UNLV's school paper seeks to secure funding for the current school year and beyond.
By: Kirk Massey
In a world where media increasingly converts to the digital landscape, college campuses remain uniquely suited to harboring the remaining vestiges of a printed publication. Students and faculty alike begin their days skimming through college newspapers picked up along the way to class. However, like print journalism, independent college newspapers face extinction. UNLV’s Scarlet & Gray Free Press is no exception.
Editor in chief Vanessa Booth looks to safeguard the campus paper for the 2022/23 school year and beyond. In addition to normal fiscal obligations, the Scarlet & Gray faces new financial challenges. The Las Vegas Review Journal recently decided to cease their annual donation and complimentary use of their printing press. In response, Booth proposes a new fee that will add to student’s tuition costs but will increase revenue to heights previously unseen.
“This fee is a solution on a silver platter,” Booth said. “In my eyes, if this fee does not go through, I don’t see the paper surviving.”
Traditionally, the Scarlet and Gray relies on donations and advertising to meet their financial needs. The paper needs $80,000 to $90,000 annually to operate at full capacity.
Since 2017, the Review Journal aided the cause. They generously donated between $20,000 to $40,000 annually and provided complimentary printing. However, the increasing financial struggle to operate a printed publication caused the Review Journal to end their relationship with the school paper.
At the beginning of the 2022 fall term, the Review Journal informed the Scarlet and Gray that they were no longer able to provide aid, leaving a $15,000 void in this year's budget.
There are no hard feelings on behalf of the Scarlet and Gray towards the Review Journal.
“They have to put themselves first,” said Alex Wright, executive managing editor of the Scarlet and Gray Free Press. “The RJ did a lot for us. You would be hard pressed to find another newspaper that prints a college paper for free. They were tremendous for that support.”
Booth obtained a $15,000 grant from the vice-president of student affairs to cover the added printing costs for the current year. Furthermore, she scaled down the printing specifications to make the paper more economical. Between the grant, advertising and a small pool of leftover money from the previous year, the paper should remain operational for the remaining school year.
Relying on advertising revenue as the main source of income is volatile. A student-run paper produces high turnover causing inconsistent returns. Moreover, finding businesses that want to advertise with a student paper is increasingly difficult.
Turning to the university for aid brings a host of concerns that makes that route undesirable.
“There have been discussions about the university financing the paper, but the answer has been that the university doesn’t have the money.” Booth said. “Every time money from the university has been offered, there have been strings attached wanting more influence over the running of the paper. For example, if you ask CSUN for money, down the road it could be questioned if a negative article was written about them.”
Booth’s proposed fee solves all these problems.
If the proposal passes, students will see a new fee of 20 cents per credit hour initiated every semester. This projects to $140,000 annually for the paper, a game-changing amount.
“The pricing of the fee is a good wheelhouse,” Wright said. “Total per student is $3 a semester if they take 15 credits, very minimal.”
While the cost to students would be less than a cup of coffee, the impact on the paper would be monumental. The fee easily covers the operation budget. Additionally, it would allow the organization to expand.
“There will be a steady source of income for the paper that not only pays the staff, but gives them ways to reinvest in the paper,” Wright said. “There would be opportunities to grow the website and digital aspect, allow travel, cover events and games, go to conferences and still have money for printing and having a print product out there.”
The fee faces one last hurdle before going into effect. The Board of Regents will vote on the passing of the fee on Dec. 2.
President Whitfield and the provost have approved the fee already. Furthermore, CSUN, graduate student government and the vice president of student affairs have endorsed the measure. However, Booth believes the most important time is now.
Despite the overwhelming support from administrative backing, she plans to mobilize as many students as possible to attend the board meeting in person and lobby the regents to approve the fee. She has seen examples of the regents voting against popular assumption in the past.
“I don’t want to celebrate too early, so we are still going to mobilize and work hard,” Booth said. “It’s still up to us because we have to do the last push to the finish line.”
Independent college newspapers are important. They bring credibility to the university. They act as a watchdog against administrative corruption, collusion and overreach. They explore campus life, clubs, professor profiles and team sports.
At UNLV, the paper functions as the longest running news source on campus and preserver of the school’s history, a tradition since 1955.
If the fee passes, Booth and Wright will not be around to reap the benefits. Instead, future generations of aspiring journalists will have the chance to flourish, succeed and learn in a stable newsroom.
The board of regents holds the fate of the paper in its hand.
“If voted yes, the paper will be ultimately saved, forever and indefinitely,” Booth said. “I would love to see future students come in and not have the financial worries we've had.”
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