Last week, I talked a bit about the vital importance of editorially independent student newspapers to the welfare of college campuses across the nation.
In the interest of full transparency with our readers, I want to share with you an update on a situation that concerns business operations at The Post.
For decades, The Post has prided itself on being the editorially independent voice of Ohio University students and Athens residents. We operate separately and without influence from the university, and — although many of our employees are students in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism — we have no official connection to the school.
Historically, our business operations have been overseen by a business manager who operates as an employee of the Division of Student Affairs. This individual communicates with the editor-in-chief but has no influence over editorial operations of the paper.
As wonderful as it would be for The Post to be both editorially and financially independent from the university, it’s simply never been a viable option for us.
University budget cuts haven’t been kind. And unfortunately, we learned this past spring that a substantial bit of funding for The Post’s business manager was on the chopping block.
Of course, without someone to run the business operations, our publication suffers. We have been operating without a business manager since early summer. If you’ve noticed a lack of advertisements in recent issues of The Post, it’s because we haven’t had the manpower to sell many.
As editor-in-chief, I’ll admit that I’ve been put in a difficult position. My job is to watch over the editorial side of the publication and ensure that we’re crafting stories that matter to our readers.
However, the recent events have necessitated my involvement in business affairs. I take the line between the business and editorial sides seriously, but I also take the survival of this century-old organization very seriously.
This week I received some heartening news: The business manager position will no longer exist under the Division of Student Affairs. Instead, for the time being, it will be housed under the Scripps College of Communication.
I know what you might be thinking. Does this mean The Post is connected with the journalism school? Doesn’t this threaten independence?
I want to assure you that this move will in no way impact our publication’s editorial independence. And we hope that this will only be a temporary arrangement. In the coming years, we hope to work with new advertising partners and to benefit from funding made available through the university’s new experiential learning fee.
Things are looking up. Thanks to a series of new collaborations and — with the backing of those who support our mission — we know that, at the end of the day, The Post is going to survive this.
Lauren Fisher is a senior studying journalism and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Want to talk to Lauren? Email her at lf966614@ohio.edu or tweet her @lauren__fisher.
