The Dartmouth Independent, a student-run general-interest magazine, plans to establish itself as a fully independent, incorporated publication next year, according to editor-in-chief Jamie Berk '11. The staff decided to pursue the change so that the quarterly magazine would no longer be subject to financial restrictions imposed by the College's Committee on Student Organizations.
With the change, TDI would become the third financially independent print publication at the College, joining The Dartmouth and The Dartmouth Review.
"For all those same reasons that The D and The Review want to be independent, we do too," Berk said.
The staff hopes that severing financial ties with the College will allow the publication to raise more money to support new efforts by soliciting donations from alumni, which COSO regulations currently prohibit. The organization plans to register as a non-profit, making donations to the magazine tax-exempt, Berk said.
"The main impetus is really being able to make and spend money how we want to, without the bureaucratic red tape of the College," Berk said.
Berk said that TDI realized that, given the current economic crisis, the funding the organization would receive from the College was likely to fluctuate in the coming years. As an independent organization, he said, TDI will have more control over its own financial fate and progress.
In separating from the College, Berk added, TDI will gain more flexibility to pursue national advertisers without having to seek permission from COSO.
"Whether COSO deems a particular national organization to be an appropriate sponsor is something that is out of our control," he said.
The publication will likely stop receiving COSO funding by early next year, Berk said, explaining that until that time, COSO has agreed to increase the publication's short-term budget.
"We've done the research necessary to determine that we can sustain ourselves [as an independent organization]," he said.
TDI may reevaluate its decision to achieve independence next year if the economy continues to deteriorate.
"It is a transition we are planning for next year," he said. "If at some point it becomes infeasible given the economic climate or some other reason, then we'll regroup."
The quarterly publication currently spends about $4,000 to print a 36-page issue, according to Berk. TDI may consider operating without offices, a question Berk said would be resolved "further down the road."
TDI, which has been working to become independent since last term, asked COSO "to invest in us, invest in our ability to become independent," Executive Editor Wyatt McKean '11 said.
"Our staff had grown vastly in size, and we kind of settled on a new vision for the quality of what we were going to put out," McKean said. "We really realized that in order to become what we thought we had the potential to be, we would eventually need more money than the College would be able to provide us, especially in these difficult times."
Financial independence, Berk said, will also allow the TDI to establish its own goals and determine the methods to achieve them.
The financial "safety net" that TDI currently enjoys as a COSO organization compromises the quality of the publication, he added.
"Having that [safety net], I think, is detrimental to the rest of the publication, because there needs to be a sense that you can create your own progress," he said.
Becoming independent is a large step in TDI's development as a publication, Berk said.
"We're constantly improving, and we're constantly looking for ways to take the next step, to be edgier, to be smarter than we have been before and than other people are being," Berk said. "By being financially independent, it puts us in a mindset that's conducive to that overall upward trajectory."
Berk also emphasized that the magazine will continue to rely on and expand its online content, and plans to launch a new web site in the coming weeks.
The magazine will also move to increase its print frequency and aims to publish two issues each term, Berk said.
TDI does not see itself in direct competition with other publications at Dartmouth, Berk added. Financial independence will not change that, he said, citing the publication's distinct status as a culture magazine at the College.
He stressed, however, that the magazine must still compete for students' attention, just like any other publication.
