''The O'Colly'', formerly ''The Daily O'Collegian'', is the student-run newspaper at
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
. ''The O'Colly'' is published every weekday and distributed for free to OSU students at various points around the campus in Stillwater. The newspaper has been in distribution since May 1895. ''The O'Colly'' is ranked as one of the top college newspapers in the country, earning several honors throughout its history and has a circulation of more than 10,000.
History
Though the student-run newspaper at Oklahoma State has been around almost from the beginning, it has not always been published as ''The Daily O'Collegian''. The paper's original name, ''The College Mirror'', was used from 1895 to 1899. The name would then change to ''The College Paper'' in 1899, ''The Orange and Black'' in 1907, and ''The O'Collegian'' in March 1924. In December 1924 ''The O'Collegian'' began daily publication, increased its circulation to 2,983, and joined the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, becoming the fifth college newspaper in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to do so. The only other college newspapers holding AP membership at the time were at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
,
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
, the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
and
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. In 1927, the paper's name was amended a final time, becoming ''The Daily O'Collegian''.
''The O'Colly's'' online edition was launched in 1995.
Starting with the fall 2014 semester, the paper cut Tuesday and Thursday edition and rebranded as ''The O'Colly'' with a new tabloid format.
The O'Colly reverted back to its original broadsheet format in the fall 2020 semester.
Awards
''The O'Colly'' has received All-America honors, the highest rating given by the
Associated Collegiate Press
The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...
and
National Scholastic Press Association
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1921 for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conv ...
, every year since 1989. In 1990, the paper produced the National SPJ Sports Photo of the year, and one of its journalists was recognized as first runner-up for College Journalist of the Year. One photographer received SPJ's Sports Photo of the Year and was a runner-up for News Photo of the Year in 2004. In 1991, ''The O'Colly'' produced the National Story of the Year from the Associated Collegiate Press and the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
. Also in 1991, the paper received the Distinguished Newspaper Adviser Award from College Media Advisers Inc. ''The O'Colly'' received the
National Newspaper Pacemaker Award
The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the " Pulitzer ...
, often considered the
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
of college journalism, in 1995.
Additionally, the paper has been honored with other awards from the
William Randolph Hearst Foundation
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
,
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
,
Southwestern Journalism Congress
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
and
Oklahoma City Gridiron
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
.
Notable alumni
*
Chester Gould
Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the ''Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains.
Ear ...
- Created the ''
Dick Tracy
''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...
'' strip
* Paul Miller - Helped in the creation of the