After nearly two decades of editorial independence from the University of Toledo, its student-run newspaper will re-establish legal and financial ties with the institution this fall.
The Independent Collegian began discussions two years ago about reuniting with UT because of declining ad revenue and funding. Reuniting with the university “was one of many options considered within the past two years,” said Erin Czerniak, the Independent Collegian’s exiting faculty advisor.
The newspaper’s board of directors officially voted for reunification this April.
Lora Parent, president of the Collegian Media Foundation board of directors, said the board has agreed to stop all printing and business operations at The Independent Collegian and “move operations under university direction.”
“The student newspaper has been an icon of campus for the last century. In support of this critical experiential learning opportunity, The University of Toledo will be integrating the student-produced publication into the academic curriculum in the 2019-20 academic year. We remain committed to affording these hands-on learning experiences for our students,” Meghan Cunningham, the university’s spokesman, said in a prepared statement released Saturday.
Founded in 1919, The Collegian severed ties with UT in 2000, calling itself The Independent Collegian and establishing the Collegian Media Foundation, a nonprofit that publishes the paper.
The initial split was motivated by its editorial board’s desire for editorial independence under then-university president Vik Kapoor. It followed a former Collegian editor-in-chief being ordered to give up employment at The Blade because of a UT policy prohibiting Collegian editors who receive tuition reimbursement from outside employment, according to a Blade report published at the time.
The order, later withdrawn, had followed an editorial criticizing Mr. Kapoor and calling for the chairman of UT’s board of trustees to resign.
The student newspaper experienced years of financial sustainability from donors and ad revenue, but began actively fund-raising in 2016 because of declining funds, Ms. Czerniak said.
Last year, the Independent Collegian published an editorial, titled “Our newspaper is dying,” describing its financial struggles. The publication’s previous fund-raising efforts to save the paper included a Kickstarter account that raised $2,000.
The board of directors met several times with university President Sharon Gaber starting early this year to assess reunification. The paper previously considered a $2 student fee, with an opt-out option, as part of tuition, but that option was thwarted by a 2015 state mandate that essentially froze tuition.
Areeba Shah, a former editor-in-chief, said reunification was “the only option left” after the newspaper’s other attempts to find sustainable, long-term funding failed. Staying independent did not seem “sustainable” to the board, she said.
While the newspaper will cease its independence, other anticipated changes are unclear. Budgeting will now work under the bylaws of UT student organizations; the publication will submit a budget proposal to the university, and if approved, the university will provide the funding.
Under the university’s budget, Ms. Parent said the newspaper could still generate additional funding through advertising, but university officials would ultimately decide where such revenue is spent.
Miss Shah said the reunification might help the Collegian become more involved with the student body because it will work directly under university administration. Ms. Czerniak said the university supported minimal interference in the newspaper’s content.
“They were 100 percent on the same page as us in terms of editorial independence,” Miss Shah said. “But even right now, the staff does not know exactly what changes will come.”
Reunification with the university provides students with print journalism opportunities, and the move grants the paper more financial sustainability at the expense of complete independence. Ms. Czerniak said students will now be free to focus on content rather than have to worry about revenue generation.
“We’re looking toward the next hundred years for the paper,” Ms. Czerniak said, “and this move was necessary to support student journalists.”
The newspaper might skip its annual summer issue this year because of the change, Miss Shah said.
First Published June 8, 2019, 6:21 p.m.
