A recent blog post by OnwardState.com addressed the financial situation facing newspapers, especially college newspapers. It's an excellent piece that looks at how some college papers are joining the rest of the journalism industry in terms of financial difficulties.

But there was one part of the post that needs to be addressed:
"If the Collegian finds itself short of funds, then it could always ask the University for a greater subsidy, but the chances of a successful result are extremely low."

This is a common misconception about The Daily Collegian, but the organization does not receive any subsidies from Penn State. Many college newspapers are funded by their schools, but the Collegian is financially independent. It's one of very few independent school papers in the country.

The only money that we receive from Penn State is part of an long-term agreement that sells papers to the school daily, making the Collegian free for you on campus. It also means that, as the editor in chief, I have the final say on all of our coverage, and we do not face any censorship from the university.

Of course, this also means that we are on our own financially. We have a board of directors that meets almost every month to help review our finances, among other things. And, like most other newspaper in the country, we're all trying to figure out how to make more money without making too many cuts.

The board meets tonight (Thursday) at 7:15, and Onward State has already said someone representing the blog will be there to observe the conversation.

We're proud to be an independent student newspaper, and we always welcome questions from interested readers. Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail if you're one of them.