 "Photo: Shannon Kintner")
As journalism evolves with advances in technology, decline in the circulation of campus newspapers has forced many universities nationwide to make cutbacks to their papers.
Student newspapers from coast to coast are cutting back on staff or publication days. The Spartan Daily, the campus newspaper for San Jose State University in California, has expanded the size of its staff, but a decrease in funding has forced the daily publication to scrap its Friday edition and downsize the paper.
The Spartan's cutback comes at a time when the newspaper's staff is developing new ways to reach its audience. Faculty advisor Tim Hendrick said the publication has a cellphone-accessible edition of the paper and a changing online edition that includes video and podcasts. Cutting the paper's Friday edition has not affected the newspaper's circulation because fewer students have class on Fridays, Hendrick said.
The Daily Orange from Syracuse University in New York and the University of California-Berkeley's Daily Californian also reduced their publication to four days a week. Ohio State's Lantern reportedly cut its summer publication completely.
Texas Student Media Director Kathy Lawrence admitted that The Daily Texan's circulation - about 20,000 - is not as high as it was 20 years ago but does not believe growing popularity of online news is a reason for the decrease in circulation. Most users who access The Daily Texan online are not UT students, Lawrence added.
"We serve a large community but still a very niche audience," Lawrence said. "People care about the University and what goes on around campus."
Lawrence said a younger audience could be a reason for the decrease in circulation, though she said that 85 percent of students still consider a newspaper their primary source of information.
"Every year, freshmen have to be re-educated about picking up a newspaper," she said.
Despite cutbacks of other campus publications, Lawrence said she does not foresee any changes to the Texan.
"I suppose I could see a time where we could go to a different format in the summer, but not any time soon," she said. "I believe that in the future, we will continue to be strong, vibrant and able to generate the ad revenue to sustain our readership."
Wanda Cash, a journalism professor, said the state of print journalism is in flux.
"Each generation has its own style of journalism that reflects what is going on in the world." Cash said. "This new generation of journalists and news consumers requires that change."
Cash, who has nearly 30 years of journalism experience, said she thinks campus publications have a unique problem. While the circulation will always be strong for smaller, community newspapers, students may not feel as loyal toward a campus newspaper because of their short stay at a university.
"There will always be a place for those readers who like to hold a newspaper and get their fingers covered in newsprint," Cash said.
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