As part of the national social media campaign #SaveStudentNewsrooms, The Daily Reveille Editorial Board encourages you to think about the challenges student-run newsrooms around the country are facing and the implications they have on students.
The Daily Reveille has always strived to provide students with the truth, even when it’s difficult. Now, we face one of the hardest truths since our inception: student journalism is struggling to survive.
The Reveille has been on campus for more than 130 years, thanks to you. But now, The Reveille and college newsrooms across the nation lack much-needed support from its universities — and worse, its students.
For over a century, we have worked tirelessly to be a voice for the students. Even after we had to reduce print from daily to weekly, we continued to make do with an increasingly limited number of resources.
Employees at The Reveille are just like other students — when you read something from our editorial board, you are reading the collective opinion of students who attend the same classes, pay the same tuition and walk the same campus.
When you see The Reveille’s name, it’s not referring to a group of overpaid, out-of-touch administrators or figure heads. The Reveille’s name is attached to a group of dedicated student editors, writers, photographers, columnists and designers. We’re stationed in the basement of Hodges Hall, where we work early mornings and late nights publishing daily online content in addition to our weekly Wednesday paper.
Just like you, we attend the University to prepare ourselves for a life after college where practical experience and relevant knowledge will mean the difference between a burgeoning career and unemployment. We want to have the same opportunities as any other student to be successful.
Nothing jumpstarts success like the connections and experiences forged at The Reveille and LSU Student Media. Student media allows us to gain job experience, career opportunities and connections our degree programs alone cannot offer. For most of our almost 200 employees, student media provides the foundational experience necessary to thrive after graduation.
The Reveille and LSU Student Media are charged with representing the voices of the student body. Quite simply, The Reveille is your newspaper — you own the paper as much as we do. We are here to cover what matters most to you, and we stick up for you when the administration doesn’t.
The Reveille aims to benefit all students. The beauty of a student-run newspaper lies in its distinct ability to portray the stories, faces and lives of those on campus. Look inside The Reveille’s print edition or search lsunow.com and you’ll see your friend from chemistry lab being highlighted for her research or the freshman from your art elective featured for his athletic achievements. You may even see your own face.
Money and resources are vital to any successful business. While many of us would gladly do the job without the salary, lack of proper funding comprises our ability to serve the LSU community. We can’t afford any more cuts, and neither can you.
We will continue to do all we can to make your voices heard, no matter the road ahead of us. We only ask you hear our voice, too.
If student media loses, you lose.
