End of an era... The Daily Nebraskan 2016-’17 Annual Report
Top 10 Advertisers
2016-’17 2015-’16 Advertiser Revenue Revenue 1. Southeast Community College $17,869 $ 9,997 2. Latitude Apartments $17,520 $ 8,237 3. West Gate Bank $13,085 $ 7,578 4. Wells Fargo $12,872 $10,935 5. Family Service $10,885 $ 9,054 6. The View Apartments $10,475 $ 7,742 7. BioTest Phama Services $ 9,684 $16,038 8. 8NLofts $ 9,025 $13,414 9. Brothers Bar $ 8,739 $ 4,235 10. Amtrak $ 8,128 $ 704
Top 10 Drop-Outs
Aspen Heights Apts. Gallujp
$ 3,515 $ 3,035
$ 8,865 $ 8,130
2016-’17 Publications Board Emily Murphy, chair Dan Collin Joe Duggan Bruce Thorson Matt Waite
Don Walton, adviser Adam Morfeld, consultant
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2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
The Daily Nebraskan has exposed corruption. It has captured slices of life on a vibrant and ever-changing campus. It has served as a watchdog for University of Nebraska-Lincoln administration and organizations, often when no one else was looking. 2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
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The year that we succeeded, anyway Lani Hanson 2016-’17 Editor-in-Chief At times, The Daily Nebraskan’s 116th year felt like The Year That Everything That Could Go Wrong Did Go Wrong. We retracted a story after a source’s claims couldn’t be verified. We fired reporters for fabrication and plagiarism. We saw print readership decline and our funding threatened. But I’m choosing to remember The Daily Nebraskan’s 116th year not as The Year That Everything That Could Go Wrong Did Go Wrong, but as The Year That We Succeeded Anyway. Here’s why. • Errors in reporting and editing highlighted a need for increased employee education and accountability. After discovering that a reporter had fabricated quotes, we were transparent with readers about the steps we were taking to regain their trust. Reporters submitted source forms for each story to section editors, who were then more easily able to determine the veracity of each story’s content. When frequent errors frustrated editors, section leaders began more diligently working with their writers, helping and encouraging them to become better reporters. Sections held individual workshops in the fall, and we also hosted weekly seminars during spring semester, requiring all staff members to attend at least one per month. Seminars covered interviewing, editing, finding story ideas, writing ledes and more topics as requested by section leaders and staff members. We completed several projects in addition to our endowment issue — covering topics like the highs and lows of off-campus housing, the widely criticized move by Husker football players to kneel during the National Anthem, and the effect of President Donald Trump’s immigration ban on international University of Nebraska-Lincoln students. We gave each reporter a chance to take on a large project if they so chose, and staff members were clearly grateful for the opportunities to work on more in-depth stories. Though challenging, these stories that pushed writers to develop their abilities and see the story beyond the bare minimum. They expressed gratitude for their section leaders’ interest in their improvement, and the additional feedback and learning opportunities resulted in more confident reporters and an increase in content quality. • Decreases in readership highlighted a need for inPage 4
creased experimentation with engagement. In conjunction with our endowment project, “Let’s talk: A conversation about speech on campus,” we conducted a student survey, inviting readers to participate in the project. On launch day, we set up a booth on the Union Plaza to promote our work and further engage readers in an activity related to the issues the project explored. This gave the project more visibility, and allowed readers to interact with the issue and those who produced it. We continued to promote our best pieces of content, adding weekly round-ups of our top stories to be shared on weekends. This kept our social media accounts active and readers engaged outside of our five-day publication schedule. During the spring semester, we teamed up with an Advanced Editing course in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. As part of the course, the students were given a hands-on opportunity in promoting real news content on social media, and The Daily Nebraskan benefitted from the additional perspectives the students provided. While we saw a 15 percent decrease in online pageviews from the 2015-16 academic year, we aimed for and achieved a better disbursement of views. The top 10 stories from the prior year accounted for about 15 percent of the 2015-16 year’s 2,067,239 pageviews (from Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, through Saturday, May 7, 2016). During the 2016-17 academic year, the top 10 stories accounted for about half that: 7 percent of 1,745,003 pageviews (Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, through Saturday, May 6, 2017), indicating a more holistic reading of the publication. • Threats to sources of funding highlighted a need for increased reader and alumni support. When it became clear that The DN’s request for University Program and Facility Fee funding would be an uphill battle, we found passionate support from far outside the newsroom walls. Student government meetings were packed with students, faculty and alumni hoping to express their support of UNL’s student newspaper. Students spoke with representatives from their college, encouraging them to vote in favor of the DN. Readers who were skeptical of the fee reached out with questions on social media, giving us an opportunity to share information that may have changed their viewpoints. Alumni sent pizza. We created a Facebook event page to keep readers 2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
and supporters updated and informed on the status of the newspaper’s funding battle leading up to student government elections. Posts in the event explained the purpose of The DN’s UPFF allocation, compared The DN’s fee to other groups, and showcased some of the staff ’s best work. The event page reminded and encouraged students to make an informed vote on the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska election ballot. And the campaign paid off: 62 percent of voting students approved the fee to support The DN — the highest rating the newspaper had seen in years. The funding battle also ignited DN alumni. Though
they couldn’t vote, they offered encouragement in troves. Many signed a letter of support. Some called ASUN representatives to share their experiences in the basement of the Nebraska Union. And even after the newspaper (finally) secured its requested funding, alumni continued to express interest in helping to protect The DN’s editorial integrity and ensure its long-term survival. We created an alumni fundraising committee, which, though still in its infancy, I’m hopeful will act as an additional layer of security for the newspaper’s continued success.
“We completed several projects in addition to our endowment issue — covering topics like the highs and lows of off-campus housing, the widely criticized move by Husker football players to kneel during the National Anthem, and the affect of President Donald Trump’s immigration ban on international University of NebraskaLincoln students.”
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
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Stock funds operations
Paper records largest surplus in decade Dan Shattil General Manager
Half of the record $125,000 increase in the value of the DN’s stock fund offset the Daily Nebraskan’s 2016-’17 losses from operations with the other half contributing to the paper’s surplus. The $60,000 surplus was the highest in a decade. Total ad revenue remained unchanged from the previous year but the mix changed. Print ads decreased $33,000 (30%) but tabling events grew $25,000 and net poster sales increased $7,000. Almost half of all ad revenue ($120,000) came from just 10 advertisers. Eight of the top ten advertisers increased their DN spending last year. Southeast Community College was the paper’s largest advertiser. Three of the top 10 were apartment complexes. Two were recruitment advertisers. Total expenses grew almost $30,000 (5%) because of higher ad wages, tabling costs, staff benefits, supplies and the digitization project. The paper saved $3,200 on reduced printing costs. Student fees provided 26% of all revenue, down from a third the previous year. Just 29% came from newspaper ads (with two thirds of that from special sections and events). Investments funded 24% of the budget. Wages accounted for two-thirds of all expenses. Editorial wages, which increased slightly after declining four consecutive years, accounted for about 40% of all wages. Advertising wages were 30% while administrative salaries were 25%. The paper’s net worth grew 3% to $750,000, matching what it was two years ago. The Daily Nebraskan sold $50,000 of its stock fund for better cash flow. The amount of editorial space in the newspaper remained unchanged from the previous year. More than a third of the ads were unpaid house ads, replacing the shrinking paid ads. The average paper contained 13 pages of editorial space, 2.5 pages paid ads and 1.5 unpaid ads. Print ad linage dropped from 60,000 column inches 10 years ago to less than 10,000 last year. Online readership shrank fall semester but mostly
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recovered spring semester. The number of stories posted online grew to an average 105/week spring semester. DailyER The DailyER earned a surplus of $500, reversing its losses the previous two years. The paper saved on lower wages and printing costs.
Advertising continued to shift away from print and toward non-traditional media.
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
Staff strives to double student engagement Aidan Connolly 2017-’18 Editor-in-Chief
The Daily Nebraskan is in an interesting situation. Last year, we had one of our longest fights with the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska for student funding; we also had the highest approval rating from students in years. We decided to print a monthly magazine after years of declining readership; we also had a 16 percent decrease in online page views compared to the 2015-16 academic year. We managed to end the academic year in the black, but only because of a decent return on our investments. This year, without factoring in our investments, we’re expected to lose $85,000. Each year, we fight with ASUN for student funding, often with the argument, “The students need us.” But, with less than 40 percent of the student body reading our content in print or online, I don’t think we back that argument very well. This year, I’d like to reverse the negative trends while building on our recent positive actions. We should promote our presence on social media, as that is the source of most of our traffic. By the end of the academic year, I’d like our Facebook likes to reach 15,000, our Twitter followers to hit 15,000 and our Instagram followers to surpass 5,000. Along with getting people to follow us on social media, they should want to click on our content.
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
We should have at least 4 million page views by the end of the academic year. To do so, we should capitalize on the growing interest in the Arts & Entertainment section. Last year, A&E’s page views grew by 66 percent from the year before to more than 430,000. But, we also need to turn the other sections around. Last year, the news, sports and opinion page views went down by 16 percent, 45 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Each section will dramatically increase its page views, returning to previous levels and growing from there. To drive the growing traffic, we’ll need content readers want, and we’ll need it when they want it. We can’t start editing content at 5 p.m. and publish it between midnight and 2 a.m. Content should be edited as soon as possible and published during the day, when readers are online. Weekends should not be immune from content, especially for sports. Content related to weekend events should not wait until Monday for publishing. We’ll also be keeping track of our content and how it performs, using that information for future decisions. In the past, The DN has kept track of page views, but that information hasn’t gone much further. We’ll follow where stories are shared and when stories are read. We can then use that information to target our social media posts and publishing.
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2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report -$120,000
-$70,000
-$20,000
$30,000
$80,000
$130,000
$180,000
71-72 72-73 73-74 74-75 75-76 76-77 77-78 78-79 79-80 80-81 81-82 82-83 83-84
Daily Nebraskan Surpluses/Losses
84-85 85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89 89-90 90-91 91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
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-$125,000
-$100,000
-$75,000
-$50,000
-$25,000
$0
$25,000
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$125,000
$150,000
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
Operational Income/Loss
Investment Income/Loss
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Investment v. Operational Income/Loss
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
Revenue Semi-Weekly Print Ads 11% Tabling/Posters 8%
Online 10% Student Fees 26%
Investments 24%
Miscellaneous 3%
Special Sections/Pubs & Events Special Sections/Pub 18% & Events 18%
Expenses
Equipment Depreciation/ Maintenance 6%
Miscellaneous 20% Wages 67%
Printing 7%
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2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
For about the price of a burrito a year, the Daily Nebraskan serves students every day with stories that delight, inform and inspire change.
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
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2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report $0
$30,000
$60,000
$90,000
$120,000
$150,000
71-72 72-73 73-74 74-75 75-76 76-77 77-78 78-79 79-80 80-81 81-82 82-83 83-84 84-85
History of Student Fees
85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89 89-90 90-91 91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17
% of Student Fees 33.0%
28.0%
23.0%
18.0%
13.0%
8.0%
3.0%
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
The Daily Nebraskan is here to advocate for the community it serves. We’re here to tell your stories. We’re here to provide a platform for you to share your voices and opinions. We’re here to promote transparency and hold campus leaders accountable. The Daily Nebraskan is here to serve you, our readers. We’re proud to serve as UNL’s only independent student newspaper written, edited and produced entirely by students – and for students – and we’re thankful for your support and constructive criticisms as we hope to continue to provide a vital service to the campus community for years to come. March 13, 2017 Daily Nebraskan editorial 2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
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Print Ad Linage Breakdown
60,000
Supplement 50,000
Classified National Local Display
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
Ad revenue shifted from print advertising to non-traditional revenue streams such as providing clients with tables in the Nebraska Union. Page 14
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
Wages Administrative 26%
Circulation 2%
Editorial 41%
Advertising 31%
$250,000
Editorial Wages $200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
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2016-’17 Profit/Loss Statement Revenue 2016-’17 2015-’16 Change % Change Advertising Net local display $ 46,518 $ 77,416 $(30,898) -40 % Net national display $ 5,457 $ 10,460 $ (5,003) -48 % Net classifieds $ 6,721 $ 8,281 $ (1,561) -19 % Net special publications $ 20,667 $ 18,528 $ 1,899 10 % Special Sections $ 78,463 $ 82,126 $ (3,663) -5 % Preprinted Inserts $ 8,450 $ 4,384 $ 4,065 93 % Web Advertising $ 52,289 $ 51,272 $ 1,017 2 % Tabling $ 25,754 $ 0 $ 25,754 +++% Dailyer Ads $ 2,400 $ 3,085 $ (685) -22 % Net Poster Advertising $ 14,663 $ 7,805 $ 6,858 88 % Total Advertising Revenue $261,382 $263,358 $ (1,976) -1 % Net Student Fees $141,152 $137,021 $ 4,131 3 % Other $ 6,737 $ 4,216 $ 2,120 50 % Unrealized gain/investments $127,757 $ 12,436 $115,322 927 % Total Revenue $537,029 $417,030 $119,998 24 % Expenses Editorial Wages $130,220 $127,862 $ 2,358 2 % Other Editorial $ 5,936 $ 7,939 $ (2003) -25 % Total Editorial $136,156 $135,801 $ 355 0 % Advertising Wages $ 97,913 $ 85,241 $ 12,672 15 % Other Advertising $ 16,274 $ 6,277 $ 9,997 159 % Total Advertising $114,187 $ 91,518 $ 22,669 25 % Administrative Wages $ 82,453 $ 80,442 $ 2,011 2 % Other Administrative $ 90,150 $ 84,174 $ 5,977 7 % Total Administrative $172,603 $164,616 $ (7,988) -5 % Printing $ 33,836 $ 37,036 $ (3,200) -9 % Circulation Expenses $ 5,087 $ 5,337 $ ( 250) -5 % Taxes $ 11,162 $ 10,744 $ 418 4 % Publications Board $ 604 $ 568 $ 35 6 % Total Expenses $473,635 $445,621 $ 28,014 6 % Profit/Loss $ 63,394 $(28,590) $ 91,984 322 %
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2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
Balance Sheet
Balances as of June 30, 2017 Assets Working Capital $ 21,874 Reserve Fund-cash $ 198,289 Net Accounts Receivables $ 31,378 Prepaid Expenses $ 13,171 Other Receivables $ (66) Total Current Assets Net Fixed Assets Endowment Fund Reserve Fund-stocks Total Assets Liabilities Accounts Payable $ 192 Misc. Liabilities $ 3,162 Total Current Liabilities Endowment Funds Philanthropic Fund Retained Earnings $ 707,582 Net Surplus/Loss $ 63,394 Total Net Worth Total Liabilities + Net Assets
2016-’17 The Daily Nebraskan Annual Report
$ 264,646 $ 10,485 $ 248,088 $ 516,970 $1,040,189
$ 3,355 $ 248,088 $ 17,770 $ 770,976 $1,040,189
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