The Independent has recently signed a partnership agreement with multimedia mogul, College Publisher to put the newspaper online.

This process has been in the works since October of ’05, according to Editor-in-Chief Tom Robb. It is an advertising agreement; it will not cost the newspaper, but only offer the possibility of increased revenue.

The content will be placed online after the complete editing process. From talking with Chris Gillion from College Publisher, Tom Robb said, “a lot of people who read the newspaper are alumni who try to keep up with the school they attended, are students, or are prospective students looking at the university.”

The online edition of the Independent will also feature international headlines from the BBC, national headlines from the New York Times, and wired news from Wired Magazine. Readers will be able to provide feedback for the articles posted, which will “create interactivity and will allow us to better communicate with students and see what’s going on” according to Robb.

NEIU is uninvolved with the partnership agreement, both content-wise and financially. Likewise, College Publisher will have no editorial control, over including ads that the staff of the Independent finds “objectionable.”