When news breaks, employees of the Illini Media Company are there.

Writers of The Daily Illini begin reporting, contributors of the Illio yearbook brainstorm what kind of spread to create, WPGU 107.1 FM’s broadcasters go live and buzz Magazine’s columnists craft content.

All units of Illini Media serve as official news and entertainment sources students can turn to 24/7. And at a time when advertising in media has declined and information is free, we need students’ help to support our company.

This is where you come in. The Media Fee is up for renewal. This fee supports The Daily Illini, WPGU 107.1 FM, buzz Magazine, Illio yearbook and Technograph. The fee costs $1.85 per student each semester.

We are asking students to vote in favor of the Media Fee online Thursday at vote.illinois.edu. The polls close at midnight.

Paying this fee allows students unlimited access to our articles online and in print, to WPGU’s alternative radio station and to the historical record of the University created by the yearbook staff.

Over 600 students work with us each year. Most media jobs will not hire someone without examples of journalistic work from a professional setting. No matter what your field of study is, professional experience is more fundamental than ever in finding a good job — Illini Media makes these opportunities accessible to all students, including those outside the College of Media.

Although the face of media is changing, it does not mean that it is any less important, and students will need to learn about this changing landscape while they’re still in school.

But more than for professional experience, we work for Illini Media because we care. We help our fellow students each and every day, hiring students with limited experience and training them to become our top editors. We view this as a chance to learn and grow before entering the professional world. Without a place to do this, provided in part by the Media Fee, graduates of our University would suffer.

With news more accessible than ever before, our company is striving to provide content unique to our campus. This year, we redesigned our website and continued to expand our multimedia features by launching a longform website and creating more interactive graphics.

By voting in favor of the Media Fee, you will allow us to continue to answer your questions about our campus, report on the issues facing students and faculty and explore little-known areas of our community.