At The Daily Illini, we are lucky. We are an independent daily collegiate paper. We can print the stories we like with the opinions we have. 

The Daily Illini is able to serve the needs of the students because it is entirely student-run. Students write stories, take photos, design pages and edit the content. Because students work at The Daily Illini, the paper can focus on issues students care about, rather than topics administrators may want covered. But being an independent paper brings many challenges along with it, the biggest being financial constraints. Currently, the paper is funded mostly by advertising revenues and by additional alumni donations.

Having a daily paper significantly improves the quality of stories. Because we publish so often, we are always proactive about finding the most relevant stories and being up-to-date on campus issues — including ones that are ongoing. But publishing so frequently requires a great amount of work from Daily Illini employees.

They work extremely hard, 24/7. As a former assistant news editor, it seemed like much of our efforts on news stories went unnoticed. Sometimes comments made on articles focused on attacking the paper rather than the issue itself.  

I worked a minimum of five hours per day, five days a week. I often worked between 30-40 hours per week, in addition to being a full-time student. Editors are often glued to their phones and have to be willing to work at any time. Even when I wasn’t in the newsroom, I was often helping reporters with their stories or trying to figure out how to deal with breaking news.

I didn’t work at The Daily Illini for a grade. Sure, some professors offer extra credit for working at The Daily Illini, but I didn’t receive any credit hours for working there. I didn’t work for praise or money; I did it because I loved it — and still do. Many people that work at The Daily Illini do so because they love it too.

For many Daily Illini employees, the newsroom is a second home and co-workers are a second family. I was guilty of napping in the newsroom. I was in the newsroom so often that I kept extra clothing there. Working for The Daily Illini became a central part of my identity, and to have strangers insult a part of my identity really hurt.

Students may attack the paper and its coverage, but most students appreciate having a daily independent paper, even if they may disagree with what gets printed every so often. I get really excited to see people reading The Daily Illini and appreciating all of the hard work that goes into producing it. I love getting feedback from students because it teaches us how to improve our paper. 

I’m not opposed to criticism. Constructive criticism that creates a dialogue is always appreciated and encouraged. What is unwanted are comments that insult the writer’s character. It’s unfortunate, but people tend to attack those they disagree with rather than respectfully explaining their perspectives. Creating a dialogue rather than arbitrarily attacking a person’s character will result in a change for the better.

No, the paper is not perfect. Sometimes corrections have to be made. Sometimes things could have been done differently. The Daily Illini is not always the first to break news. But we are working hard and constantly trying to improve. 

I’m not asking you to pick up a paper every day and read every single story. I don’t expect you to think every story we write will win an award. All I hope is that you pick up our paper when you can and appreciate that you attend a college that still has a daily independent paper. And that’s pretty special.

Safia Kazi is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Safia_Kazi.