As of Aug. 30, the Ring-tum Phi, Inc. is duly incorporated as a nonprofit under Virginia law.

Incorporation further cements the Ring-tum Phi’s independence from Washington and Lee University by allowing the news organization to manage revenue and costs as its own business entity.

The staff of the Ring-tum Phi have long valued its independence from Washington and Lee, operating without funds from the Executive Committee or other university sources. That independence allows reporters and editors to pursue the truth without fear or favor, promote accountability, provide a forum for campus discussion, and serve the community with reliable breaking news coverage and enterprise investigations.

But producing quality content and making it accessible to the university community comes at a financial cost. Before the digital age, that cost could be covered through advertising revenue, said Bill Roberts, ’83, former editor-in-chief and current Ring-tum Phi, Inc. board member.

As news content shifted into digital mediums, the Ring-tum Phi, like news organizations across the nation, witnessed the collapse of its revenue model as demand for print papers decreased and advertising money disappeared with it. Print circulation dropped from 2,500 in the early 1980s, Roberts said, to just 300 last school year.

The total estimated advertising revenue for the newspaper industry in 2022 was $9.8 billion, according to a Pew Research Center study — that’s down from about $50 billion in 2005 and $20 billion in 2015. In the face of debt and declining revenue, an average of 2.5 newspapers closed every week in 2023, according to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies — between 2005 and today, the United States has lost about a third of its papers.

“Over the past 10 years, there were a few times when the Phi has almost gone dark,” Roberts said. “‘We might lose the Phi’ was a common thought for me for a while.”

Nonprofit status allows the Ring-tum Phi to innovate and meet the challenges of the digital age.

“Incorporating as a non-profit is the right business model at a time when journalism broadly is under threat and media organizations everywhere, including student newspapers, face economic pressures,” according to a Sept. 19 statement from the Ring-tum Phi’s board. “This will help the Phi develop leading-edge mobile, digital and print products while promoting student participation.”

Leading the Ring-tum Phi in this new chapter as co-editors-in-chief are Emma Malinak, ’25, and Julianna Stephenson, ’26. They will be responsible for managing the newsroom team, guiding discussions on coverage goals, and upholding quality and ethics standards.

Veronika Kolosova, ’25, is this year’s managing editor, who will be performing quality checks on all print and digital content and serving as a resource for editors and writers. Austin Winslow, ’26, will oversee the Ring-tum Phi’s financial operations as the organization’s business manager.

The Ring-tum Phi will operate on a budget accrued through subscription payments, advertisements and donations this year. The organization will be held accountable for its gained independence by reporting financial statements and newsroom updates to its board, composed of alumni and current students, every semester.

“We are pleased to be part of a renewed Ring-tum Phi founded in W&L’s tradition of student leadership,” the board said in its statement. “We share the Phi leadership team’s vision for a high-quality student news organization with robust audience and vibrant campus participation.”

The Ring-tum Phi joins a long list of other incorporated college newspapers, including those at Ivy League schools, such as the Yale Daily News and the Harvard Crimson, and those in our own backyard, such as University of Virginia’s The Cavalier Daily, and Washington and Lee’s The Spectator.

The incorporation will not affect how readers can access the Ring-tum Phi’s content. Free print newspapers will still be distributed around campus for students, faculty and staff. Print copies will still be delivered to parents, alumni and other off-campus members of the university community through $50 yearly subscriptions.

Digital content will also be available for free online at www.ringtumphi.net and on Instagram and X at @ringtumphi.

Day-to-day newsroom operations will also be unaffected by the incorporation. All reporting and editorial decision-making will continue to be conducted by the students, for the students, as they have been since 1897.

Malinak, Stephenson and Kolosova are joined in the newsroom by eight section editors and two additional editors who will run the Ring-tum Phi’s website and social media platforms.

The editors and an ever-growing team of writers plan to continue reporting the stories of today while providing context from the past and remaining mindful of the future. Operation as a nonprofit will allow that mission to remain sustainable for years to come.