Cash-starved and censored, America’s student newspapers are fighting to survive

The future of journalism is being decided in college newsrooms as students and educators try to fight back

Editor’s note: The Student Press Report is a national news desk covering student media and journalism education in higher ed. It is supported by lead partners the Student Press Law Center and Flytedesk, with secondary support from the Associated Collegiate Press, the Association of University Student Media Managers, the College Media Business and Advertising Managers and CollegeJournalism.org.

Andrew Frazier was planning to spend his senior year as the sports editor of his student newspaper, The Vista at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Instead, he became editor-in-chief of a new student-run publication, The Independent View, after his university claimed a print version of The Vista wasn’t worth the $12,000 annual cost. (UCO’s annual operating budget in 2024-25 was about $177 million.)

When donors offered the cash and the university still said no, free press advocates shouted censorship. They said the UCO students were being punished for factual reporting that didn’t frame the university in a positive light.