Keep printing political ads
Jillian Melchior
Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: Opinion
The editor in chief of The Collegian has decided on a policy prohibiting all political advertisement from the newspaper - one week before the election and after one ad has already run.
Senior Joy Pavelski makes this decision with the highest of intentions and after a lot of thought and discussion. That does not make it a good decision either financially or editorially.
To set a policy for the future, we must examine the past. Last year, The Collegian ran out of money. The editorial board did not track the newspaper's finances well enough. We editors sacrificed our pay so the newspaper could afford to run until the end of the year.
This year, we're doing better. We reassessed how we track money. It makes no sense to ignore its importance. A responsible paper does not end up in the red, but it also doesn't just come out even. Since we're considering a policy for the future, we should look at long-term goals: building a financial cushion for unexpected expenses or needs.
Barack Obama wanted to buy ads in this issue and last issue of the newspaper that would have brought in $600. There was no good reason not to accept it and run the ad.
Right now, the newspaper industry is in crisis. In the last week alone, The Christian Science Monitor announced it would end publishing the weekday paper that has run for a century. Time Inc. announced it is laying off 600 employees and reorganizing; Gannett, 10 percent of its employees, about 3,000 people; the Los Angeles Times, 75 employees; The Star-Ledger of Newark, 40 percent of its editorial staff. All in the last week.
"Clearly the sky is falling," The New York Times wrote ("Morning Old Media's Decline") Tuesday. "The question now is how many people will be left to cover it."
This is what Hillsdale College journalism students face upon graduation.
Our administrators, journalism department instructors and the editor have all said The Collegian is a lab where students can learn journalism. It doesn't make sense to teach our journalism students to report, photograph and design pages but to ignore the equally crucial business elements of a newspaper - especially considering the grim industry.
Senior Joy Pavelski makes this decision with the highest of intentions and after a lot of thought and discussion. That does not make it a good decision either financially or editorially.
To set a policy for the future, we must examine the past. Last year, The Collegian ran out of money. The editorial board did not track the newspaper's finances well enough. We editors sacrificed our pay so the newspaper could afford to run until the end of the year.
This year, we're doing better. We reassessed how we track money. It makes no sense to ignore its importance. A responsible paper does not end up in the red, but it also doesn't just come out even. Since we're considering a policy for the future, we should look at long-term goals: building a financial cushion for unexpected expenses or needs.
Barack Obama wanted to buy ads in this issue and last issue of the newspaper that would have brought in $600. There was no good reason not to accept it and run the ad.
Right now, the newspaper industry is in crisis. In the last week alone, The Christian Science Monitor announced it would end publishing the weekday paper that has run for a century. Time Inc. announced it is laying off 600 employees and reorganizing; Gannett, 10 percent of its employees, about 3,000 people; the Los Angeles Times, 75 employees; The Star-Ledger of Newark, 40 percent of its editorial staff. All in the last week.
"Clearly the sky is falling," The New York Times wrote ("Morning Old Media's Decline") Tuesday. "The question now is how many people will be left to cover it."
This is what Hillsdale College journalism students face upon graduation.
Our administrators, journalism department instructors and the editor have all said The Collegian is a lab where students can learn journalism. It doesn't make sense to teach our journalism students to report, photograph and design pages but to ignore the equally crucial business elements of a newspaper - especially considering the grim industry.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Roni
posted 10/30/08 @ 1:17 PM EST
If readers feel their paper serves them and their community, they will continue to do business with that paper. Once readers feel the paper is being used to push an opinion, only readers who agree with that opinion will continue to do business with them. (Continued…)
Post a Comment