Today, student journalists—including those at the Nevada Sagebrush—across the United States are partaking in a day of action to highlight the struggles facing student newsrooms.

The Nevada Sagebrush is independent from the University of Nevada, Reno. This means we are not funded by any body or department of the university and have editorial independence. This is incredibly important for us, as it allows us to be free from retaliation to stories from universities, which is happening at many other schools.

The Nevada Sagebrush is funded almost entirely by advertising revenue. While this allows us to forgo university funding, it is still not as sustainable, as advertising is at an all-time low. The Nevada Sagebrush’s budget has declined by 40 percent in recent years, and will likely decline further as a result of the pandemic. 

Student newsrooms are essential pieces of campus life. These newspapers are providing the niche coverage surrounding the university that gets left out of the local papers. Local newspapers cover the big things, but often miss the student perspectives of what is happening. Local newspaper coverage is often geared towards an entire community or town, which is much wider than a university. Coverage from a university newspaper is geared towards informing students specifically. 

The Nevada Sagebrush has been an important piece of campus culture for the last 126 years. From over 100 editors, seven offices and countless stories, the Nevada Sagebrush finds importance in its role on campus, and we hope you do too.

If you’re looking for ways to support the Nevada Sagebrush and ensure we can stay around for an additional 126 years, here’s how you can help:

• Advertise with us! We’re currently placing advertisements in our newsletter and on our website. Email adnevadasales@gmail.com to receive an online copy of our media kit and see what ad space is right for you and our business.
• Donate! Find out how to donate to us here. We accept donations in hopes of filling in the gaps in our budgets.
• Read and interact with our content! We send out a newsletter twice a week—which you can sign up for here—so you can get our stories right to your inbox. We also post all of our stories to our social media accounts, so you can see them as you scroll.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainty for everyone involved. As journalists, we are working harder than ever to keep the community informed. We care about this campus and we care about our readers. Please help us continue to do our job we love so much, even if it’s just by reading a story.