Laney Tower
Encyclopedia
The Laney Tower is the student-run newspaper
of Laney College
in Oakland, California
. The Laney Tower was established in 1952 and is one of the oldest community college newspapers in the state of California. Tower staff has the opportunity of covering news in a unique, lively, and culturally diverse city, and gain on the job experience reporting.
While the newspaper primarily serves the Laney campus, there is also coverage of the other colleges of the Peralta Community College District
(College of Alameda
, Berkeley City College
, and Merritt College
). The Laney Tower is currently the only student newspaper in the four-campus district.
The Laney Tower is a bi-weekly tabloid that is published eight times during the fall and spring semesters on Thursdays.Journalism
students enrolled in Journalism 18 and other classes in the Laney journalism department at the campus produce the paper. The current Editor-in-Chief is Leah Clark.
Ironically, the “Laney Tower” name precedes the nine-story Laney Tower Administration Building that sits near the northwest corner of the campus by 19 years. The Laney Tower was previously housed on the sixth floor of the Tower building and was located in a few other areas on campus before relocating to its present offices in G233.
The Laney Tower, though not completely financially independent from the district, has a significant degree of autonomy. The paper does not receive funds from the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC), and state law prohibits both the district’s governing board and campus administrators from censuring the paper. There is currently legislation pending which would also shield the newspaper's adviser from legal sanctions or punishment for the actions of staff.
The Laney Tower does have an adviser who makes recommendations to the staff, but allows decisions to be made by the paper’s Editorial Board. Burt Dragin has served as the Laney Tower adviser since 1971. In 2007, Dragin received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC), a statewide journalism association.
In 2006, the Laney Tower launched the Tower Online , the newspaper’s website. The Tower Online has allowed staff to produce and publish content beyond the current two-week news cycle of the print edition.
In recent years, the Laney Tower has earned numerous awards from the JACC, ranging from individual awards for staff writers and photographers, to the coveted General Excellence award recognizing journalism excellence.
2008-2009: Leah Clark
2007-2008: Reginald James
2006-2007: Angelica Carapia
Fall 2005: Devin O'Keefe
2004-2005: Ben Hawkins
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
of Laney College
Laney College
Laney College is a community college located in Oakland, California, next to the Lake Merritt BART station and the Kaiser Convention Center. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County.Laney College originally opened in...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. The Laney Tower was established in 1952 and is one of the oldest community college newspapers in the state of California. Tower staff has the opportunity of covering news in a unique, lively, and culturally diverse city, and gain on the job experience reporting.
While the newspaper primarily serves the Laney campus, there is also coverage of the other colleges of the Peralta Community College District
Peralta Community College District
The Peralta Community College District is the community college district serving northern Alameda County, California. The district operates four community colleges: Berkeley City College, Laney College and Merritt College in Oakland, and College of Alameda. From 1968 to 1988, non-contiguous Plumas...
(College of Alameda
College of Alameda
College of Alameda is a two-year community college located in Alameda, California.The college is part of the Peralta Community College District and was opened in 1968. The college has been located at its campus at Atlantic Avenue and Webster Street since 1970...
, Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College
Berkeley City College , formerly Vista Community College, one of the California Community Colleges, is part of the Peralta Community College District. It is centrally located in downtown Berkeley, two blocks west of the UC Berkeley campus...
, and Merritt College
Merritt College
Merritt College is a two-year community college located in the Oakland Hills in Alameda County, California. The school's enrollment is approximately 6,000 students. The college is named after physician Dr...
). The Laney Tower is currently the only student newspaper in the four-campus district.
The Laney Tower is a bi-weekly tabloid that is published eight times during the fall and spring semesters on Thursdays.Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
students enrolled in Journalism 18 and other classes in the Laney journalism department at the campus produce the paper. The current Editor-in-Chief is Leah Clark.
Ironically, the “Laney Tower” name precedes the nine-story Laney Tower Administration Building that sits near the northwest corner of the campus by 19 years. The Laney Tower was previously housed on the sixth floor of the Tower building and was located in a few other areas on campus before relocating to its present offices in G233.
The Laney Tower, though not completely financially independent from the district, has a significant degree of autonomy. The paper does not receive funds from the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC), and state law prohibits both the district’s governing board and campus administrators from censuring the paper. There is currently legislation pending which would also shield the newspaper's adviser from legal sanctions or punishment for the actions of staff.
The Laney Tower does have an adviser who makes recommendations to the staff, but allows decisions to be made by the paper’s Editorial Board. Burt Dragin has served as the Laney Tower adviser since 1971. In 2007, Dragin received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC), a statewide journalism association.
In 2006, the Laney Tower launched the Tower Online , the newspaper’s website. The Tower Online has allowed staff to produce and publish content beyond the current two-week news cycle of the print edition.
In recent years, the Laney Tower has earned numerous awards from the JACC, ranging from individual awards for staff writers and photographers, to the coveted General Excellence award recognizing journalism excellence.
Historical Editor-in-Chief's
2009-2010: Tracey Brown2008-2009: Leah Clark
2007-2008: Reginald James
2006-2007: Angelica Carapia
Fall 2005: Devin O'Keefe
2004-2005: Ben Hawkins