Arizona Daily Wildcat

Last updated
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Type Student newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner(s)Arizona Student Media
Founded1899
Headquarters Tucson, AZ, US
OCLC number 55753554
Website wildcat.arizona.edu

The Arizona Daily Wildcat is a student newspaper serving the University of Arizona. It was founded in 1899 [1] as the Sage Green and Silver. Previous names include Arizona Weekly Life, University Life, Arizona Life and Arizona Wildcat. [2] Its distribution is within the university and the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area. It has a distribution of 20,000. [1] Its website dailywildcat.com is updated regularly during the spring and fall semesters, while the print version is distributed Wednesday. During the summer months, it is published weekly as the Arizona Summer Wildcat. [3] The Arizona Daily Wildcat was named Best College Newspaper by Princeton Review's THE BEST 361 COLLEGES, 2006 EDITION. [4]

Contents

Awards

2010 Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker award winner. [5]
2010 Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker finalist. [6]
2010 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award National Finalist for online sports reporting at a four-year college or university.
2010 College Media Advisers Apple Award winner for best four-year broadsheet newspaper.
2015 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 National College Media Convention Best of Show [7]

Controversy

The Tuesday October 16, 2012 issue featured a four-panel cartoon by cartoonist D. C. Parsons, deemed offensive by some 8,000 signatories to a petition to have the Cartoonist and Editor-in-Chief and Copy-Editor fired. The editor-in-chief did not step down despite the number of signatories asking for her resignation; however, the cartoonist was promptly fired after the publication.

Father: Ya know son...

If you ever tell me you're gay... I will shoot you with my shotgun, roll you up in a carpet and throw you off of a bridge...

Son: Well I guess that's what you call a "Fruit Roll Up!"

Father and Son: Ahh Ha ha ha Ha ha... bwah Ha Ha ha Ha ha haa!!

The paper did issue an apology for the matter. [8]

The May Day mystery

The May Day mystery is a series of cryptic advertisements taken out annually on May 1 (May Day) in the Arizona Daily Wildcat since 1981. The ads are described as a "mess of equations, historical figures, artwork and symbols", [9] and are signed with a "smiley face" figure. [10]

The first known ad appeared on May 1, 1981, featuring the quote "Long live Chairman Mao" written in simplified Chinese. Over the years, the ads grew in complexity. The ads usually appear on the most expensive advertising areas of the newspaper. They share a theme of revolution and social unrest, and featured about 14 languages including forms of Chinese, Afrikaans and Hebrew. In 1997, UA alumni and web designer Bryan Hance started a website to document the ads. Hance claimed he has since been contacted by an organization known as the "Orphanage" who provided him with more clues and cryptic messages. In 1998, following an ad featuring many cryptic messages in Hebrew, a group of students accused the ads of anti-Semitism and demanded to know the source of the ads. [11]

The ads were, for several years, placed by Robert Truman Hungerford, a Tucson-based lawyer and a UA alumni. He is a "self-described anti-social hermit" with an interest in philosophy, theology, cryptography, languages and medicine. In a 2003 interview, Hungerford claimed to be the legal counsel for an organization who placed the ads, and refused to name the organization. [11] Hungerford also claimed to be a member of the "Orphanage". [10]

Notable alumni

Daily Wildcat alumni have been successful in fields other than journalism, from higher education to thoroughbred race horse training. Alumni in the journalism and media fields include:

Related Research Articles

<i>The Daily of the University of Washington</i> Student newspaper in Seattle, Washington

The Daily of the University of Washington, usually referred to in Seattle simply as The Daily, is the student newspaper of the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is staffed entirely by University of Washington students, excluding the publisher, advertising adviser, accounting staff, and delivery staff.

The Rice Thresher is the weekly student newspaper of Rice University in Houston, Texas. It was first published in 1916. It has an estimated circulation of 3,000 and is distributed throughout the university and its surrounding areas.

<i>The Daily Pennsylvanian</i> Student newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. is the independent student media organization of the University of Pennsylvania. The DP, Inc. publishes The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, 34th Street magazine, and Under the Button, as well as five newsletters: The Daily Pennsylvanian, The Weekly Roundup, The Toast, Quaker Nation, and Penn, Unbuttoned.

The Minnesota Daily is the campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota, published Monday and Thursday while school is in session, and published weekly on Wednesdays during summer sessions. Published since 1900, the paper is currently the largest student-run and student-written newspaper in the United States and the largest paper in the state of Minnesota behind the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Daily was named best daily college newspaper in the United States in 2009 and 2010 by the Society of Professional Journalists. The paper is independent from the University, but receives $500,000 worth of student service fees funding.

<i>Daily Collegian</i> Independent student newspaper of Pennsylvania State University

The Daily Collegian is a student-produced news outlet, with a newspaper and website, that is published independently at the Pennsylvania State University. The newspaper is printed once a week during the fall and spring semesters, and not at all during the summer semester. It is distributed for free at the University Park campus as well as mailed to subscribers across the country.

<i>Tulane Hullabaloo</i>

The Tulane Hullabaloo is the weekly student-run newspaper of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. As of 2023 Gabi Liebeler serves as 119th Editor-in-Chief. The Tulane Hullabaloo is also self-funded by selling advertisements to business owners and other organizations on the self-serve advertising platform. The Tulane Hullabaloo publishes its print edition once a month. It has received multiple Pacemaker Awards, the highest award in college journalism.

The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism".

The Daily Bruin is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles. It began publishing in 1919, the year UCLA was founded.

The Battalion is the student newspaper of Texas A&M University. Started in 1893 as a monthly publication, it continues to this day, now as a weekly paper. The first paper at Texas A&M University was the Texas Collegian published in 1878. It was later named the College Journal from 1889 to 1893 and then The Battalion.

The Daily Trojan, or "DT," is the student newspaper of the University of Southern California. The newspaper is a forum for student expression and is written, edited, and managed by university students. The paper is intended to inform USC students, faculty, and staff on the latest news and provide opinion and entertainment. Student writers, editors, photographers and artists can develop their talents and air their opinions while providing a service to the campus community through the Daily Trojan. Readers can interact with the Daily Trojan by commenting on social media posts or writing a letter to the editor.

<i>The Daily Tar Heel</i> Student newspaper of UNC-Chapel Hill

The Daily Tar Heel (DTH) is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and sports, but it also includes heavy coverage of Orange County and North Carolina. In 2016, the paper moved from five days a week in print to four, cutting the Tuesday edition. In 2017, the paper began to print on only Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In 2021, the paper began to print only on Wednesdays. All editorial content is overseen by student editors and a volunteer student staff of about 230 people. It's located at 109 E. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it is the largest news organization in Orange County.

<i>Pipe Dream</i> (newspaper) Student newspaper of Binghamton University in Vestal, New York

Pipe Dream is the student newspaper of Binghamton University in Vestal, N.Y. Content is published online throughout the week at bupipedream.com, as well as in print every Tuesday.

The Old Gold & Black is the student-run newspaper of Wake Forest University, named after the school's colors. The newspaper was founded in 1916 and is published in print every other Thursday, with the exception of school holidays and exam weeks. The Old Gold & Black's office is located on the fifth floor of the Benson University Center on Wake Forest's main campus.

<i>The Daily Barometer</i>

The Daily Barometer is an independent campus newspaper of Oregon State University, in Corvallis. It is published weekly during the fall, winter, and spring quarters, and monthly during the summer.

<i>Student Life</i> (newspaper) Student-run newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis

Student Life (StudLife) is the independent student-run newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis. It was founded in 1878 and incorporated in 1999. It is published by the Washington University Student Media, Inc. and is not subject to the approval of the University administration, thus making it an independent student voice.

<i>The Spinnaker</i> Student newspaper of the University of North Florida

The Spinnaker is the official student magazine, 24/7 website, radio station, and TV station of the University of North Florida (UNF). The first issue of the magazine/newspaper was published August 17, 1977. The newspaper is published on a weekly basis during the school year, with new issues roughly once a month in the summer. Issues are distributed free around campus and are available in full form on The Spinnaker's website. It is the third student newspaper in the university's history.

The Oakland Post is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan. It is a student-run, independent newspaper serving Oakland University. It is owned by the Oakland Sail, Inc. The current editor-in-chief (EIC) is Autumn Okuszka. Arianna Heyman preceded Okuszka, serving as EIC from spring 2023 through fall 2023. Other EICs included Gabrielle Abdelmessih (2022-2023), Aujenee Hirsch (2018-2019), Shelby Tankersley (2017-2018), Paige Brockway (2016-2017), Kristen Davis, Kaylee Kean, Oona Goodin-Smith (2014-2015),Scott Wolchek (2013-2014), Nichole Seguin, Kay Nguyen and Colleen Miller (2009-2010).

The FSView & Florida Flambeau is a for-profit newspaper owned by the Gannett Company that covers the on-campus events, happenings, and trends of the Florida State University as well as concerts, museum and art exhibits, movies, literature and poetry readings, and other events from the larger Tallahassee community. In early August 2006, the FSView made national news as being the first privately owned, college-oriented newspaper to be bought by a major newspaper chain.

<i>CU Independent</i>

The CU Independent is the student-run news publication for the University of Colorado Boulder. It has been digital-only since 2006, when it became one of the first major college newspapers to drop its print edition.

<i>Michiganensian</i> University of Michigan official yearbook

The Michiganensian, also known as the Ensian, is the official yearbook of the University of Michigan. Its first issue was published in April 1896, as a consolidation of three campus publications, The Res Gestae, the Palladium, and the Castalian. The yearbook is editorially and financially independent of the University of Michigan's administration and other student groups, but it shares the Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building on 420 Maynard Street with The Michigan Daily and Gargoyle Humor Magazine.

References

  1. 1 2 "Arizona Daily Wildcat – Contact Information" . Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  2. "University of Arizona Library – Reference Resources". Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2006.
  3. "Arizona Daily Wildcat – General information". Archived from the original on May 13, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2006.
  4. "Princeton Review Annual College Rankings Based on 110,000 Student Surveys Now Out in The Best 361 Colleges, 2006 Edition" . Retrieved July 31, 2006. Article by unknown author, The Princeton Review, August 22, 2005
  5. "www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/opm11.html". Archived from the original on 2011-12-03.
  6. "www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/npm11.html". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
  7. "ACP – 2015 National College Media Convention Best of Show".
  8. "Daily Wildcat: An apology from the Wildcat" . Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  9. Burgoyne, Lauren (2008-05-01). "Be The First To Crack the May Day Mystery". KOLD-TV . Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  10. 1 2 Towne, Douglas (2017-05-01). "Arizona's da Vinci Code". Phoenix magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  11. 1 2 "The Great May Day Mystery: Mysterious Ads Placed in College Newspaper for More Than 20 Years". Tucson Local Media. 2003-05-13. Archived from the original on 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2022-08-19.