BU Student Journalists Meet Crowdfunding Goal

We have reached our goal of $70,000 thanks to generous donations from @oreillyfactor and @ErnieBochJr! #FreePFund http://t.co/0qkDD30Vde— The Daily Free Press (@dailyfreepress) November 12, 2014

BOSTON — With the help of TV host Bill O'Reilly and local car-dealership magnate Ernie Boch, Jr., Boston University's student-run newspaper says it has raised enough money to cover its debts and will continue publishing a weekly print edition.

The Daily Free Press launched a crowdsourcing campaign last week, warning it would have to stop publishing its weekly print edition by Dec. 31 if it couldn't raise enough money to pay back much of its nearly $70,000 in debt.

Editors at The Daily Free Press said Wednesday that Boch donated $50,000, while O'Reilly, a Fox News talk show host and BU alumnus, gave $10,000. The campaign received about 300 smaller donations.

Editor-in-chief Kyle Plantz says staffers are in shock that it took just two days to raise the money needed to pay off debt. The paper would have had to stop publishing its weekly print edition had it not raised enough.

Boch said in a statement that newspapers "are vital parts of our democracy."

Plantz says O'Reilly fondly recalled his time working for the paper.

The newspaper also has an online site for daily content.