Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Southwest Texas paper faces financial troubles

SAN MARCOS — In a tough economic climate, Southwest Texas State University’s student newspaper is struggling more than most.

The University Star relies heavily on advertising revenue, and with that quickly evaporating, it has already dropped one edition. It now publishes three times per week. The paper’s printing costs, meanwhile, continue to rise.

Student fees that help finance the paper rank near the bottom among Texas’ state-run universities.

A university committee increased the newspaper’s budget for next year, but staff members say they will need more money to revive the lost edition.

The campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is warning that without increased university support, the Star’s financial troubles will get worse.

“I’m not optimistic that their publication days are even going to stay at three,” said Frederick Blevens, a journalism professor at the university and adviser for the SPJ campus chapter.

Interest in working at the paper is always high until students hear the pay: $10 per assignment, Editor Sarah Evans was quoted as saying in Monday’s Austin American-Statesman.

In a May internal audit performed by the university, the Star’s 2000 budget was $229,569, the second-lowest among Texas’ 12 largest state universities. The university contributed about 12 percent of the Star’s budget — $1.09 per student — ranking it second to last among state college newspaper that received student fees.

At universities of similar size, such as the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington, student fees made up as much as 50 percent of their newspapers’ budget last year, according to the audit.

Papers across the country are feeling the pinch of declining advertising and a sluggish economy. Ad revenues could dip even further because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, industry analysts say.