[2] As of 2022, the Northern Star is a predominantly digital news publication,[3] only circulating special print issues four times per year.

[4] TLDR consists of a selection of the organization’s top stories from the previous day and is published during the academic year.

[5] The organization’s editors are overseen by the editor in chief, who is elected by the editorial board, with recommendation votes from the Northern Star Publication Board and democratic staff vote being taken into consideration,[6] each semester.

The Northern Star currently operates primarily on the work of volunteer staff, whose content is overseen by the paid editor roles.

[9] In 2008, for its coverage of the February Northern Illinois University shooting, the paper received a National Pacemaker Award.