Every Thursday, collegiettes across campus either type “huntnewsnu.com” into their web browsers or grab the latest edition of the paper to get the scoop on campus events, city life, and of course read the weekly crime log. Reading The Huntington News each week has become routine for Northeastern students, and we’ve come to take the luxury of having such a fabulous student-run newspaper for granted. However, our friends over at HuntNews are in a bit of a pickle and are currently at risk of losing their printing operation by the Fall semester.
For those technology gurus out there, be warned–the following may make you cringe. HuntNews is currently laying out their papers in Quark 6.5, which for those who don’t know, is essentially extinct. It’s an 8-year-old software that is so outdated, the people at Quark don’t even offer tech support for it anymore. That’d be like bringing an iPod so old into the Apple store that the techies at the genius bar didn’t know anything about it–crazy, right? Since The News is an independent organization, they don’t receive funding from the University, leaving it up to their own fundraising and ad sales to keep their operation going. “When our equipment died, we realized the only feasible way to replace everything was to get money from donations,” says HuntNews Editor-in-Chief, Jenna Duncan. “We are a nonprofit organization, and earn revenue solely through advertisements and donations, but before this drive we had only raised a few hundred dollars over the school year.”
But running on original iMacs (yes, remember those, that we thought were SO cool in middle school?) and outdated software is just the beginning of HuntNews’ woes. After the Back Bay Blackout, The News’ server crashed, causing them to lose all of their fonts, layouts and archives, in addition to losing use of the Quark layout software. “The blackout happened, and everything shifted into gear quickly,” adds Duncan. “We didn’t have any other option.” Since then, the editors have been using their own personal laptops and creating the paper with free trial software, that as we all know, only lasts for so long.
In a nutshell, HuntNews needs to buy all new computers and all new software, which any of us who bought a laptop for college knows costs a pretty penny. Without the ability to purchase this new technology, our students will lose the luxury of having printed newspapers, as The News would only be able to publish online. In an effort to save our school’s paper, the staff has started an effort to raise $8,000 by the end of June, enough to buy the technology needed to keep the paper running. “We thought that by making a donation website, a video, and explaining our situation and specific needs, more people might want to help out,” explains Duncan. You can watch the video below.
The News has raised nearly $6,000 so far, and they have been pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming support from the Northeastern and Boston community. “We have been completely shocked with the outpouring support of old editors, family members and even faculty,” said Duncan. “To know so many people have our backs and want us to survive has been really encouraging, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. It is amazing.” HuntNews Managing Editor Gal Tziperman Lotan adds, “Seeing the comments alumni from the 80s and 90s leave with their donations–there are all these great little inside jokes. I obviously don’t understand them, but knowing people who graduated years ago still think of their time with the paper so fondly really makes me happy.”
Whether you have friends who work for The News, are an aspiring journalist yourself or just love reading the crime log, you can help save our newspaper, an organization that means a lot to our campus and even more to its staff. “I’m the [Huntington News] editor and have been at The News my entire college career,” added Duncan. “It’s kind of everything I know and love.” Tziperman Lotan added, “I’ve met a lot of my close friends here and gained experience in reporting, editing, and design that would have taken me at least a decade to amass at any other paper. Despite the late nights and post-production headaches, I’ve loved my time at The News.”
If you would like to donate and help HuntNews, you can visit their fundraising page here.