In the biological world, it’s called mutual symbiosis: A relationship between two organisms that live in intimate contact with each other and rely on each other for survival.

On campus, this concept manifests itself in the Illini Media Company.

Let me back up here a bit. Originally named the Illini Publishing Company, the Illini Media Company was chartered May 11, 1911, by the state of Illinois as a non profit corporation to organize and operate student media at the University of Illinois. The Illini Media Company produces The Daily Illini, WPGU radio, Buzz magazine, the Illio yearbook, and the quarterly engineering magazine Technograph.

Now back to mutual symbiosis.

While a professional staff helps make the Illini Media Company function, the five publications of the company are primarily run by University students. What appears in print or on the radio is a product of student work.

Additionally, the publications play a large role in the daily lives of other students on campus. Thousands of students read the Daily Illini or listen to WPGU on a regular basis. The Illio provides students with an opportunity to capture the memories of their year. Students find unique entertainment options every Thursday in Buzz magazine, and the Technograph keeps you in tune with the latest in technological and scientific innovations.

Admittedly, mutual symbiosis may be a stretch. Certainly, students do not need the company for survival.

But see what happens if you take The Daily Illini away from a student looking for an alternative to the slow drawl of their professor during a lecture.

And go ahead, tell a DJ on WPGU who needs the experience to get a job after college that they are off the air.

Actually, never mind. Mutual symbiosis is a perfect way to describe the Illini Media Company!

It gives students the opportunity to practice their craft and gain some real world media experience.

The company provides other students with the information and entertainment they need. Illini Media means as much to the student body as afternoon naps and late-night pizza runs: It helps you to survive.

The Illini Media Company has a long tradition of connecting with students. And now, with the company in a new building in the heart of Campustown, this connection will be stronger than ever. With concerts and events scheduled to be held in the lobby of the building, Illini Media will be reaching out to students and inviting them in.

You might even say that the Illini Media Company now has “intimate contact” with University students.

Go ahead, read the definition again.

If the relationship between the company and students is not mutual symbiosis, I don’t know what is.

So, over the next few years, enjoy the opportunities the Illini Media Company offers. Get a job on one of its publications and expand your horizons.

Or simply pick up the newspaper or magazines, turn up your radio and buy a yearbook.

You won’t regret it.

Looking at Illini Media

The Daily Illini publishes Monday through Friday and can be found on campus and throughout Campustown. It also produces several special sections each semester based on such topics as housing, careers and dining.

Buzz magazine is published every Thursday and can be found in the DI.

WPGU radio broadcasts on channel 107.1 and plays a variety of music. It also produces a 6 p.m. news telecast. The WPGU studio is on Green Street at the front of the Illini Media building.

Illio is the yearbook for the University. It can be purchased in the Illini Media building throughout the year.

Technograph is an engineering and technology magazine that is published quarterly and can be found on the engineering campus.