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 The December 5, 2005 front page ofThe Daily Texan | |
| Type | Student newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | The University of Texas |
| Publisher | Texas Student Media |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
| Website | www.thedailytexan.com |
The Daily Texan is thestudent newspaper of theUniversity of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in theUnited States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and is among the oldest student newspapers inthe South.[1]
TheTexan is entirely student-run and independent from the university, although its operations are overseen byTexas Student Media, an entity with faculty, student, and newspaper industry representatives.
TheTexan's origins date back to October 1900, with the merger of two privately owned weekly newspapers,The Ranger (est. 1897) (which had succeededThe Alcalde, which published from 1895–1897) andThe Ranger and the Calendar (1889–1900). In 1902The Texan was taken over by theStudent Association.[2] From 1900–1907, the newspaper came out weekly; and from 1907–1913The Texan was published semiweekly. In 1913, the student body voted to publish the paper each weekday, andThe Daily Texan was born on September 24, 1913.
In 2008The Daily Texan was one of three student newspapers that owned and operated its own printing press. Originally acquired in 1973 for $222,000 (equivalent to $1,572,000 in 2024), the press was put on the market in 2009. In May 2009, theAustin American-Statesman began printingThe Daily Texan.[3][4] As of October 2019,New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung prints and distributes the papers.
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Historically, writers for theDaily Texan have been paid much less than the minimum wage. Most Journalism students — who are in the same complex — can’t contribute to theTexan due to their course workload and the poor pay offered by theTexan. Historically, the position of editor ofThe Daily Texan has been elected. The logic of an elected editor-in-chief historically has been based on the newspaper’s having been founded and owned by students and then given over to the student body. More recently, it has been argued[by whom?] that because students were compelled to fund the paper through the payment of mandatory student service fees, they should have some say in the paper’s overall direction. In addition, the elected editor-in-chief has been seen[by whom?] as a way to protect the paper from institutional censorship from the university. Since the student body selects the editor of the paper, this ensures that the university administration cannot install an editor-in-chief sympathetic to its views and thereby control the content of the newspaper.
In modern times[when?], editorial candidates have been screened by theTexas Student Publications Board (now known asTexas Student Media), an entity with faculty, student, and newspaper industry representatives. The TSM Board publishes a handbook which sets forth the requirements an editorial candidate must meet before his or her name may be placed on the ballot. The board has been resistant to the idea of an elected editor and has made several attempts to convert the position to an appointed one. The most recent attempt, led by the board president, was in 2005.[5]
The TSM Board currently appoints the managing editor, who oversees the daily operation of the paper, including all departments other than opinion. The editor-in-chief, who is elected, has sole oversight of the editorial page and opinion department.
TheTexan has won multiple awards, including theAssociated Collegiate Press’ "Pacemaker Award" in 1965, 1969, 1971 and 1985, and theColumbia Scholastic Press’ Gold Crown Award in 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005 and 2006. Most recently the Texan won TAPME’s Daily Newspaper of the Year Award for 2016.[6]
A number of comic artists who began at theTexan have gone on to attain commercial success. The most notable of these areChris Ware, creator ofJimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth;Berkeley Breathed, creator ofAcademia Waltz, the predecessor toBloom County; andRobert Rodriguez, director ofSin City.Hepcats byMartin Wagner andEyebeam bySam Hurt also found continued success after their creators left the University of Texas at Austin. A number ofTexan cartoonists have later worked in animation, among them Divya Srinivasan, the author ofLittle Owl’s Night and other children’s picture books.
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