Support the Massachusetts Daily Collegian

In today’s media climate, people aren’t picking up newspapers like they did previously. This is a problem that news organizations all over the country and the world are facing, and the Massachusetts Daily Collegian is no different. Advertising revenue has decreased exponentially in the past few years, as advertisers become aware that Collegian pick-up rates have dramatically declined. With the fixed cost of payroll and printing, our current advertising revenue is no longer enough to sustain the finances needed to continue production and sustain payroll.

Our digital world has transformed news consumption, and we are looking to transform as well.

We have decided as a staff and with consultation from Collegian alumni that in January of 2018, the Collegian will shift from printing four days a week to printing two, out for readership on Mondays and Thursdays. We are then anticipating a change in Fall of 2018 to one day a week. This is NOT going to change how we write and produce our news, nor will it alter the high standard that we hold ourselves and our writers to. We are proud to continue publishing 12 to 15 stories a day in each section of the Collegian. We have even added a translation section, which translates our stories into German, Chinese, Korean and more.

Funds will go toward strengthening our website, which will have more space for digital advertisements and will be more mobile-friendly and interactive. We will purchase equipment necessary for our staff members to stay up-to-date with the digital world of journalism, such as cameras that can be rented out to staff members and Adobe Suite to help us continue making strong graphics. Social media is one of our top sources for article traffic, and we want to fully utilize and invest in the features that social media has to offer our readers and the community by purchasing programs such as Adobe Social. We will use these funds to help us create a smooth transition to primarily web-based yet also obtain a small profit that can be used for bettering the newsroom. This can involve updating our computers and equipment.

The world of journalism is becoming primarily media-based, and so are we. We think it is the best option for the Collegian to move into the digital age of multimedia storytelling and journalism, while still staying true to our responsibility as a daily news organization. We’re looking forward to what the future holds and are ready to explore the many different facets that journalism provides, and hope that you will all support us in this exciting transition.