SIU's President is transferring more than $50,000 to The Daily Egyptian, in an effort to keep the student newspaper running for the short term.
Financial troubles threatened to close the paper within a few months, but administrators are now working on short and long-term plans to keep things going. Student leaders met with SIU Trustees earlier this month to ask for help.
School of Journalism Chair Bill Freivogel says the immediate changes will give the paper a chance to continue preparing future reporters for the world ahead - both in and out of newspapers.
"I think it's a really exciting future for a converged, multi-platformed newsroom that brings together the very considerable news assets in the various far-flung corridors of the college building."
Freivogel says he's taking one month without pay to help support the salaries of two people in the DE newsroom, and those two will also switch to 11-month contracts starting in July. He says while the paper has traditionally run without university help, this change won't affect objectivity.
"The Daily Egyptian doesn't make them (SIU leaders) happy every day - it doesn't make me happy every day. And it won't in the future, either. The fact that they all saw the student newspaper as being an important institution at the university is very heartening."
In addition to those changes, longer-term ideas including out-sourcing the printing of the paper and the potential for a student fee are also being considered.
