Technician is the student newspaper of North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. Its first edition was published in 1920, and it has been published continuously since that date.

Overview

The newspaper is published five times per week when school is in session and also has an online presence, http://www.technicianonline.com. In the mid-1990s it was one of the first university newspapers to publish to the World Wide Web.

Since North Carolina State University has no journalism school, Technicians editorial staff comprises paid, full-time students. The paper operates as a public forum for student opinion with students having the final say over content.

The newspaper's funding is managed by the university's Student Media Board of Directors. Technician submits an annual budget request that is reviewed, modified as necessary and approved by the board each spring. Technician uses no student fee monies directly and is entirely funded by advertising monies.

Notable alumni

• Roy H. Park
  Roy H. Park
  Roy Hampton Park was an American media executive and entrepreneur. -Biography:Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina, the son of a tenant farmer...
  
  , media mogul, founder of broadcasting and newspaper chain Park Communications Inc.
• Chris Hondros
  Chris Hondros
  Chris Hondros was an American Pulitzer Prize-nominated war photographer.-Biography:Chris Hondros was born in New York City to immigrant Greek and German parents who were child refugees after World War II...
  
  , photographer and 2003 finalist for 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...
  
  
• Richard Curtis (1972), a founder and managing editor of graphics and photography for USA Today
  USA Today
  USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
  
  
• Joseph Galarneau (1989), chief operating officer for Newsweek
  Newsweek
  Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
  
  

Controversies

Like many student newspapers, Technician has seen its share of controversies, including:

• In 1990, the newspaper ran an editorial calling for the dismissal of embattled head basketball coach Jim Valvano
  Jim Valvano
  James Thomas Anthony "Jim" Valvano , nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball coach.While the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament against high odds...
  
  . Valvano, a popular figure who led the team to the 1983 national championship, had come under fire for ethical and regulatory lapses in handling the basketball program. The editorial was resented as a publicity stunt. Valvano ultimately left the university under fire.

• In 1992, a conservative opinion columnist harshly criticized African-American students' demands for a black cultural center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
  
  . The inflammatory article resulted in widespread theft of the edition (it is distributed free) and demonstrators burned some in campus protests. The aftermath led to the creation of the university's African-American interest publication, The Nubian Message.

• In 1992, Owen S. Good explained that 'cheerleading is not a sport'. The university's football season was nearly cancelled when the 'Mike Man' walked out of the season-opener in protest.

• In 1993, the men's basketball team lost to Campbell University
  Campbell University
  Campbell University is a coeducational, church-related university in rural North Carolina, USA. Its main campus is located in the community of Buies Creek; its law school moved from Buies Creek to a new campus in the state capital of Raleigh in 2009. Campbell has an approximately equal number of...
  
   for the first time since the 1940s. A story on the defeat ran under the headline "Worst loss since Hitler" and was castigated for its insensitivity.

• Following disastrous Wolfpack basketball seasons in 1995 and 1996, Technician published staff editorials asking for the resignation or firing of coach Les Robinson. The editorials were timed to run on the eve of the ACC Tournament play-in game for last-place teams, which had become known throughout the conference as "The Les Robinson Invitational." Robinson resigned following his team's loss at the tournament. Asked if he had any regrets at his farewell press conference, Robinson said, "Only that the school paper called me a loser."

• After new leadership took the helm at the paper in Spring 1996, several Technician editors and reporters were fired without just cause and escorted from the newspaper's offices by university public safety officers. Two months later, three of the fired editors used their inside knowledge of the production process to hijack the last edition of the paper for the school year, secretly inserting a full-column editorial criticizing the new editor-in-chief for using her power over personnel matters to settle personal scores and calling on university administrators to intervene. All 18,000 copies of the paper were distributed on campus the next morning containing the critical editorial, and the new student management was left unable to retract it until the resumption of publication the following semester. Technician's insulted editor-in-chief filed a report with public safety, which investigated the matter as a larceny. Despite dusting for fingerprints and questioning the former employees, investigators were unable to find any evidence against the suspected perpetrators and no charges were filed.

• In January 2006, Technician ran an article by student contributor Jeff Gaither, stating that drunk driving was at times unavoidable and giving tips on how to avoid getting caught. The author subsequently wrote a retraction of the article.

Timeline

1919-1920 • vol. 1 • Marion Francis Trice, editor

1920-1921 • vol. 2 • J.H. Lane, editor

1921-1922 • vol. 3 • E.C. Tatum, editor

1922-1923 • vol. 4 • Alvin M. Fountain

Alvin M. Fountain

Alvin M. Fountain is the author of the North Carolina State University Alma Mater: "Where the winds of Dixie softly blow o'er the fields of Caroline, There stands ever cherished, N.C. State, as thy honored shrine So lift your voices! Loudly sing from hill tooceanside! Our hearts ever hold you, N.C...

, editor

1923-1924 • vol. 4 • W.S. Morris, editor

1924-1925 • vol. 5 • S.R. Wallis, editor

1925-1926 • vol. 6 • E. G. Moore, editor

1926-1927 • vol. 7 • R.R. Fountain, editor

1927-1928 • vol. 8 • W.L. Roberts, editor

1928-1929 • vol. 9

1929-1930 • vol. 10

1930-1931 • vol. 11

1931-1932 • vol. 12 • Louis H. Wilson, editor

1932-1933 • vol. 13 • H.A. McClung Jr., editor

1933-1934 • vol. 14 • E.J. Lassen, editor

1934-1935 • vol. 15

1935-1936 • vol. 16 • Robert B. Knox Jr., editor

1936-1937 • vol. 17

1937-1938 • vol. 18 • Dick McPhail, editor

1938-1939 • vol. 19 • Stephen Sailer, editor

1939-1940 • vol. 20 • E.P. Davidson, editor

1940-1941 • vol. 21 • Henry B. Rowe, editor

1941-1942 • vol. 22 • Carl Sickerott, editor

1942-1943 • vol. 23

1943-1944 • vol. 24 • Gordon West, editor

1944-1945 • vol. 25

1945-1946 • vol. 26

1946-1947 • vol. 27 • Jack Fisler, editor

1947-1948 • vol. 28 • Dick Fowler, editor

1948-1949 • vol. 29 • Avery Brock, editor

1949-1950 • vol. 30

1950-1951 • vol. 31 • Bill Haas, editor

1951-1952 • vol. 32 • Paul Foght, editor

1952-1953 • vol. 33 • Bob Horn, editor

1953-1954 • vol. 34 • George Obenshain, editor

1954-1955 • vol. 35 • John Parker, editor

1955-1956 • vol. 36 • L.C. Draughon, editor

1956-1957 • vol. 37 • Terry Lathrop, editor

1957-1958 • vol. 38 • Jim Moore, editor

1958-1959 • vol. 39 • Ray Lathrop, editor

1959-1960 • vol. 40 • Jim Moore, editor

1960-1961 • vol. 41 • Jay Brame, editor

1961-1962 • vol. 42 • Mike Lea, editor

1962-1963 • vol. 43 • Mike Lea, editor

1963-1964 • vol. 44 • Grant Blair & Allen Lennon, editor

1964-1965 • vol. 45 • Cora Kemp, editor

1965-1966 • vol. 46 • Bill Fishburne & Bob Holmes, editor

1966-1967 • vol. 47 • Jim Kear, editor

1967-1968 • vol. 48 • Bob Harris, editor

1968-1969 • vol. 49 • Pete Burkhimer, editor

1969-1970 • vol. 50 • George Panton, editor

1970-1971 • vol. 51 • Jack Cozort, editor

1971-1972 • vol. 52 • Richard Curtis, editor

1972-1973 • vol. 53 • John N. Walston, editor

1973-1974 • vol. 54 • Beverly Privette, editor

1974-1975 • vol. 55 • Bob Estes, editor

1975-1976 • vol. 56 • Kevin Fisher, editor

1876-1977 • vol. 57 • Howard Barnett, editor

1977-1978 • vol. 58 • Lynne Griffin, editor

1978-1979 • vol. 59 • David Pendered, editor

1979-1980 • vol. 60 • John Flesher, editor

1980-1981 • vol. 61 • Andrea Cole, editor

1981-1982 • vol. 62 • Tucker Johnson, editor

1982-1983 • vol. 63 • Tom Alter, editor

1983-1984 • vol. 64 • Jeffrey Bender, editor

1984-1985 • vol. 65 • Jeffrey Bender, editor

1985-1986 • vol. 66 • Barry Bowden, editor

1986-1987 • vol. 67 • John Austin, editor

1987-1988 • vol. 68 • Joseph Galarneau, editor

1988-1989 • vol. 69 • Michael Hughes, editor

1989-1990 • vol. 70 • Dwuan June, editor

1990-1991 • vol. 71 • Wade Babcock, editor

1991-1992 • vol. 72 • William Holmes, editor

1992-1993 • vol. 73 • Joe Johnson, editor

1993-1994 • vol. 74 • Mark Tosczak, editor

1994-1995 • vol. 75 • Colin B. Boatwright, editor

1995-1996 • vol. 76 • Ron Batcho & Jean Lorscheider, editor

1996-1997 • vol. 77 • Chris Baysden, editor

1997-1998 • vol. 78 • Terry H. Bennett, editor

1998-1999 • vol. 79 • Phillip Reese , editor; Paper goes from tri-weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) publication to four times a week (Monday to Thursday)

1999-2000 • vol. 80 • Ebonie Polite, editor

2000-2001 • vol. 81 • Jack Daly & Mark McLawhorn, editor; Paper increases publication to a daily paper (Monday through Friday)

2001-2002 • vol. 82 • Mark McLawhorn & Jimmy Ryals, editor

2002-2003 • vol. 83 • Jerry Moore & Mathew Pelland, editor

2003-2004 • vol. 84 • Thushan Amarasiriwardena & Carie Windham, editor

2004-2005 • vol. 85 • Matthew Middleton, editor

2005-2006 • vol. 86 • Rebecca Heslin, editor; paper wins first national Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association

2006-2007 • vol. 87 • M. Tyler Dukes, editor

2007-2008 • vol. 88 • Joshua Harrell, editor

2008-2009 • vol. 89 • Saja Hindi, editor

2009-2010 • vol. 90 • Ty Johnson, fall editor; Lauren Blakely, Kate Shefte and Russell Witham, spring co-editors

2010-2011 • vol. 91 • Amanda Wilkins, editor

2011-2012 • vol. 92 • Laura Wilkinson, editor

Advisers • Bradley Wilson was named the paper's editorial adviser in 2002.