In the summer of 2011, I began to research the structures and methods by which other universities (large and small, public and private, R1’s to SLAC’s) support their campus media publications. Two of my colleagues and I looked at hundreds of student newspapers and campus radio stations, spoke with dozens of student media supervisors, and interviewed Arcadia alumni regarding their experiences with student media on campus.

What we found was a range of positions. Some student media outlets were completely independent from their home institutions, drawing on advertising revenue or alumni donations to finance their production. Other student media outlets exist exclusively within a particular class or series of classes in an academic department. Still more are organized as student clubs, drawing their funding from Student Affairs, while some others utilize co-curricular arrangements to establish a consistency of training and structure.

Once the research portion was done, I worked with DMC adjunct faculty Nikki Harmon and Christine Mullin to compile a report and issue a series of recommendations for how Arcadia might consider facilitating a more active and vibrant student media culture. That report was delivered to the Dean of Student Affairs and the Provost in the Fall of 2011.

The full report is available HERE, in PDF format.