The Michigan Daily

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The Michigan Daily
Front page view of the November 1, 2019 edition
TypeStudent newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
SchoolUniversity of Michigan
FoundedSeptember 29, 1890; 133 years ago (1890-09-29)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersAnn Arbor, Michigan
Circulation7,500
ISSN0745-967X
OCLC number9651208
Websitemichigandaily.com

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 as well as editorially independent from the university. The Daily is managed by two editors-in-chief and a business manager who oversee a staff of over 500 undergraduate students.

The Michigan Daily is the only daily newspaper in Washtenaw County, Michigan.[1] In 2020, the paper received nearly 6 million website visits,[2] and serves over 50,000 university students and nearly 350,000 residents throughout Washtenaw County.[3]

Former editors and columnists of the paper include politicians, federal judges, and journalists at publications like CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and seven Pullitzer Prize winners. The Michigan Daily was awarded the 2023 Pacemaker Award in online media, the highest award in college journalism.[4]

History

First issue of The Daily in 1890

In 1952, the Soviet delegate to the United Nations, F. A. Novikov, singled out the newspaper as emblematic of American warmongering. On April 12, 1955, when the success of Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was announced at the University of Michigan the Daily was the first newspaper to report it. In 1957, the Daily sent a staff member to Little Rock, Arkansas who, pretending to be a student, attended classes on the first day of integration.

Activist and politician Tom Hayden, a former Daily editor in chief who helped found Students for a Democratic Society while editing the Daily, came to personify the publication's editorial philosophy during the 1960s. The paper was the subject of national press coverage when, in 1967, it urged the legalization of marijuana, and again during the Gulf War in 1991, when it called for the reinstatement of the military draft.

The Daily was instrumental in the spread of the Paul is dead urban legend. An October 14, 1969 Daily article by Fred LaBour and John Gray, entitled "McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light", itemized various "clues", many of them of their own invention. Their "reporting" of McCartney's death is claimed by Beatleologist Andru J. Reeve to have been "the single most significant factor in the breadth of the rumor's spread."[5][6]

The first female editor-in-chief of The Daily was Harriett Woods, who later served in Missouri State government, ran for the Senate twice in the 1980s nearly beating John Danforth the first time, and led the National Women's Political Caucus through its Year of the Woman in 1992.

On January 28, 2014, The Daily earned national recognition for breaking news that a Michigan football player had been separated from the university for sexual misconduct.

Overview

The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the university's administration and other student groups, but shares a university building with other student publications on 420 Maynard Street, north of the Michigan Union. The Daily acts as Michigan's de facto journalism school, since the university does not have a journalism program or department.

The Daily operates 16 different sections and departments: Arts, Audience Engagements, Business, Copy, Culture, Training & Inclusion, Design, Games, Michigan in Color, News, Opinion, Photo, Podcast, Sports, The Statement, Video, and Web. News is the largest section, with seven sections that include Academics and Student Government, Administration, Business and Public Safety, Campus Life, City, Government, and Research.

In 2007, renovations to the historic building at 420 Maynard were completed, funded entirely by private donations from alumni. To dedicate the renovated building, a reunion of the staffs of The Michigan Daily, the Michiganensian yearbook, and the Gargoyle Humor Magazine was held on October 26–28, 2007.

The Michigan Daily is published weekly in broadsheet form during the fall and winter semesters and in tabloid form from May to August. Broadsheets contain a lengthy SportsWednesday Sports section and occasionally an extended, themed issue called The B-Side from the Arts section. They also include a magazine, originally titled Weekend Magazine. In the fall of 2005, the magazine was renamed The Statement, a reference to former editor-in-chief Tom Hayden's Port Huron Statement. School year circulation is 7,500 copies per day. It has over 230,000 unique visitors per month to its website.[citation needed]

Following the closure of The Ann Arbor News in July 2009,[7] The Michigan Daily became the only printed daily newspaper published in Washtenaw County.[8]

Notable alumni

Thomas Dewey, 47th governor of New York

Many columnists and editors from The Daily have gone to hold prominent positions in government, journalism, and more. Alumni include playwright Arthur Miller, 47th governor of New York and presidential candidate Thomas Dewey, activist Tom Hayden, investment banker Bruce Wasserstein, journalist and physician Sanjay Gupta, former chairman of American Airlines George A. Spater, journalist and game show host Mike Wallace, actor Robert Vaughn, and former lieutenant governor of Missouri Harriett Woods.

Notable journalists and writers include Pulitzer Prize winners Amy Harmon of The New York Times, Ann Marie Lipinski of the Chicago Tribune, Lisa Pollak of The Baltimore Sun, and Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post. Others include Stephen Henderson; David Schechter, winner of an Alfred duPont-Colombia Award; Arthur Miller; and more.

Awards won by The Daily include the 2023 National Pacemaker Award in online media,[9] 22 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2020 and 2021,[10][11] and 14 awards from the Michigan College Press Association in 2018.[12]

References

  1. ^ Levin, Dan (October 19, 2019). "When the Student Newspaper Is The Only Daily Paper in Town". The New York Times.
  2. ^ https://www.similarweb.com/website/michigandaily.com/
  3. ^ "Join The Michigan Daily". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  4. ^ "ACP - 2023 Online Pacemakers". Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ^ McCartney interview - barefoot: Jan 31, 1974 Archived 2009-10-01 at the Wayback Machine rollingstone.com - Retrieved: 5 August 2007
  6. ^ Glenn, Allen, "Paul is dead (said Fred)" Archived 2010-12-28 at the Wayback Machine, Michigan Today (November 11, 2009)
  7. ^ "Ann Arbor News to Close in July," Archived 2009-10-16 at the Portuguese Web Archive Ann Arbor News, 23 Mar. 2009. Accessed 23 Mar. 2009.
  8. ^ Levin, Dan (October 19, 2019). "When the Student Newspaper Is the Only Daily Paper in Town". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "ACP - 2023 Online Pacemaker finalists". Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  10. ^ SPJ. "Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards winners announced". www.spj.org. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  11. ^ Becher, Asif (2018-05-14). "Michigan Press Association honors The Daily with 14 awards". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  12. ^ SPJ. "Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards winners announced". www.spj.org. Retrieved 2022-04-12.

External links