The Oklahoma Daily
Encyclopedia
The Oklahoma Daily is the student-run newspaper at the University of Oklahoma
. Though it maintains its connections with OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
, the newspaper is not a part of required learning for journalism students at OU, but some classes are offered at The Daily in which class credit can be earned.
For the most part, The Daily is operated by its parent company OU Student Media which also oversees the production of OU's Yearbook, Sower Magazine, The OU Visitor's Guide and an advertising office. At the paper, Students are hired year round, and some are paid and some are called volunteers or interns. The Editor In-Chief is the only person to serve an entire school year in the same position, and the editorial board changes every semester. The newspaper runs an average of 8 to 12 pages per edition depending on the amount of advertisements sold.
Since The Daily no longer owns an on-campus printer, editions are printed at the same location as The Norman Transcript
.
In the fall of 1921, the circulation for The Daily was 700, plus 200 mail subscribers, and by 1926, circulation had reached 6,000. Also in 1926, The Daily became a member of the Associated Press — the only college paper at that time with full voting and membership rights.
A poll in December 1946 showed that 72 percent of the student body read The Daily. In May 1956, a libel suit was filed against editor George Gravely and faculty supervisor Louise B. Moore. The suit was dismissed as groundless, but it marked the first time The Daily had been sued for libel.
The Daily moved into Copeland Hall — its current location — in the fall of 1958 (although the building didn’t get that name for three more years). In 1976, The Daily entered the computer age with a system that used video display terminals and a scanner to read typed copy. The paper was switched to broadsheet format in 1977.
The Daily' s coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing was recognized nationally, as media from all over the world contacted its reporters for information. The Daily Staff put on a disaster-coverage workshop at the CMA/ACP convention in Washington, D.C. The Dailys Web site was launched on the same day as the bombing as a columnist for The Daily and about four of his Middle Eastern friends put up the site so people in the Mideast could find out about the bombing. Their relatives were wanting information since the first thought in the U.S. was that the bomber(s) were from the Middle East.
In 1997, The Dailys newsroom was moved into its current location inside Copeland Hall where the backshop used to be. (The Daily had been down the hall, around the corner.) Also in 1997, the Daily switched to year-long Editors-in-Chief.
In 2003, The Daily dropped the Associated Press wire service for a year after a contract dispute. Service was resumed in 2004 after the AP began charging an educational rate to all colleges and universities.
In 2006, The Dailys web site merged with the Sooner Information Network (SIN) and formed a student portal, changing its name to the HUB. The thought behind that move was to make a "hub" of all campus information for students.
In the summer of 2008, the HUB was redesigned into OUDaily.com.
The Daily has a circulation of 11,000. Distribution is free at more than 100 locations on or near campus. It is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer. Special issues are also published at various times of the year.
The Daily is overseen by the OU Publications Board, composed of ten members, one representative from each the following areas: the university president's office staff, university president's office student, the journalism college, the faculty senate, the staff senate, the student government, Sooner yearbook, The Daily staff, Student Media, and the Oklahoma Press Association. The board elects the editor-in-chief for the fall-spring term and the summer term.
In June 2009, The Daily exclusively announced that Republican
Dan Arnett was going to challenge Congressman
Dan Boren
in 2010 before any other publication in the state.
' Pacemaker Award — considered by some to be the Pulitzer Prize
of college journalism — four times, in 1989, 1994, 1995 and 2004. In 1993-94, The Daily was lauded for its investigative journalism that uncovered administrators' acceptance of gifts from university vendors and the university's subsequent attempts to conceal the improprieties from the public. The stories and the attention they garnered off campus helped precipitate the resignation of university President Richard Van Horn. In 1995, the newspaper aggressively and poignantly covered the bombing
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in nearby Oklahoma City
. The Daily's Web site — rushed from concept to reality that year — became a national resource for news about the bombing, years before most news organizations were even online.
The Daily receives many phone calls of complaints from citizens on a daily basis around Norman
and across the state of Oklahoma
because of confusion of the similarity in name to the state newspaper The Oklahoman
formerly called The Daily Oklahoman. All callers will be given the number to The Oklahoman by a staff member during business hours.
On September 29, 2008 the printed version of The Oklahoma Daily premiered its redesigned front page. As a part of the redesign, side bars were inserted, allowing for brief news stories to be featured in an easily seen format. In addition, The Daily moved its recycling symbol and weather forecasts to the bottom of the page.
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
. Though it maintains its connections with OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication is the journalism unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. It is located in Norman, a quaint town located 40 miles south of Oklahoma City...
, the newspaper is not a part of required learning for journalism students at OU, but some classes are offered at The Daily in which class credit can be earned.
For the most part, The Daily is operated by its parent company OU Student Media which also oversees the production of OU's Yearbook, Sower Magazine, The OU Visitor's Guide and an advertising office. At the paper, Students are hired year round, and some are paid and some are called volunteers or interns. The Editor In-Chief is the only person to serve an entire school year in the same position, and the editorial board changes every semester. The newspaper runs an average of 8 to 12 pages per edition depending on the amount of advertisements sold.
Since The Daily no longer owns an on-campus printer, editions are printed at the same location as The Norman Transcript
The Norman Transcript
The Norman Transcript is a daily newspaper published in Norman, Oklahoma, USA, covering Cleveland and McClain counties, in the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc....
.
History, circulation and OU Publications Board
In 1897, five years after the University of Oklahoma opened its doors, the first student ran newspaper, The Umpire, made its debut. In 1903 it became a semiweekly news publication called the University Oklahoman. Subsequently, by 1916 the paper had taken on the name that it still carries today, The Oklahoma Daily.In the fall of 1921, the circulation for The Daily was 700, plus 200 mail subscribers, and by 1926, circulation had reached 6,000. Also in 1926, The Daily became a member of the Associated Press — the only college paper at that time with full voting and membership rights.
A poll in December 1946 showed that 72 percent of the student body read The Daily. In May 1956, a libel suit was filed against editor George Gravely and faculty supervisor Louise B. Moore. The suit was dismissed as groundless, but it marked the first time The Daily had been sued for libel.
The Daily moved into Copeland Hall — its current location — in the fall of 1958 (although the building didn’t get that name for three more years). In 1976, The Daily entered the computer age with a system that used video display terminals and a scanner to read typed copy. The paper was switched to broadsheet format in 1977.
The Daily
In 1997, The Dailys newsroom was moved into its current location inside Copeland Hall where the backshop used to be. (The Daily had been down the hall, around the corner.) Also in 1997, the Daily switched to year-long Editors-in-Chief.
In 2003, The Daily dropped the Associated Press wire service for a year after a contract dispute. Service was resumed in 2004 after the AP began charging an educational rate to all colleges and universities.
In 2006, The Dailys web site merged with the Sooner Information Network (SIN) and formed a student portal, changing its name to the HUB. The thought behind that move was to make a "hub" of all campus information for students.
In the summer of 2008, the HUB was redesigned into OUDaily.com.
The Daily has a circulation of 11,000. Distribution is free at more than 100 locations on or near campus. It is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer. Special issues are also published at various times of the year.
The Daily is overseen by the OU Publications Board, composed of ten members, one representative from each the following areas: the university president's office staff, university president's office student, the journalism college, the faculty senate, the staff senate, the student government, Sooner yearbook, The Daily staff, Student Media, and the Oklahoma Press Association. The board elects the editor-in-chief for the fall-spring term and the summer term.
In June 2009, The Daily exclusively announced that Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Dan Arnett was going to challenge Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Dan Boren
Dan Boren
Daniel David "Dan" Boren is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. The district includes most of the eastern part of the state outside of Tulsa...
in 2010 before any other publication in the state.
Achievements and critical reception
The Daily has won the Associated Collegiate PressAssociated Collegiate Press
The Associated Collegiate Press 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...
' Pacemaker Award — considered by some to be the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
of college journalism — four times, in 1989, 1994, 1995 and 2004. In 1993-94, The Daily was lauded for its investigative journalism that uncovered administrators' acceptance of gifts from university vendors and the university's subsequent attempts to conceal the improprieties from the public. The stories and the attention they garnered off campus helped precipitate the resignation of university President Richard Van Horn. In 1995, the newspaper aggressively and poignantly covered the bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children...
in nearby Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. The Daily's Web site — rushed from concept to reality that year — became a national resource for news about the bombing, years before most news organizations were even online.
The Daily receives many phone calls of complaints from citizens on a daily basis around Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
and across the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
because of confusion of the similarity in name to the state newspaper The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...
formerly called The Daily Oklahoman. All callers will be given the number to The Oklahoman by a staff member during business hours.
2008 redesign
Beginning in Fall 2008, The Daily reinvented its online presence by moving away from the now defunct hub.ou.edu to the newly formed OUDaily.com. For the first few weeks of the Fall 2008 semester the web-site was presented as a Beta model, but soon adopted the web-site permanently.On September 29, 2008 the printed version of The Oklahoma Daily premiered its redesigned front page. As a part of the redesign, side bars were inserted, allowing for brief news stories to be featured in an easily seen format. In addition, The Daily moved its recycling symbol and weather forecasts to the bottom of the page.