Eugene Weekly recently closed its doors after discovering an employee embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from the newspaper. Today, Feb. 8, the Weekly has returned to its regular print editions. (Lulu Devoulin/ Emerald)

After the staff of local newspaper Eugene Weekly discovered they were the victims of an alleged embezzlement in late December 2023, leaving them thousands of dollars in debt, UO’s School of Journalism and Communication made an Instagram post encouraging community donations.

“We [SOJC] believe that it’s our responsibility to continue advocating and to continue raising the voice in defense of functional operation,” SOJC Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda said. “We are constantly advocating for the importance of local news and information for a functional democracy and a functional society.”

So far, the Weekly has received an estimated $150,000 in donations towards their $188,000 goal through a combination of their GoFundMe page, direct donations and local business fundraisers, Camilla Mortensen, editor in chief of the Weekly, said.

Several comments on the Instagram post suggested that the university itself should donate to the Weekly, calling into question UO’s role in the Eugene community and the SOJC’s relationship with local publications.

Under the University Fiscal Policy, the university has no authority or obligation to make disbursements for voluntary contributions or donations. Therefore, the SOJC department has no authority to make any monetary disbursements to the Weekly.

“No, it’s not possible,” Molleda said. ‘The funds we [SOJC] have [are] already restrictive to the operations of the school.”

According to Molleda, the SOJC department has shown support in a variety of non-monetary ways.

“We have reached out to [Eugene Weekly] in terms of expressing our concern because it’s also expressing our solidarity with their situation,” he said.

Molleda continued to state that “if we [SOJC] were able to donate, we will have to have a policy to donate to every organization that needs the type of support.”

One reason why some students feel UO has a responsibility to support the Weekly is because of the close connection that the paper and the university have maintained since the Weekly’s founding in 1982.

“The Weekly has been the leading champion in helping journalism students get published,” journalism professor Brent Walth said. “Oftentimes it is [students’] first professional experience in publishing.”

In addition to serving as the Weekly’s editor in chief, Mortensen is also an SOJC professor.

“[It’s a] slight conflict of interest because she [Mortensen] is an adjunct professor,” Billy Spotz, former SOJC student and current KVAL 13 Eugene multimedia journalist, said. “Offering words of support bringing awareness is more than enough in this circumstance.”

UO student work for the Weekly is done by interns, freelance writers and students who have published stories in the paper through the Catalyst Journalism Project, a UO initiative that helps students do investigative and solutions-focused reporting through local publications.

“Catalyst has many, many news partners across the state,” Walth said, “but the Weekly has been our first partner, and in some ways, our most prolific partner.”

Recently, the project has stepped up its efforts during the Weekly’s financial crisis. As the newspaper returns to its print edition, five new Catalyst reporters are working for the Weekly and several other UO students are working on in-depth investigations for the paper.

Due to money from donors, the Catalyst Reporting Program pays these students an hourly wage for the work they contribute to the Weekly — allowing students to continue having paid internships despite the embezzlement situation.

Additionally, UO faculty have talked about doing even more to encourage students to bring their work to the Weekly, as the Weekly’s current news staff have been working unpaid to keep the paper running.

The goal of students bringing articles to the Weekly is that the paper will be able to continue showing the community that it’s dedicated to reporting on issues that matter. For example, students have recently published stories covering community issues regarding public schools, public safety and homelessness.

“That’s the right kind of contribution that we can be providing at this school,” Walth said.

In the case of the Weekly shutting down, students of the SOJC hope the department would bring new opportunities to peers.

Molleda feels that the department is already providing substantial resources — including Snowden Internships and various study abroad programs.

“Our responsibility is in the business of educating you and then making the connections with the industry and the different organizations,” Dean Molleda said. “We give you the tools. We have the connections, we bring the opportunities, but it’s up to the organizations that we partner with, and students to really move forward after graduation.”

Due to the support given by the Eugene community and the work being done by UO students for the paper, Walth believes that Eugene Weekly will persevere through this situation.

 “I think it will become a stronger and more prominent news voice in the community than ever before,” he said, “not just survive, but thrive.”

According to Mortensen, some of the Weekly’s unpaid debts are still being uncovered. However, the Weekly is currently taking steps to make sure the paper is sustainable moving forward by implementing a new business model.

Community members are grateful that the Weekly is receiving so much support.

“People really rallied. I think it was really important for the SOJC to kind of stand up and say something about it, as well,” Spotz said. “This shows how strong and tight knit this [Eugene] community can be when push comes to shove.”