Alumni News

Back to the Heart

The Illini Media story

Illini Media has been at the heart of communications on the University of Illinois campus for almost a century. Our successful, award-winning, student-run organization has served as an unparalleled training ground for students interested in all aspects of media operations. Countless numbers of professional writers, editors, photographers, artists, on-air talent and salespeople began their careers here, gaining practical expertise that complemented their academic experiences at the University.

Chartered by the state of Illinois in 1911 (originally named Illini Publishing Company), Illini Media operates The Daily Illini, Buzz, WPGU-FM 107.1, the Illio yearbook, Technograph engineering magazine, and an expanding online presence.

Illini Media is a nonprofit corporation, totally self-supported and independent. While we enjoy respect from and professional relationships with the campus administration, we receive no funds from the state of Illinois, the University or the College of Communications. We are proud that our student sales representatives have been successful in generating revenue to support our entire operation, allowing us to remain truly independent.

Our Mission

Illini Media is committed to providing an unsurpassed educational opportunity for its student employees and to keeping this mission at the forefront of all our internal decision-making. Our well-run, successful company allows us to offer a professional, hands-on, student-run learning environment, and to provide high-quality communication vehicles for readers, listeners and viewers throughout our campus and community.

By offering comprehensive training, providing current tools and resources, and creating a challenging, fast-paced environment, Illini Media helps create highly sought after journalists, broadcasters, and managers. While our students lead our daily media operations, they learn the responsibility of making independent decisions and gain an understanding and respect for cherished freedom of expression principles and ethical business practices.

Strategic goals for our future

Our challenge for the future is to allow our students to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies, while retaining a focus on the production of excellent work.

We can meet that challenge if we continue to provide the facilities and resources that allow our students to move forward, building on the renowned reputation and legacy of former Illini Media students.

Our new building and equipment set the stage for exciting progress; sending our students to media conferences and fostering relationships with professionals in their fields will also be critical in meeting our educational mission. The Illini Media board and management believe that the investment in these resources will be invaluable as our students continue to succeed here and in their future careers.