The Southern Illinois University system's new president says there's a deal to spare the Carbondale campus' financially troubled student newspaper.
And there's a prospect Illinois taxpayers may pitch in.
Although details of the plan aren't yet public, SIU President Randy Dunn met Wednesday in Springfield with aides to the Illinois House speaker and Senate president. Dunn says he's confident the Daily Egyptian won't cease publication as some feared.
A spending measure filed in the Illinois House would give The Daily Eqyptian $70,000.
The paper had asked for a $9 per-semester student fee, but the SIU Board of Trustees tabled that proposal last week.
The Daily Egyptian's faculty adviser, Eric Fidler says he's still hopeful that will happen this summer. But he says the $70,000 would be a buffer.
Filder says the paper is an important training ground for student journalists.
"It's also important to the people in the community. The DE flies off the racks out in town. It's not just read on campus, it's read just as much off campus. It's a free sources of news and information for people."
But Fidler says like other newspapers, the DE is struggling with a drop in ad revenue. He says the student fee could raise upwards of 200-thousand dollars a year. He says it's necessary for the paper's long term stability.
