''Onward State'' is a student-run news website geared toward members of the
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
community in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The website provides news, features, and commentary on issues impacting Penn State and
State College. ''Onward State'' has published more than 34,000 stories since its founding in November 2008. It was voted the "Best Alternative Media Outlet" in a February 2009 online contest by ''
U.S. News & World Report''. ''Onward State'' has been cited in the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', ''
USA TODAY
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'',
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
,'' and many other national news outlets. 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 ...
has described ''Onward State'' as "one of Penn State's smarter, if sometimes-snarky blogs."
Its staff size, including a handful of internally selected editors, fluctuates every semester but generally settles at around 45 people, all Penn State students.
History
''Onward State'' was founded in November 2008 by three freshmen (Davis Shaver, Eli Glazier, and Evan Kalikow) in their dormitories in Simmons Hall on Penn State's campus. The concept for ''Onward State'' was spearheaded by Shaver, who believed that other local media outlets were not adapting quickly enough to the digital age. For instance,
''The Daily Collegian'', the official school newspaper, didn't have a Facebook page until 2009 and its Twitter feed was mostly automated links. As Shaver later put it: "At first, I thought that perhaps the idea could be realized through ''The Daily Collegian'', a student newspaper with a deservedly-great reputation. That plan never came to a head, though; at the time, the paper just wasn't interested in doing things differently."
The site's first post, published on November 17, 2008, was an unsubstantiated rumor about
Girl Talk performing at Penn State, which ended up being true. The website quickly picked up a small cult following among students, faculty, and administrators. It became known initially for its utility as a news aggregator and its snarky commentary, much of which was directed at then-President
Graham Spanier
Graham Basil Spanier (born July 18, 1948) is a South African-born American sociologist and university administrator who became the 16th president of Pennsylvania State University on September 1, 1995. On November 9, 2011, in the wake of the Pen ...
. The site nicknamed Spanier "G-Span", began a satirical column called "The View from the University House" written in his name, and even photoshopped a picture of Spanier in a bikini.
Blogger Alison Go of ''U.S. News & World Report'' organized the online contest "Best Alternative Media Outlet" at the beginning of 2009 and ''Onward State'' beat blogs from
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
,
Vassar,
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...
,
Columbia,
Georgetown,
Middlebury,
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, and an
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
conglomerate. ''The Daily Collegian'' first acknowledged ''Onward State'' at the time of the website's recognition. In an interview with the ''Collegian'' about next year's contest, Shaver explained "We have big ambitions... I think that we're just going to be more established, more of a name within the Penn State community by then. There is a strong possibility of being Alternative Media repeat champions."
On September 21, 2009, after a campus-wide search, ''Onward State'' was the first media outlet to report the tragic news that freshman Joe Dado had been found dead in a campus stairwell. It was the first major news break for the website, which resulted in a significant traffic increase and mainstream recognition. ''Onward State'' continued the trend toward producing original journalism for a digital audience in the coming years with its coverage of a student riot
after the death of Osama Bin Laden,
THON, and
State Patty's Day. More so than its original news reporting, ''Onward State'' became known for irreverent features like "Drunk, Sober, High" and "Overheard at Penn State", along with its more laid student life" reporting style, like its discovery of the only on-campus
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
machine.
In March 2011, ''Onward State'' was sold to a local company called Lazerpro Digital Media Group to ensure sustainability after its original founders graduated and to improve its resources. As part of the partnership, ''Onward State'' all-student staff continues to write, edit, and manage the website's content and day-to-day operations autonomously while Lazerpro manages the website's revenue streams and web hosting.
Sandusky Scandal
When the
Penn State child sex abuse scandal
The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...
story broke in November 2011, ''Onward State'' traffic increased considerably. Its live coverage and commentary on the fallout caused its Twitter following to double—from 7,500 to 15,000—in only two weeks. The traffic surge was so overwhelming that the website's server crashed as it handled approximately ten times the normal number of readers. A constantly updated live blog provided updates to its readers as the story became a national fixation.
Criticism
Paterno Death Error
On January 21, 2012, ''Onward State''s official Twitter account tweeted "Our sources can now confirm:
Joseph Vincent Paterno has passed away tonight at the age of 85."
This tweet, described by ''
The Patriot-News
''The Patriot-News'' is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publica ...
'' as "an unconfirmed rumor about an anonymous email
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
was taken and reported as fact," was picked up and re-reported by
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
who repeated the rumor, citing ''Onward State'' specifically as the source of the information.
The national media quickly followed and reported Paterno's death as fact, before the Paterno family issued a statement that he was, in fact, still alive.
Later that day, ''Onward State'' managing editor resigned, saying "I never, in a million years, would have thought that ''Onward State'' would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been. To all those who read and passed along our reports, I sincerely apologize for misleading you." Paterno died the next day. ''Onward State'' explained that they had believed the death reports to be true after receiving an email supposedly sent to the football team (later determined to be a hoax) and confirmation of the email from a writer "whom
nward State editorslater found out had not been honest in his information."
Impact
''Onward State'' maintains a rivalry with
The Daily Collegian
The ''Daily Collegian'' is a student-produced news outlet, with a newspaper and website, that is published independently at the Pennsylvania State University. The newspaper is printed twice a week during the fall and spring semesters, and once ...
, the traditional student newspaper for the Penn State community.
''Onward State'' celebrated its 5th birthday in November 2013. More than 100 alumni, friends, and current staff members returned to campus for a quinquennial banquet to celebrate the first five years of the website.
Penn State acknowledged the anniversary.
In February 2014, ''Onward State'' broke the story that then
Florida State University President
Eric J. Barron had accepted an offer to become Penn State's president.
During a campaign rally on the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
's campus in April 2016, future president
Donald J. Trump asked the crowd "How's Joe Paterno? We going to bring that back? How about that whole deal?" When asked to clarify the question, a campaign spokesperson said that Trump was referring to the bronze statue of Joe Paterno that formerly stood in front of Beaver Stadium "that they melted down," which errantly referenced a fictitious Onward State April Fool's Day story from the previous year as fact.
As part of its community mission, Onward State has planned local charity events and hosts a weekly radio talk show on
The LION 90.7 FM called "Onward State Old Timey Audio Hour."
In December 2021, ''Onward State'' broke the story that
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
President
Dr. Neeli Bendapudi would serve as the next president of the university, following Barron's announced retirement in June 2022.
References
{{reflist, colwidth=30em
Pennsylvania State University