''The Daily Nebraskan'', established in 1871 as the ''Monthly Hesperian Student'', is the
student newspaper
A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...
of the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...
. Although many
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
students are on staff, the ''Daily Nebraskan'' is independent of the university's College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The newspaper is entirely student-produced and managed, and has a professional general manager, Allen Vaughan, who joined in July 2019 after the retirement of Dan Shattil, who retired in October 2019 after 37 years at the helm.
The paper publishes every school day during the fall and spring semesters, with the exceptions of the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break and the last four days of finals week. It publishes weekly during summer sessions. The newspaper covers campus and Lincoln news, along with arts, entertainment, and sports. There is also an opinion page featuring student columnists. In addition, other articles published include the 1948 Nebraska parking riots, the campus strike of 1970, and articles that were written by
Warren Buffett's parents.
History
The ''Daily Nebraskan'' was first published as a monthly and a weekly edition before becoming a daily paper. Its official birthday is June 13, 1901. As the newspaper's style and content changed, so did its identity and moniker. From 1871 to 1885, the paper was published by the Palladian Literary Society and known as the ''Monthly Hesperian Student''. The first editor of the ''Hesperian'' was W.L. Sweet and the paper contained only six sections.
In 1885 the name was shortened to ''The Hesperian.'' At that time the University of Nebraska–Lincoln had multiple student publications; one of these, ''The Nebraskan'', also known as ''The Rag'' after its editor, was founded in 1894 by Frank T. Riley. For seven years UNL would have two weekly newspapers until ''The Daily Nebraskan'' was organized on January 13, 1901 as a consolidation of ''The Hesperian'' and ''The Nebraskan.'' The evolved newspaper flourished beyond rival publications.
While the editorship of the paper was first elected by the student body as an official publication, the paper is now financially supported by the University and more work is published. Of its leaders, the most well-known is notable Nebraskan author
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...
. In 1892, Cather became the literary editor of ''The Hesperian;'' in November 1893 she was named the managing editor. Cather would hold this position until she graduated from the university in 1895.
In the mid-2000s, the daily paper converted to publishing tri-weekly, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Later, it switched to a twice a week schedule. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the DN was to complete its transition to a digital-first publication at it
dailynebraskan.comweb address, and print a monthly newsmagazine.
Satire
Throughout its publication, the ''Daily Nebraskan'' has always included pieces of satire. For most of its history the paper collected articles with a satirical tone over the course of the year and assembled them together for the April 1st publication. Iterations of this special daily edition were sometimes jokingly referred to as the ''Daily Halfaskan''. Like the front page included on the left, the satirical papers published on April Fools were humorous and lampooned facets of university life in Nebraska.
Students of satire at UNL found this single issue of satire too limiting a venue and decided to launch an additional student paper. In 2008, ''
The DailyER
''The DailyER,'' formerly titled ''The Dailyer Nebraskan'' and ''The DailyER Nebraskan'' (often referred to as ''The DER''), established in 2008, is a satirical newspaper produced monthly during the fall and spring semester at the University of Ne ...
'' was launched as a bi-weekly publication dedicated to satirical and radical news.
References
Further reading
This site allows users the ability to read all of the issues of ''The Daily Nebraskan'' published between 1901 and 1976 as they were published in PDF format.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daily Nebraskan, The
1871 establishments in Nebraska
Mass media in Lincoln, Nebraska
Publications established in 1871
Student newspapers published in Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Newspapers published in Nebraska