BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU students and alumni have been voicing concerns over ongoing discussions about possibly cutting the print schedule of the university’s storied Daily Reveille campus newspaper.
A public meeting scheduled Aug. 22 will give them a chance to discuss the future of campus media with LSU leaders.
The Advocate reports supporters are signing an online petition that calls for the decisions about The Reveille’s future to be made by students. Many of those who have signed the petition have left messages about how much the experience working at the campus newspaper has meant to them and their careers.
Incoming Reveille editor Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez also signed, thanking the crowd that’s now rallying around the paper and joining in the discussion about the future of the student-run paper that once challenged Gov. Huey Long.
“As the incoming Reveille editor, I am proud to have so many stand with me who agree The Daily Reveille is first and foremost a teaching tool, and worth fighting for,” Zamudio-Suarez wrote.
A Facebook group has become an active message board for Reveille alumni to vent concerns and share information. A social media campaign is being plotted that will feature photos of students working at The Reveille, and alumni have been working on ways to donate money to support The Reveille’s future.
The Reveille prints five times a week—a schedule that’s been in place since 2002 but that could change based on ideas that are being floated by the university’s new Student Media director, Steve Buttry.
Buttry, who is recognized nationally as a digital innovator, first came to LSU last year as the Manship School of Mass Communication’s Lamar visiting scholar. He took on the Student Media director job in May.
In an interview with The Advocate, Buttry suggested that a shift to a weekly or twice-a-week publication might be better financially and give students a chance to spend more time learning and navigating a media structure that’s shifting toward online.
According to figures he provided to The Advocate, The Reveille’s revenue fell 21 percent between the budget year that ended June 30 and the previous year—from $712,000 to $563,000. The Reveille operated at a loss both years—relying on a rainy day fund to cover $283,000 last year and $142,000 the previous year. About $200,000 of The Reveille’s budget is supplemented by student fees.
