The Oracle (University of South Florida)
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''The Oracle'', the University of South Florida's (USF) editorially independent, student-run newspaper, made history when its premiere issue was published September 6, 1966. It was the first college newspaper in the United States to feature full color photographs on the front page of each issue, according to 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 ...
(ACP).


History


Creation

The Oracle replaced the
USF USF may refer to: Universities * University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana * University of San Francisco, California * University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida * University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois * University of Siou ...
Campus Edition of the now defunct ''Tampa Times,'' which had previously served as the school's news publication. The ''Tampa Times'' had given 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 ...
three pages of its Monday editions, the front page and pages one and two of the second section, to feature USF campus news. The newspaper made a special Campus Edition press run after its own Monday morning early editions were completed specifically to print papers to be distributed in designated racks on campus and at nearby venues. The university had not yet formed a school for
mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
, so publishing the newspaper was the responsibility of a modest journalism effort, offering four or five basic news writing and editing courses and run by its English department.


Early years

In the summer of 1966, Dr. Arthur M. Sanderson, director of student publications and English professor, entered into an agreement with the ''
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'' to print an entire stand-alone newspaper which would be distributed on campus each Wednesday. Associate communications professor and Oracle general manager Steve Yates, editor-in-chief Harry Haigley and photographer/reporter Tony Zappone collaborated in naming it ''The
Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...
,'' a Greek term signifying an infallible authority, among other things. (One consideration had been to name it the "USF Bull Sheet.") Its first staff consisted of about 20 student volunteers and part-time paid student staffers who used a small office space on the second floor of the old University Student Center, since torn down and replaced, as headquarters. Yates became the academic faculty coordinator of the paper and kept offices, along with Sanderson, in a room adjacent to the newspaper office for ease of consultation.


Front page color

Editor Haigley assigned Zappone, The Oracle's first staff shutterbug, the task of creating one color photograph illustrating an aspect of campus life or events for the front page of each issue. It was a feature that no other university newspaper had at that time and was a cooperative effort with the St. Petersburg Times (now The Tampa Bay Times). Each Tuesday, Haigley, Zappone and a third alternating staff member drove 30 miles from the USF campus in North Tampa to the downtown St. Petersburg headquarters of the St. Pete Times to spend an afternoon supervising the composing room staff while mechanicals and plates for the late night press run of ''The Oracle'' were assembled. The papers were trucked to the campus each week in the early-morning hours and set out in racks around the campus.


Present

The print edition is now published Mondays and Thursdays, with digital updates throughout the week. The Oracle has won numerous awards in recent years, including Best Overall Student Daily in the Southeast region by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2016.


Awards

In 1967, during its first year of publication, The Oracle was awarded several of 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 ...
'
National Pacemaker Awards 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 ...
for "excellence in college journalism." Another historic effort by ''The Oracle'' was the production of a full-color campus feature magazine insert once each term, edited by Yates and Zappone, with contributions of copy and photographs from The Oracle staff and USF
faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...
members. The magazine was recognized by the Associated Collegiate Press as the only magazine insert published by a university newspaper at that time. In September 1970, the newspaper began publishing on Tuesdays and Fridays and in 1972 enhanced the student
news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
and advertising sales staff sufficiently to publish Tuesdays through Fridays in a reduced tabloid-size format. In 1989, The Oracle was named to the ACP's Hall of Fame. The paper won the 1990
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 ...
award for Best Student Daily in the Nation (no second or third place was declared that year).


References


External links


Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oracle, The (University of South Florida) University of South Florida media Student newspapers published in Florida 1966 establishments in Florida Publications established in 1966