The State News

Last updated
The State News
Type Student newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner(s)Independent
Founded1909
Headquarters East Lansing, Michigan
Website statenews.com

The State News is the student newspaper of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. It is supported by a combination of advertising revenue and a $7.50 [1] refundable tax that students pay at each semester's matriculation. Though The State News is supported by a student tax, the faculty and administration do not interfere in the paper's content.[ citation needed ]The State News is governed by a Board of Directors, which comprises journalism professionals, faculty and students. In 2010, the Princeton Review ranked The State News as the #8 best college newspaper in the country. [2] And in 2015, the Society of Professional Journalists named TSN as the nation's best daily college newspaper for 2014.

Contents

History

The State News traces its roots to March 10, 1909. It was first dubbed The Holcad, chosen by the president of the then-Michigan Agricultural College. Holcad was the name of a ship that carried news from seaport to seaport in ancient Greece. The newspaper was seen as a way for students to defend themselves against charges of hooliganism by the Lansing press.

In 1925, the newspaper changed its name to the Michigan State News. Eventually, this got clipped to The State News. The paper was overseen by a university-run publications board.

In 1971, the newspaper was spun off from the university into a nonprofit corporation, State News Inc., governed by its own board of directors. The move was designed to protect the student publication from interference by university administrators who might disagree with its content. Its incorporation also protected the university from liability of anything published in The State News. The newspaper's masthead references this, referring to the publication as "Michigan State University's Independent Voice."

In August 2005, The State News moved its offices from the Student Services Building, where it had resided since the building's opening in 1957, to an off-campus location at 435 E. Grand River Ave. Prior to its location at the Student Services Building, the newspaper had its offices in the MSU Union.

In August 2014, the newspaper switched from a broadsheet to a tabloid format, and in April 2015 it ceased publishing a print edition each weekday during the school year, eventually shifting to the current biweekly print format.

Controversy and criticism

On election day, 1948, The State News, going to press at 7 a.m., became the only morning daily to place Harry S. Truman in the lead for president.[ citation needed ]

In June 1950, the first issue of the summer edition of The State News carried an editorial critical of the Michigan Department of the American Legion's Boy's State program held on the Michigan State College campus. Several days later, June 25, North Korea invaded South Korea initiating the Korean War. The following Monday the state American Legion held its summer encampment and adopted a resolution calling for the suspension of The State News and the expelling of its student editor, Ron M. Linton. Later that week, Michigan State suspended further summer publication of the paper but declined to expel its editor. The school did, however, announce the appointment of a full-time college employee, William McIlrath, as director of the publication with authority over the paper's content. It was later learned that the school had already planned this action but used this incident as a rationale. This culminated a period of six years—since the end of World War II—of increasing irritation of the school's administration by the independent attitude of the student journalists. Returning veterans were a significant portion of the paper's staff and, being several years older than students enrolled directly from high school and matured by war, they tended to exercise a more critical attitude toward campus events. This led to a series of articles and editorials about the difficulty had by African-American male students in getting haircuts, including the refusal of the Union's barber shop to service African-Americans. It also published a series critical of the school's plan to require male cooperative residences to hire "house mothers"; ultimately, the coops were exempted, but fraternities were not. [3] The State News, to the administration's consternation, exposed the administration's efforts to block unionization of dining room and school service employees.[ citation needed ]

When the local Congressman demanded in 1950 that Michigan State remove left-leaning economist Paul Douglas (later U.S. Senator from Illinois) from its lecture series, the paper fought back in a series of editorials that resulted in the Congressman turning tail. The State News was the first U.S. daily newspaper, commercial or student, to editorially criticize then-U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) for his sweeping charges without proof of communist activities by a number of citizens. [4]

In November 1965, four State News editors resigned over the faculty adviser's and the lead editor's decision to spike a story involving Paul Schiff, who claimed he was denied re-admission to MSU for his political views. [5]

Internal controversies include a group of junior editors dissatisfied with the editor-in-chief starting a weekly newspaper, Campus Observer, in 1968. The following year, the managing editor took over the editorial reins in response to staff grumbling.

In April 1977, a one-day newsroom staff walkout followed the board's appointment of the next top editor when the staff's recommendation was not picked.

In 2000, The State News published Fetus-X which regularly contained psychedelic pictures of Jesus breakdancing with dead babies. After protests from the Catholic League, The State News fired artists Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow.

In 2003, an advertisement printed in the State News showed Palestinians celebrating in the street while Israelis lit candles and prayed. The advertisement's caption claimed that these were the reactions to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pro-Palestinian groups protested outside the MSU Student Services building and demanded that their student fees be refunded.

On Veterans Day, 2005, editorial cartoonist Mike Ramsey drew a piece that showed a World War II soldier who liberated concentration camps conversing with a modern-day soldier who was shown holding a torture device. In response, Young Americans for Freedom and the College Republicans picketed the offices of The State News and called for Ramsey's dismissal. Ramsey was not fired.

In 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments regarding The State News' lawsuit against MSU over Freedom of Information Act issues.

The State News received criticism in 2010 for replacing some of its comics with games/puzzles, including new additions of a giant crossword, Octo, Word Finder and Pathem puzzles. [6] In 2010 the State News published Crosswords, Pathem puzzles, Sudoku, Octo, Wordplay and Word Search puzzles. As of 2012 The State News continues to support publishing puzzles and games. [7]

In 2018, The State News received national attention for an editorial demanding the resignation of MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon amid fallout from the Larry Nassar sex assault scandal. Simon quit shortly thereafter.

Journalistic opportunity

Many of the paper's staffers have gone on to professional internships and jobs at the nation's largest newspapers. Alumni of The State News work for news organizations around the world.

The newspaper has won the Associated Collegiate Press' Pacemaker award 18 times (in 1963, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2020, and 2021 for print; 2014 and 2018 for online). The award is considered one of college journalism's top prizes. It won in 2003 for coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and a campus riot later in the spring of that year. The State News was also a print Pacemaker finalist in 1987, 2010, 2011, 2017 and 2018 and an online Pacemaker finalist in 2005, 2009 and 2017.

The Society of Professional Journalists ranked The State News among the nation's best college daily in 2014, and among the top three in 2007 and 2011.

Reporters often travel to cover news, especially to out-of-state sporting events, such as the 2009 presidential inauguration, the 2012 and 2016 Democratic and Republican national conventions, the 2014 Rose Bowl Game and 2019 men's Final Four. Clinics and professional development opportunities are provided. A staff photographer at the paper has been named Michigan's College Photographer of the Year by the Michigan Press Photographers' Association each year for most of the last decade.

Alumni also have won Pulitzer Prizes, including M.L. Elrick who was part of the Detroit Free Press staff that won the journalism award in April 2009 for their coverage of the texting message scandal of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Elrick wrote for the State News in 1987-88. Jim Mitzelfeld won in 1994 for beat reporting at The Detroit News , 11 years after serving as editor-in-chief.

Investigative work by Charles Robinson at Yahoo! Sports led to the revocation of USC football player Reggie Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy. Robinson later uncovered millions of dollars in illegal compensation to several dozen football players at the University of Miami (Fla.).

Other recent alums of note include Jemele Hill, former co-host of "SportsCenter" on ESPN who now writes for The Atlantic; Steve Eder, a presidential campaign reporter for The New York Times; and John Hudson, who covers national security for the Washington Post.

Publishing and distribution

The State News has a readership of more than 65,000 students, faculty, staff and residents of the cities surrounding the university. Free copies of the paper are available online or at green-colored newsstands around campus and the city. The State News prints 7,000 copies of the paper every other Tuesday during the Fall and Spring semesters. The print edition is not published on weekends, holidays, the summer semester or semester breaks, though news is constantly updated at statenews.com (which has garnered more than 5 million page views annually) and via social media (the State News' Twitter feeds have more than 40,000 followers). In 2012, The State News began marketing its Gryphon content management system to other college newspapers under the moniker of SNworks (www.getsnworks.com). Gryphon's successor CMS, called CEO, is now being used by more than 50 student-run papers at North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, South Carolina, New Mexico, Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State, UM-Flint, Otterbein and other universities, in addition to The State News itself.

Hall of Fame

In 2006, the State News Alumni Association honored the first 15 inductees to its State News Hall of Fame. 31 additional names have been added through 2009. [8] The first class included:

Notable journalists

Related Research Articles

The South End is the official student newspaper of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, published in print and online. It was founded in 1967, and its publication is funded partly from university funds and partly from advertising revenues. It is distributed free of charge.

<i>Technique</i> (newspaper) Student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology

The Technique, also known as the "'Nique", is the official student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945. As of the fall semester of 2011, the Technique has a weekly circulation of 10,000, distributed to numerous locations on the Georgia Tech campus and a handful of locations in the surrounding area. The first issue of the Technique was published on November 17, 1911, and the paper has printed continuously since its founding. The paper publishes weekly throughout the regular school year and primarily covers news, events and issues specific to the Georgia Tech community. In 2004 it was one of 25 collegiate newspapers to receive the Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press.

<i>The Daily Cardinal</i> Student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin–Madison

The Daily Cardinal is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. One of the oldest student newspapers in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the university.

<i>The Maneater</i>

The Maneater is the official, editorially independent student news publication of the University of Missouri. The Maneater editorial and advertising staffs are composed entirely of students, with the exception of a professional business adviser. Financially, The Maneater is a non-profit publication funded by advertisers. The newspaper is distributed free of charge, and all aspects of its website remain accessible at no cost to readers. The editorial department of The Maneater remains independent from any student governments and organizations, as well as the Missouri School of Journalism and university itself.

<i>The Michigan Daily</i> Newspaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Michigan Daily, also known as 'The Daily,' is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independent from the university. The Daily is often considered one of the most influential student publications, and is one of the largest student publications in the United States with over 500 student staff members.

<i>The Independent Florida Alligator</i> Student newspaper of the University of Florida

The Independent Florida Alligator is the daily student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Alligator is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a circulation of 14,000 and readership of more than 21,000. It is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.

<i>The Hoya</i> Student newspaper of Georgetown University

The Hoya, founded in 1920, is the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., serving as the university’s newspaper of record. The Hoya is a student-run paper that prints every Friday and publishes online daily throughout the year, with a print circulation of 4,000 during the academic year. The newspaper has four main editorial sections: News, Opinion, Science, Sports and The Guide, a weekly arts and lifestyle magazine. It also publishes several annual special issues including a New Student Guide, a basketball preview and a semesterly fashion issue.

<i>The Lantern</i> Student newspaper of Ohio State University

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.

The Parthenon is the independent student newspaper of Marshall University based in Huntington, West Virginia. The paper began publication in 1898. It currently is published in print on Tuesdays with content added daily online. It is distributed for "free" on the Huntington and South Charleston campuses. The Parthenon is also published online. Student reporters change every semester and are instructed by the faculty adviser in a beat reporting class within the school of journalism. Editors, staff reporters and other staff change annually or every semester.

<i>Washington Square News</i> Weekly student newspaper of New York University

Washington Square News (WSN) is the weekly student newspaper of New York University (NYU). It has a circulation of 10,000 and an estimated 55,000 online readers. It is published in print on Monday, in addition to online publication Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with additional issues published in the summer. It serves the NYU, Greenwich Village, and East Village communities in Manhattan, New York City.

The Reveille, formerly the Daily Reveille, has been since 1887 the student newspaper at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It prints twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters, and once a week on Monday in the summer. It publishes online content daily at LSUReveille.com. The Reveille has a weekly circulation of about 6,000 copies.

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.

The State Press is the independent, student-operated news publication of Arizona State University. In August 2014, it became an all-digital publication. It published a free newspaper every weekday until January 2013, at which point its print distribution was reduced to once per week. The editorial board announced that ASU Student Media will begin to focus on "a host of new digital products and special print products."

OU Daily, formally known as The Oklahoma Daily, is the independent, student-produced newspaper at the University of Oklahoma, with a circulation of 6,000. Though it maintains a connection with OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the newspaper is not a part of required learning for journalism students at OU. Some classes, however, are offered at The Daily for academic credit.

<i>The Red & Black</i> (University of Georgia) Student newspaper serving the University of Georgia

The Red & Black is an independent weekly student newspaper serving the University of Georgia (UGA), updated daily on its website.

<i>Indiana Daily Student</i> American newspaper

The Indiana Daily Student (IDS) is an independent, student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, since 1867. The IDS is free and distributed throughout the campus and city.

The Rocky Mountain Collegian is the daily student newspaper of Colorado State University. Founded in 1891, the paper is one of the oldest daily student newspapers west of the Mississippi River and is the only student-run daily newspaper in the state of Colorado. In 2010, the Collegian was ranked one of the top three daily student newspapers in the nation by the Society of Professional Journalists.

<i>The Temple News</i> Student-run weekly newspaper at Temple University

The Temple News (TTN) is the editorially independent weekly newspaper of Temple University. It prints 2,000 copies to be distributed primarily on Temple's Main Campus every other Tuesday. A staff of 35, supported by more than 150 writers, is responsible for designing, reporting and editing the bi-weekly paper. Increasingly, TTN is supplementing its bi-weekly print product with breaking news and online-only content on its web site. In September 2007, TTN launched Broad & Cecil, its own blog community.

<i>Northern Star</i> (Northern Illinois University)

The Northern Star is the independent, student-produced daily news organization of Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Ill. The Northern Star covers NIU campus news, DeKalb city and county news, NIU Sports and Northern Illinois entertainment.

<i>Duke Chronicle</i> Student newspaper of Duke University

The Chronicle is a daily student newspaper at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It was first published as The Trinity Chronicle on December 19, 1905. Its name was changed to The Chronicle when Trinity College was renamed Duke University following a donation by James Buchanan Duke.

References

  1. ↑ "2018 student election tax results". Scribd. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  2. ↑ "Princeton Review Names Best College Newspapers". College Media Matters. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "1995 Report on Co-op History in East Lansing". MSU Student Housing Cooperative. Archived from the original on 15 May 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Ron Linton". State News Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Michigan State Editors Quit Over Administrative Control". The Cornell Daily Sun . Vol. 82, no. 49. December 1, 1965. p. 5. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Dietrich, Olaf (2010-06-07). "Comics section lacking in content and local artists". the State News.
  7. ↑ "Puzzles" (PDF). the State News. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  8. ↑ State News Alumni Association Hall of Fame Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Bao, Robert (October 1, 2007). "Feature: A Lifetime of Memories in "Sport Nut" Heaven". Michigan State University Alumni. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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.