You are reading an eight-page newspaper today. On this day last year, you were reading a 14-page paper. And, though it's a rarity for The Daily Pennsylvanian to drop to such a low size, it is not the first eight-page paper of the semester.
Unfortunately, every newspaper in the country is slimming down its print edition. Nationally, newspapers are in both a fiscal and print readership crisis. Many well-known publications have stopped their print operations. College newspapers, however, do not suffer from the same readership crisis - serving a niche community has served campus papers well and readership of college newspapers remains steady.
Nonetheless, this economy hurts everyone. Most student papers are slimming down to compensate for lost advertising revenue. Some have even been forced to cut days of publication - NYU's paper recently cut its Friday edition. While we are confident that we will ride out the recession printing five days a week, the DP will end this fiscal year with a significant decrease in advertising revenue. And as a financially and editorially independent publication, advertising is our primary source of income.
Because of the economy, you will probably see smaller papers for the next few months. But it is our priority to publish everyday. It is our priority to bring you all the news you need and provide you with even more online. We will remain an independent paper that comes at no charge to you. Despite belt tightening, our priority remains you.
Juliette Mullin is a College junior from Portland, Ore. Her e-mail address is mullin@dailypennsylvanian.com.
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