The Lantern is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, published by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000.
Copies of the paper are free and available on campus and throughout Columbus. Editions are published in print Tuesday and Thursday with online content published Wednesdays and Fridays. It does not print in the summer but provides original online content.
The Lantern received attention in 2011 when it reported some members of the school's football team had been selling memorabilia for money and tattoos, violating NCAA rules. In 2019, it earned the Student Press Law Center's Reveille Seven College Press Freedom Award for its pursuit of public records.
History
The Journalism Building, on the Ohio State University main campus
The paper was chartered in 1881.[1] In 1913, OSU student Frank Mason criticized then-Ohio Governor James M. Cox in the newspaper. The student recommended the school be renamed the "University of Ohio" for more prestige, while the governor reneged due to pressure from Ohio University alumni. Mason's editorial was republished in every daily newspaper in Ohio after AP syndication. Cox (also owner of the Dayton Daily News) told OSU's president William Oxley Thompson to discipline Mason. Thompson asked Joseph S. Myers, the alumni secretary and a Pittsburgh journalist, to head a journalism department and to censor The Lantern against criticizing the governor. Myers created the Ohio State University School of Journalism.[2]
Before 1914, The Lantern was published outside of the university, and writers and editors divided the newspaper's profits. The School of Journalism took on the paper that year, and the newsroom moved to the basement of the original University Hall that year. In 1924, the school moved to a new two-story building, known as the Journalism Building.[2]
In 1965, a riot took place on campus following the arrest of Marjorie Cocoziello, a student fined for jaywalking who had not paid her ticket in time. Reporters for The Lantern published Cocoziello's accounts of a strip-search, being put in a dark cell, and being watched by a cruel jailer. After an investigation, The Columbus Dispatch chided the paper for reporting on the issue so prominently, and only with Cocoziello's side of the story, helping spur the riot.[3][4]
In September 1974, the old Journalism Building was gutted, and a third story and basement were added. The expansion made for a larger newsroom for the paper, and offices for the paper's advisor, teletype machines, film processing, a library, and a meeting room.[2]
In 1975, student reporters for The Lantern took up investigation of the murder of 14-year-old Christie Lynn Mullins in a wooded area north of campus. Most newspapers in the city already moved to other stories, but two Lantern journalists, Jim Yavorcik and Rick Kelly, retraced the scene, interviewed key people the police had overlooked, and discovered that the police's suspect, Jack Allen Carmen, could not have reached the crime scene in time. The Columbus Monthly gave the two journalists permission to publish in their magazine, which prompted a new trial and the suspect's release. Another Lantern reporter from the same era, John Oller, performed an investigation and wrote a book about the case almost 40 years later which led to the police naming the true killer.[5]
In 1992, The Lantern was one of several U.S. student newspapers to publish a column from Bradley Smith that questioned whether the Holocaust took place. The Lantern's republication resulted in a 250-student protest at the journalism school; the editor refused to apologize or retract the work. The Lantern had published Smith's column with context – a column disparaging Smith's view of history, an anti-Holocoust-denier cartoon, an interview with Smith, and a seven-paragraph explanation of why the paper published the work. In addition to the protest, the paper received negative calls and two altercations, including one involving a student arrested after attempting to force his way into the newsroom.[6]
In Spring 2010, a situation occurred on campus in which two cows escaped from the Veterinary Hospital, and started running loose on campus. After several vet students and faculty were trampled in attempts to wrangle the animals, the Ohio State University Police cordoned off several areas of campus, and eventually resorted to force to stop the cows, who were eventually tranquilized and recaptured with assistance of staff from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.[7] During the commotion, a student photographer from The Lantern purportedly disobeyed orders from police officers to leave the area. After claiming freedom of the press, he was arrested for the misconduct. The School of Communication protested the arrest, though the school did not provide the photographer legal aid. Many other journalism outlets took his side, and the photographer was never charged.[8]
Months after news broke that Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, as well as several other teammates, had been involved with selling memorabilia for tattoos and money, The Lantern published a story on May 25, 2011, in which former football player Ray Small admitted to also selling memorabilia for money.[9] The two reporters on the story, editor-in-chief Zack Meisel and sports reporter James Oldham, received threats from angry Ohio State fans as a result.[10] Meisel, Oldham and The Lantern received national attention for their coverage, including appearances on ESPN's Outside the Lines and in The Wall Street Journal,[11] among others. Head football coach Jim Tressel resigned on May 31, 2011, in response to the scandal.[12]
In 2020, amid the George Floyd protests taking place worldwide, Lantern journalists covered protests in Columbus. During one of the protests on June 1, police forced the paper's journalists away and pepper sprayed them for breaking a mandatory curfew, despite an exemption for journalists among other groups. The incident was put under independent investigation in the following month.[13][14]
On September 23, 2022, an all-years Lantern reunion, the first in the paper's 141-year history, was held at the Fawcett Center just off campus, with about 150 Lantern alumni from different eras in attendance.
Publication
The Lantern is a laboratory paper that is put together daily by students in the newsroom of the Journalism Building. There are 23 paid student editors and assistant editors who change after completion of two academic semesters. Student reporters, most of whom contribute through the Lantern practicum class, are not paid.
The current faculty adviser for The Lantern is Spencer Hunt, a former reporter at the Columbus Dispatch and Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Lantern publishes all of its news on its website. Visitors may also view print editions of the paper, made available by Issuu.[15]
In addition to the stories in print, the website includes a multimedia section for photo slide shows, videos and a weekly video webcast.[16] Sports and Arts & Life podcasts are also posted on the website.[17]
Sections of The Lantern include Campus, Sports, and Arts and Life.
Awards
In 2011, The Lantern won the "General Excellence" award from the Ohio Newspaper Association (current-day Ohio News Media Association), deeming it the top collegiate newspaper in the state of Ohio. The Lantern's seven wins in the categories of editorial writing, sports coverage, headline writing, photojournalism, design, best newspaper website and news coverage combined to give the newspaper the General Excellence award.[18]
In 2018, The Lantern won "Best College Newspaper: Non-Daily" in Ohio for the Ohio SPJ Awards.[20] Additionally, reporters also won first and second place for "Best College Feature Writing," "Best College News Writing," and "Best College Sports Writing."
In 2022, The Lantern was recorded as having the third most social engagement of any student run newspaper in the U.S. The publication had 395,020 total shares and online engagement throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. In that same year, the newspaper had an average of 225 shares per article, making it the third highest in the U.S.[21]
Jeff Smith, author of Bone; its predecessor, Thorn, was published in The Lantern[27][28]
Related Research Articles
The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. It is the largest police department in Ohio, and among the twenty-five largest in the United States. It is composed of twenty precincts and numerous other investigative and support units. Chief Elaine Bryant assumed leadership of the Division in 2021. Special units of the Columbus Division of Police include a Helicopter Unit, Canine Unit, Mounted Unit, Community Response Teams, Marine Park Unit, and Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).
Franklinton is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just west of its downtown. Settled in 1797, Franklinton is the first American settlement in Franklin County, and was the county seat until 1824. As the city of Columbus grew, the city annexed and incorporated the existing settlement in 1859. Franklinton is bordered by the Scioto River on the north and east, Harmon Avenue on the east, Stimmel Road and Greenlawn Avenue on the south, and Interstate 70 on the west. Its main thoroughfare is West Broad Street, one of the city's two main roads.
Palais Royal was an American chain of department stores, owned by Stage Stores, Inc. and headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specialized in retailing brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, and housewares.
The former Piqua High School, built in 1914, is an historic building located at 316 North College Street in Piqua, Ohio. Also known as Piqua Central High School, it was designed by Howard and Merriam in the Classical Revival style.
This is a list of public school buildings in Columbus, Ohio, of historical or architectural importance to the Columbus Public School District. Items are listed by opening date.
McFerson Commons, originally Arena Park, is a 2.2-acre (0.9 ha) park in Columbus, Ohio's Arena District neighborhood. The focal point of the park is the Union Station arch, salvaged before the demolition of Columbus's Union Station.
S.G. Loewendick & Sons, also known as Loewendick Demolition Contractors, is a demolition company based in Grove City, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The company is the largest specializing in demolition in Central Ohio. It has torn down most of the landmark buildings in Columbus in recent decades, including Union Station, the Ohio Penitentiary, the Christopher Inn, the Deshler Hotel, and the Ohio State University Drake Performance and Event Center.
The Huntington National Bank Building is a bank and office building on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Once the headquarters to the Huntington National Bank, it now includes the company's primary lending bank, the Capitol Square Branch. It is part of the Huntington Center complex, which also contains the Huntington Center skyscraper, Huntington Plaza, and DoubleTree Hotel Guest Suites Columbus.
The Ohio National Bank building is a historic structure in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Neoclassical building was designed by Richards, McCarty & Bulford, built in 1911, and largely remains as built. It was a long-term location for the Ohio National Bank. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, noted as one of the most significant examples of Greek Doric classical ornamentation in Columbus, with refined details throughout the building.
Central Market was a public market in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The market operated from 1814 to 1966, was the location of Columbus's first city hall for two decades, from 1850 to 1872. It moved three times, each time into successively larger buildings. The third market building stood the longest time, from 1850 to 1966, when it was demolished as part of the Market-Mohawk Urban Renewal project. North Market remains, the only one left of four public markets that operated in the city.
Budd Dairy Food Hall is a food hall in the Italian Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The Cameron Mitchell Restaurants-run hall holds ten foodservice locations, three bars, and indoor, patio, and rooftop seating. It is situated in the historic Budd Dairy Company building, a former milk processing and distribution facility. The space was renovated beginning in 2018, and opened in April 2021.
The L. Hoster Brewing Company is set of historic buildings in the Brewery District of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
David Riebel was a German-American architect in Columbus, Ohio. He was the head architect for the Columbus public school district from 1893 to 1922. In 1915, The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder considered his firm, David Riebel & Sons, to be the oldest and among the best architects in Columbus.
The First Avenue School is a former public school building in the Harrison West neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1983, and was listed as part of the Near Northside Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1980. The building is one of the oldest in the neighborhood, built in 1874. It is also one of the oldest remaining school buildings in Columbus, built at the same time as the Second Avenue School and Stewart Alternative Elementary, also still extant. In 1984, Wood Development remodeled the building into the First Avenue Office Center at a cost of $1.2 million.
The Columbus Developmental Center (CDC) is a state-supported residential school for people with developmental disabilities, located in the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The school, founded in 1857, was the third of these programs developed by a U.S. state, after Massachusetts in 1848 and New York in 1851.
Columbus Neighborhoods is a documentary television series produced by WOSU Public Media, a part of PBS. The series premiered in 2010 as a set of one-hour shows about historic neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio.
The Neville Mansion is a historic house in the Olde Towne East neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Portions of the house may have been built in the early 19th century, though the majority was complete by the mid-1850s. It was built for M.L. Neville, who purchased the property in 1855. Two years later, it became the Ohio Asylum for the Education of Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, which moved out to its current campus in 1868. The mansion then held the Hannah Neil Mission and Home of the Friendless for over a century, from 1868 to 1977. The mission served as an orphanage, homeless shelter, and school for various types of disadvantaged residents throughout its history. After Neil's organization moved out, the mansion was renovated for office use.
The Joseph Henderson House, also known as the A.H. Dierker House, is a historic farmhouse in Columbus, Ohio. The house was built in 1859 by Joseph Henderson for him, his wife, and their ten children. The family lived on-site until the 1930s, when Arthur H. Dierker's family moved in, living there until 1983. The house was added to the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in that year. Since then, the building has been used for offices, and since 2018, a local brewery.
The Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel is a Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The hotel has 22 stories, and was designed by Columbus architects Kellam & Foley in the International style.
The Park Hotel was a hotel in Columbus, Ohio. It was later in its history known successively as the Northern Hotel, the Railway Y.M.C.A., and as the Goodale Hotel. The building stood at the northwest corner of North High Street and Goodale Street.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
