The University of Southern California recently cut funding to the Daily Trojan, a historic student-led newspaper that has been circulated daily for over 100 years. Beginning this spring, the cuts will eliminate pay for all staffers, limit the print schedule to three days a week and discontinue a majority of the newspaper’s weekly summer edition, Summer Trojan.
“This decision was made without consulting the Daily Trojan’s student leadership in any capacity,” the newspaper wrote in a letter from the editors. “Student Life told us, despite our objections, that their decision was final. We are disappointed in Student Life’s lack of investment in independent student journalism.”
In mid-December, budget cuts were announced during a meeting between student editors and representatives from USC Student Life. Editors are currently looking for funding solutions like tutoring programs for LAUSD schools, merchandise sales and writing contests to raise money. So far, the school has rejected these solutions.
“I think all of us in that meeting felt pretty blindsided,” editor-in-chief Stefano Fendrich told NBC Los Angeles. “It was just straight up telling us, hey, we have this deficit, and this is how we plan to cut it.”
“So far, we’ve been told we aren’t allowed to do anything and have to go through all these bureaucratic processes to get anything done,” he added. “We refuse to give up on this paper even though it seems the University has, and we will keep trying to find ways to pay our masthead and staff as much as we can.”
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The Daily Trojan launched an online petition to reinstate staff pay and the newspaper’s daily circulation. Editors typically receive a monthly stipend and contributors are paid on a story-by-story basis.
First published in 1912, the newspaper has around 5,000 free daily copies circulating across the University Park Campus and Health Sciences Campus, according to USC Annenberg Media.
“As an alternative to digital media, print newspapers promote equal access to timely journalism,” the petition highlights. “We have a responsibility as one of the last daily print college newspapers in the country to continue this legacy.”
The Daily Trojan is funded through advertisements and partial subsidization from the school. USC Student Life said it has an annual deficit of over $100,000.
“As the newspaper industry continues to evolve, and advertising revenue has trended downward, we believe the Daily Trojan needs a new funding and operations model. Over the last three years the Daily Trojan has been running annual deficits of over $100,000, which had been covered by the university,” USC Student Life said in a statement to NBC Los Angeles. “We continue to work directly with the student senior management team to adjust their expenses and develop a more sustainable revenue model. We are dedicated to ongoing engagement and planning with the Daily Trojan’s student leaders.”
“Student Life has been and remains committed to the value and role of student media, and we look forward to finding a way to ensure their prosperity,” the statement added.
