Free copies of The New York Times and USA Today will no longer be available on Ohio University’s campus — and bringing back the readership program could cost students.
The four-week free trial of the Bobcat Readership Program is over, and Student Senate must decide how to proceed if it wants to bring the program to OU permanently.
USA Today’s College Readership program provides newspapers to about 500 universities across the country, and the pilot program was intended to measure OU students’ interest.
“It’s been very successful,” Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said in an email.
Newspapers were placed in five OU locations: Baker University Center, Alden Library and Shively, Boyd and Nelson dining halls. More than 90 percent of the newspapers were picked up.
The New York Times was more likely to be picked up than USA Today, but specific numbers about how many copies of each paper were picked up are unavailable, Student Senate President Kyle Triplett said.
Baker and Alden were the most popular locations for paper pickups, while Nelson was the most popular dining hall. Partway through the program, USA Today and The New York Times increased the amount of papers offered to about 200 of each every day, Triplett said.
Senate sought student feedback on the program through a survey advertised on social networking sites and fliers.
“(The program) is great,” said Katie Simpson, a freshman studying biology. “I love it. I don’t want to pay for a newspaper. It’s easy and accessible, because it’s right there.”
The cost of continuing the program past the free pilot is uncertain and depends on what newspapers would be offered to students and how many of them would be offered. Depending on students’ wishes, other national and local newspapers might be included in the future program.
“Kyle Triplett and I have had preliminary discussions about potential costs, but have not (begun) more formal conversations until students decide if they wish for the program to continue beyond a pilot,” Lombardi said.
OU would be required to pay for only the papers that were taken, and although sources of funding have not been fully discussed, Triplett said he hopes more than one source or department contributes. Residence Life is one possibility, as are student donations, he said.
Of the almost 200 responses received on the survey, most of the students said they would pay between $3 and $5 for the newspaper, with 98 percent of the students surveyed expressed interest in a permanent program.
“I’d pay for it, because it’s important to stay up to date on world news, especially as a student,” said Sara Dixon, a freshman studying communication.
A USA Today representative will present about the pilot program’s results at the Feb. 29 senate meeting, Triplett said.
“I think it’s gone really well,” Triplett said. “Most of the responses have been all positive, from students who really enjoyed reading.”
sj950610@ohiou.edu
