Greetings Alumni and Friends,
As many of you are aware, earlier this year Texas Student Media considered a proposal to end publishing The Daily Texan five days a week in an effort to save money.
Thanks to financial pledges and a published letter from The Daily Texan alumni, fervent pleas from the University of Texas journalism staff and media articles that drew attention to the matter, that proposal was shelved.
Unfortunately, it came at the cost of cuts to staff salaries and left the Texan in a financially vulnerable position. That event sparked an interest in forming an alumni group to help The Daily Texan.
On April 22, a group of 15 alumni from Texan, whose years of service at the paper spans six decades, voted to take formal steps in establishing a non-profit group to help The Daily Texan.
The founding board consists of 16 members, including a slot for the current editor-in-chief. More information about the founding board members can be found here. (There may be opportunities for additional board members soon.) The group voted to approve the original 16 directors, selected four officers and approved a mission statement. The mission of this group is as follows:
The Friends of The Daily Texan is an association for alumni of The Daily Texan and others interested in promoting the publication’s long-term sustainability as a site of student press innovation. Through mentorship, fundraising, networking and public education, Friends of The Daily Texan works alongside current Texan staffers to continue the publication’s rich tradition of journalistic excellence into the future.
This group is still a work in progress. Our next step is drafting bylaws with the intent to become a non-profit and raise funds to help The Daily Texan. The goal is not to financially support The Daily Texan, but rather become a resource for the Texan and use our collective wisdom to help the Texan prosper. Stay tuned, fellow alumni, for more information on how you can contribute to the effort to help the Texan and information on membership to this new organization.
Questions? Complaints? Ideas? Please direct queries to [email protected] or to the email addresses below. In addition, if you are an alumnus with expertise in law, fundraising, web development or on the business side of journalism, drop us a line and let us know.
Hook ’em,
Cliff Avery, President of Friends of The Daily Texan
Lilly Rockwell, Vice-President of Friends of The Daily Texan
John Reetz, Secretary of Friends of The Daily Texan
A.J. Bauer, Treasurer of Friends of The Daily Texan