Sun Returns To Biweekly Publication

Sun Returns To Biweekly Publication
Next SUN Out Jan. 3

As some of you may have noticed, the SUN did not rise last Friday as scheduled. During the week we skipped, the staff of this paper engaged in an intensive re-evaluation of our present state of affairs. The result is a decision to suspend weekly publication of the SUN and return to the biweekly (every two week) schedule we maintained until last Sept. 20. While we regret the change back to bi-weekly, we look upon it as only a temporary move, a necessary consolidation which will enable us to return much better equipped to the rapid-fire pace of weekly publication in the near future.

A weekly SUN has been a strain on us for primarily economic reasons. Although the paper is faring much better economically than ever before, we still do not have enough money to hire the full staff needed to adequately shoulder a weekly schedule. We've had too few people doing too much work, producing frazzled and somewhat burnt-out staffers, who feel incapable of realizing the full potential of the paper at its current pace.

Our staff needs time to make more people aware of the SUN, improve its advertising sales plus the quality and scope of its content. But too often vital tasks like these have been shoved aside in the crush of getting out the paper every week So we've decided to slow down and pursue the activities which will enable us to eventually support all the people we need. And in these days of a crumbling American economy, securing our operation financially has become of paramount importance. By this we don't mean that the outlook is gloomy--in fact during depressed times newspapers, movies, radio and other mediums of information and culture generally do well.

The SUN took a big jump last September. We produced an 88-page issue and handed out 30,000 free copies at two universities. We moved to bigger and better quarters, hired several staffers (including two full time reporters), and assumed a weekly schedule all at once. In retrospect, we took on too much.

Of course historically we've never been better off. Last year at this time the SUN was run almost entirely by volunteers. Four people were paid small sums--the ad salespeople and the typesetters. Today, 15 people-ad salespeople, writers, layout artists, distribution staffers, business and office managers--are paid subsistence level salaries of $40-$50 a week. This degree of stability has been made possible by the continually rising readership of the SUN.

So look for a thicker and we expect better, more in-depth SUN every two weeks starting January 6th. As soon as the situation improves, we’ll let you know through these pages In the meantime, thanks to everyone for your continued support, be it at the newstand, coinbox, our dance or film benefits, through donations, loans, or letters. Please continue to feed back to us so we can sharpen our wits and better serve our readers.

One final note-home delivery and mail subscribers will receive the full number of issues paid for, stretched out over more time. Our subscription rates on this issue's back pages have been revised to reflect the new schedule.

The SUN Collective and Staff