Statement from 新加坡六合彩开奖网 President John Bardo about student fees and Sunflower funding
Continued funding of student newspapers is a conversation that's happening, or has already taken place, on many campuses. It has more to do with how people are receiving news and the overall steep decline in newspaper industry revenues than it does with the First Amendment freedoms of the speech and the press.
For example, we've seen the increasing importance of social media, including Facebook and Twitter, as sources of news. As print advertising has declined, our community newspaper, The Wichita Eagle, has endured dramatic reductions in staffing, news space and print deadlines.
We don't want The Sunflower to suffer the same fate while its staff and supporters respond to this very changed media landscape. We don't want to lose an active student media voice on campus or the applied learning opportunities that Sunflower staffers receive.
As part of an announced effort to keep an overall student fee increase to 1 percent, student government voted to reduce The Sunflower's funding from $105,000 in Fiscal Year 2018 to $80,000 in Fiscal Year 2019 that begins this July 1.
To make up the difference, Student Affairs VP Teri Hall plans to take money from an open staff position in her division and offer The Sunflower up to $25,000 in print and online advertising. Dr. Hall and I feel that doing this advertising fits well with the Student Affairs Division's goal of "Connecting every student." Dr. Hall plans to talk with The Sunflower's advertising director about implementation.
With all of the innovation the university is encouraging across campus, we hope The Sunflower's staff and Publications Board will take this upcoming year to deeply reflect on The Sunflower's funding model and develop sustainable ideas for its future. These conversations are especially important in assuring students' applied learning experiences reflect the massive changes affecting news media today.