You might not know it, but the world of college newspapers is actually super serious. Some of the best ones have a massive range of topics covered, not just related to that specific college experience, a considerable number of people reading them regularly and in some cases, they are award-winning. This is because the whole process of working in the college newsroom is very serious business, with tight deadlines and the aim to be the first with the stories. In fact, a lot of people who start of in student newsrooms end up with a successful career in the news, so it’s the perfect place to start! Here are some of the best that you should get reading now!
The Heights – Boston College
The Heights is a long running feature of Boston College that was established way back in 1919. Not only is it read by students, faculty and staff of the college, it also reaches further to Newton, Chestnut Hill and the Allston-Brighton Area. The paper is printed weekly on Mondays and covers sports, entertainment/media, and features. It is an award-winning paper that won the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award three years running – which might be all the more special because Boston College actually doesn’t offer any form of journalism courses, and instead, they use the most talented student writers they can find from other courses.
The Daily Orange – Syracuse University
The Daily Orange’s claim to fame is that it was the first college newspaper to utilize comic strips and has a number of famous alumni including the creators of popular strips Jumpstart and Marmaduke. Syracuse’s paper has a massive readership, with a printed circulation of 20,000 and 80,000 unique visitors reading it monthly online. It is updated Monday to Thursday and has occasional sporting updates on Fridays. The paper is always growing and even broke the news of a federal investigation of the university’s handling of intimate assault in 2016.
The Daily Cardinal – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Another longtime staple of the college newspaper scene, The Daily Cardinal has been around since 1892 and covers both local and national news. It has a number of different topics covered, with daily reporting on the news, sports and the arts and weekly features, science articles, and lifestyle stories. The newspaper is proud to teach new reporters and help them to develop into strong members of the reporting field. In its lifetime, it has won 61 awards and is continuing to provide a great news service for the university.
Yale Daily News – Yale University
Yale Daily News is officially the United States’ oldest daily newspaper and has been read since 1878. Each day of the week the paper has a different focus; Mondays are sports, Tuesdays have science and technology, Wednesdays are about arts and culture, Friday concentrates on opinions and the WEEKEND paper is a section on lifestyle. It also has a number of special editions depending on the time of the year, calendar events and upcoming sports matches. The paper has a number of online features.
You shouldn’t be short of reading material this year, with lots of different ways for you to keep on top of all the important student-focussed news you should know. It might even inspire you to get involved with your college paper!
