The Tufts Daily

Last updated
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first
The Tufts Daily April 14 2022.png
The Tufts Daily, April 14, 2022
TypeDaily student newspaper
Format Tabloid
PublisherTCI Press
Editor-in-chiefJulieta Grané
Associate editor
  • Nate Hall
  • Chloe Nacson-Schechter
Managing editors
  • Maxwell Shoustal
  • Matthew Sage
Directors of production and business
  • Kathryn Hood
  • Isabel Francis
FoundedFebruary 25, 1980 (1980-02-25)
Headquarters474 Boston Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts 02155
Website tuftsdaily.com

The Tufts Daily, known on campus as the Daily, is the student newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The paper covers news, arts and sports both on campus and in the greater Boston area and allows members of the Tufts community to submit opinion pieces about campus, local and global issues. Unlike other student organizations and publications at Tufts, the Daily is financially self-sustaining and does not receive funding from the university. [1]

Contents

The Tufts Daily has consistently ranked as one of the best college newspapers in the United States. [2] [3] [4]

History

The first issue of The Tufts Daily was published on February 25, 1980. [5] During the Daily's first two decades, it was engaged in competition with a weekly campus newspaper, the Tufts Observer . [6] The two newspapers co-existed until 2001, when The Observer changed to a biweekly news magazine format. [7] Since then, the Daily has been the newspaper of record at Tufts.

The Daily made national headlines in November 2017 after publishing a series of op-eds written by Camilo A. Caballero, a graduate student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, which voiced support for a student-led petition to remove former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci from The Fletcher School's Board of Advisors. Caballero wrote that Scaramucci's "career and ideals are diametrically opposed to those ideas and who sullies the vision of the University." [8] Claiming defamation, Scaramucci threatened to sue the Daily if it did not retract parts of the op-eds and demanded that both the paper and Caballero issue public apologies. [9] Scaramucci resigned from the Board of Advisors on November 28 after the paper refused to comply with his demands, stating, "I thought it would be better for the school and better for me personally if we parted ways." [10]

On November 1, 2018, the Daily broke a national story about the appearance of posters linked to white nationalism on college campuses across the United States. [11] The paper reported that the posters, which were affixed to get-out-the-vote signs on Tufts' campus, bore the phrase "It's okay to be white" — a slogan adopted and promoted by white nationalists, including former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke. [12]

The Daily published an investigative report in November 2018 detailing over $22 million in donations to Tufts from charitable organizations with histories of funding academically and racially controversial research, including the Charles Koch Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. [13] The investigative series, titled "Dark Money at Tufts," cited examples in which the organizations have been given influence over hiring decisions and academic curricula after donating to other universities and reported that Tufts administrators and faculty are "often unaware of, or uninterested in, donors' philanthropic record and relevant interests." [14]

In March 2022, Tufts Daily Deputy News Editor Emily Thompson and Editor in Chief Alexander Janoff were sued by local landlord and orthodontist Mouhab Rizkallah over Thompson's reporting on a protest against Rizkallah's negligent treatment of his tenants. [15] [16] Rizkallah accused Thompson and Janoff of defamation, saying Thompson's article misrepresented the comment he gave to the Daily for her story. [17] Thompson and Janoff maintained that the article was accurate as published, and the suit was ultimately dismissed with prejudice. [17] Prior to dismissal, it garnered coverage from the Boston Globe and Teen Vogue, among other publications. [15] [18]

Sections

The Daily has six sections of original written content (News, Features, Sports, Arts, Science and Investigative), as well as an Opinion section that includes op-ed submissions from community members, bylined content from Opinions staffers and editorials written by the paper's editorial board. The Daily has three multimedia sections — audio, video and photo — along with a production department that contains the layout, copy, graphics and social media sections.

News, features, arts, sports, science and investigative

The Daily's news section reports on Tufts events, campus politics, student life and breaking news. It also covers Tufts' host communities of Medford and Somerville.

The features section publishes in-depth explorations of student life and trends in academia, at Tufts and nationwide. It also publishes profiles of Tufts faculty and students. The section typically runs one feature-length article and one column each day.

The arts section began as a single article in the paper's first issue in 1980 and has since expanded to run three to four articles each day, covering on- and off-campus events. From 1987 until 2002, Arts ran its "Weekender" supplement once a week as an insert magazine. The Weekender was later relaunched as part of the paper, rather than an insert, and typically includes a lengthy profile of a local event, exhibition, or artist. It appears inside Thursday's paper.

The sports section provides in-depth coverage of the school's varsity teams and occasionally reports on club and intramural sports. The section regularly profiles Tufts athletes and explores issues and trends in major professional sports in its weekly columns.

The Science section was established in fall 2021 to cover new developments in public health and scientific research on Tufts' campuses, in the greater Boston area and beyond. The section publishes online only and is known for in-depth features as well as "bite-size" articles.

The investigative section produces comprehensive, long-form coverage of significant topics of interest, which often takes months to produce. In September 2019, the section covered a 2018 meeting among presidents of Boston-area colleges and the Saudi crown prince, focusing on the previously undisclosed attendance of Tufts University President Anthony Monaco. [19] In 2022, the section published the results of a months-long investigation into Teaching Assistant pay discrepancies at Tufts, which found that TAs in some departments are vastly underpaid, including at least one below the university minimum wage. [20]

Opinion and editorial

The Daily's opinion section accepts submissions from all members of the Tufts community on any campus, national, or global issue. It has become an important platform for campus debate, with particularly controversial pieces often leading to a series of back-and-forth op-eds. It was known as the Viewpoints section until fall 2007, when it merged with the Editorial department. The Viewpoints section was then relaunched in spring 2021 as subcategory of Opinion, and includes Opinion content written by staff or contributing writers. [21]

The paper has traditionally run several editorials per week. Editorials are unsigned and, as such, represent the opinions of the Daily.

Audio, video, and photo

The Daily's audio section launched in 2018 and produces multiple podcasts, including The Rewind, Take Town, and A Blight on the Hill. [21]

The video section releases videos on the Daily's YouTube channel. [22] The Daily's Newsroom Concert Series, featuring performances from Tufts' own Veronica Stewart-Frommer of Melt and the members of Emperor Jones, was launched in spring 2022. [23] [24]

The photo section produces regular content, including daily photos that accompany articles and monthly photo spreads.

Business, alumni liaison

The business department is responsible for print, digital, social media, and newsletter advertisement sales, supplying the Daily's main source of income.

The alumni liaisons coordinate fundraising and journalism education initiatives with the Tufts Daily Alumni Council, which was formed in 2020.

Distribution

The Daily partners with the news aggregator applications Apple News and NewsBreak. [25]

During the 2020–21 academic year, the Daily reduced print production to at most once per week due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [26] However, the Daily continued to layout the paper nightly for online reading on Issuu. [27] Due to the change in print schedule, the Daily focused on producing special edition issues, including the 2020 Election Guide, Jumbo Month edition, Commencement edition, and COVID-19 at Tufts: A Year in Review.

During the 2021–2022 academic year, the Daily increased print production to biweekly and continued printing special issues, such as the Community at Tufts edition and the 2022 Daily Week edition celebrating the paper's 42nd anniversary.

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<i>The Harvard Crimson</i> Harvard College undergraduate daily newspaper

The Harvard Crimson is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students.

The Daily Illini, commonly known as the DI, is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1871. Weekday circulation during fall and spring semesters is 7,000; copies are distributed free at more than 100 locations throughout Champaign–Urbana.

<i>The Tartan</i> (Carnegie Mellon University) Carnegie Mellon Universitys student newspaper

The Tartan is the original student newspaper of Carnegie Mellon University. Publishing since 1906, it is one of Carnegie Mellon's largest and oldest student organizations. It currently has over 170 student members, who contribute on a weekly basis. It is funded by advertisements and the university's student activities fee.

<i>The Brown Daily Herald</i> Student newspaper in Rhode Island, US

The Brown Daily Herald is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

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

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

<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 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.

<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 Student Life</i> Student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges

The Student Life is a student newspaper covering the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of liberal arts colleges in Claremont, California. It is published weekly each Friday during the academic year, typically spans roughly ten pages per issue, and is primarily funded by the student governments of the colleges.

<i>The Cornell Daily Sun</i> Newspaper in Ithaca, New York

The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent newspaper at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is published twice weekly by Cornell University students and hired employees. Founded in 1880, The Sun is the oldest continuously independent college daily in the United States.

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.

The Daily Free Press is the student newspaper of Boston University. It is a digital-first publication with daily online content and a monthly print edition on Thursday during the academic year. The Daily Free Press is staffed by about 200 volunteer editors, writers, reporters and photographers. The editorial positions change on a semester-to-semester basis. The paper is governed by a board of former editors, who make up the Board of Directors of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit.

The Emory Wheel is the independent, student-run newspaper at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The Wheel is published every other week on Wednesday during the regular school year, and is updated daily on its website. The sections of the Wheel include News, Opinion, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Emory Life and Multimedia. The paper also produces The Hub, an award-winning quarterly magazine founded in 2005. Serving the Emory community since 1919, the Wheel is editorially and financially independent from the University. The staff is composed entirely of students. The Wheel offices are currently located in the Alumni Memorial University Center (AMUC).

<i>The Tufts Observer</i>

The Tufts Observer, founded as the Tufts Weekly, is an undergraduate student newsmagazine published at Tufts University. First published in 1895 Tufts' first student newspaper, the Observer is the oldest student publication on campus. The Tufts Weekly was renamed the Tufts Observer in 1969. Observer staff currently work out of the Media Advocacy Board (MAB) Lab, located on the second floor of Curtis Hall on College Avenue.

Portland State Vanguard, formerly known as the Daily Vanguard and Vet's Extended, is an independent student newspaper for Portland State University, in Portland, Oregon, United States.

The Medium is a student newspaper in the United States. It is a student-run weekly satire and comedy publication at Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey. Founded in 1970 as The Livingston Medium, it is the second largest newspaper in circulation at Rutgers University, after the official student newspaper, The Daily Targum. Referring to itself as the "Entertainment Weekly of Rutgers University", the more recent incarnations of The Medium focus on satirical and humorous articles based on current events, popular culture, and events on the Rutgers campuses. Since 1970, the newspaper has been headquartered on Livingston Campus.

The Daily Campus, founded in 1896, is a student-run newspaper at the University of Connecticut. The weekday paper services the main campus of UConn and Storrs, Connecticut community with circulation during the school term.

<i>The Diamondback</i> University of Maryland student newspaper

The Diamondback is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as The Triangle and became known as The Diamondback in 1921. The Diamondback was initially published as a daily print newspaper on weekdays until becoming a weekly online journal in 2013. It is published by Maryland Media, Inc., a non-profit organization. The newspaper receives no university funding and derives its revenue from advertising.

The Chicago Maroon, the independent student newspaper of the University of Chicago, is a weekly publication founded in 1892. During the academic year, The Maroon publishes every Tuesday and Friday. The paper consists of seven sections: news, opinion ("Viewpoints"), arts, sports, Grey City, podcasts, and games. In September, it publishes its annual orientation Issue (O-Issue) for entering first-year students, including sections on the University and the city of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Scaramucci</span> American financier and political figure (born 1964)

Anthony Scaramucci is an American financier who briefly served as the White House Director of Communications from July 21 to July 31, 2017.

References

  1. Sauer, Anne; Branco, Jessica; Bennett, John; Crowley, Zachary (2000). "Tufts Daily, 1980". Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History.
  2. "Top 50 College Newspapers". College Choice. June 3, 2021.
  3. Alder, Jeremy. "Top 50 College Newspapers". College Choice. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  4. Princeton Review (3 August 2015). "Best College Newspapers: 2015 Ranking Released by Princeton Review". College Media Matters. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. "Tufts Daily, February 25, 1980". The Tufts Daily. February 25, 1980. hdl:10427/10257.
  6. Miller, Russell (1986). Light on the Hill: A History of Tufts University Since 1952. Vol. 2. Cambridge, MA: MassMarket Books. p. 232.
  7. "Remade 'Observer' marks new era in campus media". The Tufts Daily. September 1, 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  8. Caballero, Camilo A. (November 6, 2017). "Op-Ed: Seeking power of values over power of money". The Tufts Daily.
  9. "Claiming defamation, lawyer for Anthony Scaramucci demands retractions from Daily op-eds". The Tufts Daily. November 27, 2017.
  10. Astor, Maggie (November 28, 2017). "Anthony Scaramucci Quits Tufts Advisory Board After Tangling With Student Paper". The New York Times.
  11. "As U.S. election nears racist fliers, antisemitic graffiti appear". Reuters. November 2, 2018.
  12. "Posters linked to white nationalism appear on get-out-the-vote signs across campus". The Tufts Daily. November 1, 2018.
  13. Nickerson, David. "Dark Money at Tufts". The Tufts Daily.
  14. Nickerson, David (November 28, 2018). "Part 3: Tufts policies fail to assess donors' controversial histories, motives". The Tufts Daily.
  15. 1 2 Alanez, Tonya (March 31, 2022). "Somerville orthodontist and landlord sues Tufts student journalists over story on renters' protest". The Boston Globe.
  16. Thompson, Emily (February 11, 2022). "Tenants Union protests LaCourt Realty, claims exploitation, negligence". The Tufts Daily.
  17. 1 2 "BREAKING: Landlord's lawsuit against student journalists dismissed with prejudice". The Tufts Daily. April 1, 2022.
  18. Retta, Mary (April 29, 2022). "Student Journalists Face Lawsuits, Censorship for Their Reporting". Teen Vogue.
  19. Thompson, Alexander (September 9, 2019). "Monaco attended 2018 meeting with Saudi crown prince". The Tufts Daily.
  20. Steinberg, Ethan (May 22, 2022). "Some undergrad TAs paid thousands more than others as stipends, hourly rates inconsistent among departments". The Tufts Daily.
  21. 1 2 Leavitt, Lena (February 26, 2021). "New sections of the Daily enhance reporting". The Tufts Daily.
  22. The Tufts Daily. YouTube. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  23. Off the Record: Emperor Jones. YouTube. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  24. In conversation with Veronica Stewart-Frommer of Melt. YouTube. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  25. "The Tufts Daily". Apple News.
  26. "Spring 2021 Production Calendar". The Tufts Daily.
  27. Managing Board, Fall 2020 (September 8, 2020). "Letter from the Managing Board: Let's get to work". The Tufts Daily.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. 1 2 3 Schmidt, Kathleen (October 16, 2014). "Journalist panel examines scandal, inequality in professional sports". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  29. "Patrick Healy to Join Culture as Deputy Editor, News". The New York Times. September 30, 2016.
  30. "About". The Tufts Daily. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018.
  31. Choe, Jonathan (November 27, 2017). "Found this gem hanging inside the @TuftsDaily newsroom. @Scaramucci contributed to the student paper back in the day. The Mooch was on point with his analysis of the upcoming 1983-84 #NBA season.pic.twitter.com/T77v70Stzc". @choenbcboston.