UC Berkeley’s Student Newspaper's Fate Lies In Voters' Hands: Report

BERKELEY, CA — When The Daily Californian first opened its newsroom doors, America was just six years removed from the Lincoln assassination, and Berkeley was not yet a city.

Arguably one of the nation’s most impactful and historically significant student-run newspapers is now fighting for its survival.

The Daily Californian's fate lies in the hands of UC Berkeley students, who this week will vote on a $6 per-semester fee, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The “Save the Daily Cal Initiative” needs just a simple majority to pass, but the election requires participation of 20 percent of UC Berkeley students to be valid. The election is being held April 4-6.

And without the additional funding, a publication that’s been reporting on the school and the city since 1871, will likely go dark, a top newsroom leader told The Chronicle.

“If the fee initiative doesn’t pass, the Daily Californian as we know it will cease to exist,” Jasper Kenzo Sundeen, the newspaper’s editor in chief and president, told The Chronicle.

“Without student support, the newspaper won’t be able to give the community its news.”

The Daily Californian publishes four days a week during the academic year and once a week during the summer, according to its website.

It is among the West Coast’s oldest newspapers and one of the nation’s oldest college newspapers.

The newspaper is among just a handful of campus publications across the country that operates independently of the university, the publication’s website says.

The publication supports itself through advertising revenue and a $2.50 per-semester fee.

The initiative has the backing of the Berkeley Faculty Association, which tweeted its support for The Daily Californian Tuesday night.

“We can’t have @UCBerkeley without @dailycal Its news, analysis and commentary help us hear the voice of students, staff and instructional faculty on campus,” the association tweeted.

“It has made sense of this place since 1871 and we can’t live the present or debate the future without it @ASUC_Berkeley”

The publication has placed a banner ads atop its web page urging readers to support the initiative and a link to a crowdfunding site soliciting contributions.

The Daily Californian's plight has gotten the attention of some of its distinguished alumni, including Washington Post columnist Max Boot.

“We need to train a new generation of journalists that knows what facts really are and tells the story straight and helps to inform the American public to keep our democracy functioning," Boot said, according to the newspaper's post on a crowdfunding site.

"That's an incredibly important function that The Daily Cal has performed in the past and continues to perform and can continue to perform in the future if all of us support it.”

The Daily Californian had received more than $89,000 in contributions to its Givebutter donation drive.

To donate to The Daily Californian, visit here.

Read more in The San Francisco Chronicle