Daily Emerald and The UW Daily square-off in fundraising competition

There are in-state rivals and there are out-of-state rivals, but there is no bigger Pacific Northwest college football rivalry than the one between the University of Oregon Ducks and their neighbors up north at the University of Washington.  

This year, the rivalry is stepping off the field: the student newspapers of the University of Oregon and University of Washington are squaring-off in a competitive fundraiser to raise the most money to support student journalism and continue the important work of informing their communities.

Launched in late September, the fundraiser will culminate with the Oct. 19 game between the Ducks and the Huskies. The two newspapers, The Daily Emerald and the UW Daily, are also working together to create a special joint-edition preceding the game and highlighting this storied rivalry. The two newspapers recognize that the rivalry is an appropriate time to highlight the important contributions that student media make to their communities. 

 “The importance of college media cannot be underestimated,” said Emerald Media Group Publisher Bill Kunerth. “No one covers the University of Oregon, and the significant role it plays in both our local economy and culture, better than the Emerald. We are also training students to high professional standards so they can go on to have successful careers reporting on such important topics as climate change, immigration and health care.”

Kunerth said college media connects students on campus, creating a sense of place, pride and school spirit. “And, as our coverage has proved, school spirit reaches its peak when these two longtime rivals meet up,” he said. “The rivalry with University of Washington is real, and like the football team, we have no intention of losing this fundraising competition.”

The Emerald is calling on UO students, alumni, staff and community members to support its fundraiser and to beat the UW Daily. Kunerth said that broad support is needed to win the fundraiser because UW’s college media is also pulling out all the stops to win the competition.  

Donations can be made online by going to the dailyemerald.com/fundraising. The website will also show in real time the fundraising dollars each college paper has raised. Fundraising proceeds will go toward student conferences, compensation, equipment, sports travel and general operating costs. 

Kunerth said that with the current economic challenges facing all media outlets, the importance of fundraising has become an important part of the Emerald’s business model. He said that fundraising is especially important to the Emerald, as it is an independent non-profit organization that does not receive funding from the university. 

“I can’t think of a better investment than supporting college journalism,” he said. “So we’d love to see everyone not only get behind our football team, but also college media.”