Student journalists should receive compensation
Photo of the current Lamron E-Board via The Lamron staff
It’s no secret that print journalism is in a crisis. Since 2005, over 2,000 local American newspapers have shut down, and the number of employed newspaper journalists has halved since 2008. The ease of digital media has created a disregard for certain journalistic traditions; this is not wholly negative—media is more accessible than ever, for example—but it is a major detriment to the existence of local news and those with journalistic dreams.
College newspapers are indeed a form of local journalism; at The Lamron, we report on issues of both Geneseo-specific and worldly significance, publishing a print edition approximately once per week. While our executive board is composed of students who are passionate about creating free, print journalism for our fellow students, we would be remiss not to mention the sheer amount of labor that goes into such a process. Writers, editors, and managing staff have mere days to create, edit, and prepare twenty five articles for publication, every single week. For most members, this adds up to be similar to the amount of hourly labor as some part-time jobs.
Additionally, as with many student publications amid the journalistic decline, we have little access to financial compensation. While staff once had access to yearly stipends in proportion to the labor of their respective positions, our sole form of personal compensation is now through scholarships. Each spring, e-board members have the option of applying to the Student Association merit awards and communications department awards; additionally, the editor-in-chief has an allotted compensation amount set each semester. There is no guarantee of any form of compensation—financial or otherwise, such as internship(s) or course credit—for the paper staff.
To be clear, those of us who work for the paper do so, not out of a desire for compensation, but out of genuine passion and love of the craft, connections, and experiences we have received through the paper. A model, though, which encourages wholly unpaid labor may not be sustainable for the college’s paper, or for ethical journalism at large. For many (if not most) college students, taking on a laborious yet unpaid position on top of academics, jobs, other extracurriculars, social life, and self-care is simply impossible. This begs the question: How many students are barred from participating in campus journalism because of this imposing financial and time barrier? And further, to what extent does limited financial concern favor those who are White and wealthy?
Keeping print journalism alive should entail offering a platform to voices that often go unheard. If prospective students and Lamron staff persist in years to come without being made aware of the amount of labor they contribute to a collegiate hallmark without due compensation, we will never be able to make more of these voices heard. More equitable treatment of student journalists from The Lamron and beyond is no simple task—but we should be aware that we are not simply volunteering our time for something we are passionate about; we are producing a product for an institution. Even though compensation cannot be received overnight, all students should be aware of how their labor serves the community, and how their rights might be improved upon.
We here at The Lamron want to make it clear that we do what we do because we love it. However, it would be nice to receive the same amount of respect as our predecessors. The acknowledgement of the hours and care put into the paper goes unnoticed by the institution in ways it was not in previous years, potentially dissuading interested students in joining and thus making The Lamron unsustainable.