum staff prepare for another referendum next year that could help restore the student fee funding.
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