State Press
Encyclopedia
The State Press is the independent, student-operated newspaper of Arizona State University
. It publishes a free newspaper every weekday.
The existence of The State Press as an independent entity began in 1906, when it became the Tempe Normal Student, a four-page tabloid distributed on campus each Friday for five cents per copy. The paper changed its name to Tempe Collegian in 1925 when the school's name changed to Tempe College in the same year. The name was eventually shortened to the Collegian in 1930 and fell under the control of the newly created Faculty of Journalism two years later.
The newspaper was renamed the Arizona State Press in 1936, and the name was shortened to State Press the next year. (The word "The" was added to the masthead in the early 2000s.)
In the 1970s, The State Press regained its independence from what is now the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
. Initially, the president of ASU at the time, John Schwada, placed the paper under the authority of a Board of Student Media. The first board resigned within a month because of a disagreement with the Arizona Board of Regents regarding its role in the newspaper's affairs. The department is now under the Office of Vice President for University Student Initiatives and maintains a significant amount of independence from the school; although ASU provides equipment and offices on campus, The State Press pays production costs and salaries through advertising revenue. Decisions on editorial content are left to the paper's editorial board; the full-time director of ASU Student Media plays a purely advisory role.
On September 10, 1984, the paper added a Monday edition and began to operate as a five-days-a-week daily publication.
In 2008, the newspaper opened a second newsroom on ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus, in the newly constructed Cronkite/Eight Building. Many reporters and a handful of editors work from the downtown newsroom, while the balance of the newsroom staff — as well as the advertising, production and administrative staffs — work from ASU Student Media's headquarters in Matthews Center on the Tempe campus.
sportscaster and ASU alumnus Al Michaels
, who covered football and basketball as the paper's assistant sports editor in the fall of 1963 and became sports editor in 1964. Michaels is rumored to have been fired for reasons unknown.
Cartoonist Tony Carrillo
began drawing his F Minus
comic strip for The State Press while he was a student at ASU. The single-panel comic initially ran in The State Press for four semesters and is now syndicated, appearing in more than 100 newspapers — including The State Press. Carrillo also painted the city skyline mural in the underground window well in The State Press' Tempe newsroom.
Other notable State Pressers include:
On Tuesdays, a campus-specific front page had been produced and printed on the 500 copies of the newspaper delivered to ASU's West campus. A similar campus-specific edition was produced for the Polytechnic campus on Thursdays. Both zoned editions were launched in the fall of 2008 but suspended in February 2009 due to both the cost of the endeavor and uncertainty about the future of both outlying campuses in light of state budget cuts.
A separate staff produces State Press Magazine, which had been printed on the backside of the daily newspaper until August 2007, when it became a separate publication. The last printed issue of SPM was published March 18, 2009, but the magazine continues to publish online, examining university issues such as current events, arts and entertainment.
The paper's staff uses Macintosh computers. Stories are written in Microsoft Word, and pages are laid out in Adobe InDesign.
From the late 1990s through May 2009, the online edition of the newspaper was the ASU Web Devil, which served as a portal to all Student Media Web sites. By June 2009, the other Student Media properties — Sun Devil Television
and State Press Magazine — had launched their own Web sites hosted separately from the Web Devil, so the site was rebranded as StatePress.com, returning to the URL used for the site in the 1990s.
In addition, a spoof edition of the daily paper, The Stale Mess, is published at the end of each semester by the State Press staff.
In spring 2004, an article about alleged mistreatment of employees at ASU's Department of Residential Life was criticized as one-sided by the department.
State Press Magazine created a stir in fall 2004 by publishing a full-page cover photo of a woman's naked, pierced breast on its cover; the publication drew criticism from prominent conservatives and ASU boosters such as Ira Fulton
, who felt the university's administration needed to have more oversight regarding editorial decisions. The incident may have led to efforts by the administration to shut down the paper.
The paper also won an award for the way it handled pressure from the administration concerning content in the wake of the SPM controversy.
) and a magazine (State Press Magazine). Student Media organizations operate from the basement of Matthews Center at ASU's Tempe campus and a newsroom in the Cronkite building at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus that was opened in fall 2008. A student radio station (KASC
) runs independently of Student Media through the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
but is affiliated with ASU Student Media by name.
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
. It publishes a free newspaper every weekday.
History
The history of The State Press goes back to ASU's establishment as a "Normal School" during Arizona's territorial period. The university's first student newspaper, The Normal Echo, made its debut on October 18, 1890. Back then, it was a one-page supplement to the local newspaper now called the East Valley Tribune.The existence of The State Press as an independent entity began in 1906, when it became the Tempe Normal Student, a four-page tabloid distributed on campus each Friday for five cents per copy. The paper changed its name to Tempe Collegian in 1925 when the school's name changed to Tempe College in the same year. The name was eventually shortened to the Collegian in 1930 and fell under the control of the newly created Faculty of Journalism two years later.
The newspaper was renamed the Arizona State Press in 1936, and the name was shortened to State Press the next year. (The word "The" was added to the masthead in the early 2000s.)
In the 1970s, The State Press regained its independence from what is now the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication , is one of the 24 independent schools at Arizona State University and named in honor of veteran broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite...
. Initially, the president of ASU at the time, John Schwada, placed the paper under the authority of a Board of Student Media. The first board resigned within a month because of a disagreement with the Arizona Board of Regents regarding its role in the newspaper's affairs. The department is now under the Office of Vice President for University Student Initiatives and maintains a significant amount of independence from the school; although ASU provides equipment and offices on campus, The State Press pays production costs and salaries through advertising revenue. Decisions on editorial content are left to the paper's editorial board; the full-time director of ASU Student Media plays a purely advisory role.
On September 10, 1984, the paper added a Monday edition and began to operate as a five-days-a-week daily publication.
In 2008, the newspaper opened a second newsroom on ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus, in the newly constructed Cronkite/Eight Building. Many reporters and a handful of editors work from the downtown newsroom, while the balance of the newsroom staff — as well as the advertising, production and administrative staffs — work from ASU Student Media's headquarters in Matthews Center on the Tempe campus.
Alumni
The paper's most famous ex-employee is former Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
sportscaster and ASU alumnus Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...
, who covered football and basketball as the paper's assistant sports editor in the fall of 1963 and became sports editor in 1964. Michaels is rumored to have been fired for reasons unknown.
Cartoonist Tony Carrillo
Tony Carrillo
Tony Carrillo is the creator of F Minus, an offbeat comic strip. Carrillo started the comic strip at Arizona State University, when he was in his sophomore year. After winning an online contest to determine the best college comic strip, Tony was awarded a deal with United Media. His comic appears...
began drawing his F Minus
F Minus
F Minus is a horizontally oriented single panel comic strip by Tony Carrillo, started when he was a sophomore at Arizona State University. It ran daily in The State Press, an independent newspaper at ASU, from 2002 until 2004, when Carrillo graduated....
comic strip for The State Press while he was a student at ASU. The single-panel comic initially ran in The State Press for four semesters and is now syndicated, appearing in more than 100 newspapers — including The State Press. Carrillo also painted the city skyline mural in the underground window well in The State Press' Tempe newsroom.
Other notable State Pressers include:
- Jerry DumasJerry DumasJerry Dumas is an American cartoonist, best known for his Sam and Silo comic strip. Dumas is also a writer and essayist, and a columnist for the Greenwich Time.-Biography:...
, a comic strip writer and artist - Kris MayesKris MayesKristin Mayes is an Arizona Corporation Commissioner. She was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona. After graduating from Prescott High School and attended Arizona State University . While attending ASU where she served as editor in chief of the State Press, the university's newspaper. In...
, the chair of the Arizona Corporation CommissionArizona Corporation CommissionThe Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. There are currently five members of the commission . Arizona is one of only a handful of states with elected commissioners... - Len MunsilLen MunsilLen Munsil is the President of Arizona Christian University. He was the Arizona Republican Party nominee for Governor of Arizona in the Arizona gubernatorial election, 2006, coming from behind to upset Don Goldwater in the Republican primary in his first run for any elective office...
, who ran for governor of Arizona in 2006.
Layout
The State Press publishes newspapers every school day (Monday through Friday) and features student articles, world and national wire reports, editorials, opinions and comics, both student-drawn and syndicated.On Tuesdays, a campus-specific front page had been produced and printed on the 500 copies of the newspaper delivered to ASU's West campus. A similar campus-specific edition was produced for the Polytechnic campus on Thursdays. Both zoned editions were launched in the fall of 2008 but suspended in February 2009 due to both the cost of the endeavor and uncertainty about the future of both outlying campuses in light of state budget cuts.
A separate staff produces State Press Magazine, which had been printed on the backside of the daily newspaper until August 2007, when it became a separate publication. The last printed issue of SPM was published March 18, 2009, but the magazine continues to publish online, examining university issues such as current events, arts and entertainment.
The paper's staff uses Macintosh computers. Stories are written in Microsoft Word, and pages are laid out in Adobe InDesign.
From the late 1990s through May 2009, the online edition of the newspaper was the ASU Web Devil, which served as a portal to all Student Media Web sites. By June 2009, the other Student Media properties — Sun Devil Television
Sun Devil Television
State Press Television is an independent, Student television station based in ASU's campus in Phoenix, Arizona.-Early years:...
and State Press Magazine — had launched their own Web sites hosted separately from the Web Devil, so the site was rebranded as StatePress.com, returning to the URL used for the site in the 1990s.
In addition, a spoof edition of the daily paper, The Stale Mess, is published at the end of each semester by the State Press staff.
Clashes with administration
In 2003, a memorable Stale Mess spoof cover featured a simulated photo of ASU President Michael Crow passed out in a bathtub, with vomit on his shirt and a bottle of cheap vodka cradled on his arm. Crow later complained about the photo to The State Press editorial board.In spring 2004, an article about alleged mistreatment of employees at ASU's Department of Residential Life was criticized as one-sided by the department.
State Press Magazine created a stir in fall 2004 by publishing a full-page cover photo of a woman's naked, pierced breast on its cover; the publication drew criticism from prominent conservatives and ASU boosters such as Ira Fulton
Ira A. Fulton
Ira A. Fulton is an Arizona philanthropist, land developer, and businessman. BusinessWeek has listed Fulton 36th on its list of "The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists" for 2006...
, who felt the university's administration needed to have more oversight regarding editorial decisions. The incident may have led to efforts by the administration to shut down the paper.
The paper also won an award for the way it handled pressure from the administration concerning content in the wake of the SPM controversy.
Organization
The State Press operates under a departmental umbrella of ASU Student Media, which also features a TV station (Sun Devil TelevisionSun Devil Television
State Press Television is an independent, Student television station based in ASU's campus in Phoenix, Arizona.-Early years:...
) and a magazine (State Press Magazine). Student Media organizations operate from the basement of Matthews Center at ASU's Tempe campus and a newsroom in the Cronkite building at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus that was opened in fall 2008. A student radio station (KASC
KASC
KASC is an unlicensed College radio station operated by students at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and is a part of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The station broadcasts local and national music, as well as newscasts and sports coverage...
) runs independently of Student Media through the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication , is one of the 24 independent schools at Arizona State University and named in honor of veteran broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite...
but is affiliated with ASU Student Media by name.
External links
- StatePress.com http://www.statepress.com/
- ASU Student Media http://www.asu.edu/studentmedia/
- State Press Magazine http://statepressmagazine.com/