Editor’s Note: As a former student journalist, I find the headline to be disturbing. But I’m too far removed from any college campus–in age or location–to understand how this happened. So, we’re asking Rutgers students, recent grads, and faculty for their opinions. Why has the student newspaper lost the support of its readers? Inferior or irrelevant product? A generation of students disinterested in print news? A reaction to college fees? Please click on the ‘comment’ line or use our Facebook page to respond. We also welcome comment from students at other colleges and universities–Frank Brill
By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The future of Rutgers University’s independent student newspaper is in question after losing all of its funding from student fees, the primary source of revenue for the 151-year-old The Daily Targum.
Not enough students voted to continue supporting an $11.25 student fee in a recent campus referendum, gutting the paper of its largest and most reliable source of revenue, the paper announced on Monday night.
“It’s kind of up in the air right now,” Sandy Giacobbe, The Daily Targum’s business manager, said of the future. “The Targum is in uncharted territory.”
Giacobbe, a junior, wouldn’t say what percentage of total revenue will be lost or speculate about whether the paper may reduce its current five-day print schedule.
The failed referendum is the the first complete loss of student fee funding since the paper became independent of the university in 1980, he said.
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In a statement, The Daily Targum pledged to continue serving the Rutgers community.
“We do not know what the future holds, but the Targum Publishing Company’s Board of Trustees and staff will be working to address this funding crisis,” the paper tweeted.
The paper began printing at Rutgers in 1869 and has been a training ground for thousands of professional journalists ever since. But many independent college newspapers, like media companies, have struggled to stay afloat amid declining print circulation and advertising revenue, leading them to scale back print operations and focus on their websites.
Some college papers have recently turned to students fees as a solution, asking the student body to vote to approve new fees to support campus journalism.
