The Cornell Daily Sun
Encyclopedia
The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent daily newspaper
published in Ithaca, New York
by students at Cornell University
. It is the oldest independent college daily in the United States
.
The Sun features original coverage of the university and its environs as well as stories from the Associated Press
and UWIRE. It prints on weekdays when the university is open for academic instruction as a tabloid-sized daily. In addition to these regular issues, The Sun publishes a graduation issue and a freshman issue, which is mailed to incoming Cornell freshmen before their first semester. The paper is free on campus and online.
The Sun is staffed entirely by Cornell students, aside from a few full-time production and business positions, and is fully independent of the university. It operates out of its own building in downtown Ithaca. The Sun is the 13th best college newspaper in the United States, according to The Princeton Review
.
The paper incorporated and changed to daily frequency, earning its longstanding boast "Ithaca's Only Morning Newspaper." In 1912 it added a second, "first collegiate member of the Associated Press."
Following the shift of its main competitor, the Ithaca Journal, from evening to morning daily publication in 1996, The Sun changed its traditional front page slogan which, after several iterations, now states "Independent Since 1880." This period also marked a shift in The Suns content from national to local and university-related stories.
In January 2003, the Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association purchased the former Elks Lodge
in downtown Ithaca, erected 1916. Led by Stanley Chess
, the founding president of the Association, John Schroeder '74, and Gary L. Rubin '72, the alumni completely renovated the building over the next several months. Now called the Cornell Daily Sun Building, it has housed the paper's offices since June 2003 and is coincidentally located next door to the Ithaca Journals offices.
In the fall semester of 2004, The Sun turned free and started featuring full-color front and back pages as part of a redesign in its layout. These moves were partially effected to boost circulation in response to Cornell's Student Assembly's decision to provide The New York Times
and USA Today
on campus for free to all undergraduate Cornell students.
On September 17, 2005, more than 370 Sun alumni and guests gathered in Manhattan to celebrate The Sun's 125th anniversary. Speakers included Kurt Vonnegut
'43, Carl Leubsdorf
'59, Sam Roberts '68, Jay Branegan '73, S. Miller Harris '44, and Jeremy Schaap
'91. The emcee was Stan Chess '69. A 130th anniversary dinner was held on September 25, 2010.
The Sun claims at least nine Pulitzer Prize
winners and boasts a number of other prominent alumni. They include:
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
by students at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. It is the oldest independent college daily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Sun features original coverage of the university and its environs as well as stories from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and UWIRE. It prints on weekdays when the university is open for academic instruction as a tabloid-sized daily. In addition to these regular issues, The Sun publishes a graduation issue and a freshman issue, which is mailed to incoming Cornell freshmen before their first semester. The paper is free on campus and online.
The Sun is staffed entirely by Cornell students, aside from a few full-time production and business positions, and is fully independent of the university. It operates out of its own building in downtown Ithaca. The Sun is the 13th best college newspaper in the United States, according to The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college...
.
History
The Cornell Sun was founded in 1880 by William Ballard Hoyt to challenge Cornell's original and leading publication, the weekly Cornell Era (founded 1868). The Era shortly became a literary journal, and was eventually consigned to oblivion. The Sun boasted in its opening paragraph: "We have no indulgence to ask, no favors to beg."The paper incorporated and changed to daily frequency, earning its longstanding boast "Ithaca's Only Morning Newspaper." In 1912 it added a second, "first collegiate member of the Associated Press."
Following the shift of its main competitor, the Ithaca Journal, from evening to morning daily publication in 1996, The Sun changed its traditional front page slogan which, after several iterations, now states "Independent Since 1880." This period also marked a shift in The Suns content from national to local and university-related stories.
In January 2003, the Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association purchased the former Elks Lodge
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
in downtown Ithaca, erected 1916. Led by Stanley Chess
Stanley Chess
Stanley Chess is an American legal commentator and former bar review course executive.Chess was Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Daily Sun during the 1968-1969 campus unrest and was a member of the Quill and Dagger society...
, the founding president of the Association, John Schroeder '74, and Gary L. Rubin '72, the alumni completely renovated the building over the next several months. Now called the Cornell Daily Sun Building, it has housed the paper's offices since June 2003 and is coincidentally located next door to the Ithaca Journals offices.
In the fall semester of 2004, The Sun turned free and started featuring full-color front and back pages as part of a redesign in its layout. These moves were partially effected to boost circulation in response to Cornell's Student Assembly's decision to provide The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and 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...
on campus for free to all undergraduate Cornell students.
On September 17, 2005, more than 370 Sun alumni and guests gathered in Manhattan to celebrate The Sun's 125th anniversary. Speakers included Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
'43, Carl Leubsdorf
Carl Leubsdorf
Carl Philipp Leubsdorf is a long-time Washington, D.C. political journalist. He is currently a Washington columnist for The Dallas Morning News, where he was Washington bureau chief from 1981 through 2008...
'59, Sam Roberts '68, Jay Branegan '73, S. Miller Harris '44, and Jeremy Schaap
Jeremy Schaap
Jeremy Schaap is an American sportswriter, television reporter, and author. Schaap is a six-time Emmy Award winner for his work on ESPN's E:60, SportsCenter, and Outside the Lines.-Biography:...
'91. The emcee was Stan Chess '69. A 130th anniversary dinner was held on September 25, 2010.
Alumni
The Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association, comprising former editors, managers and staff of the Cornell Daily Sun, exists to further journalism by Cornell University students.The Sun claims at least nine 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...
winners and boasts a number of other prominent alumni. They include:
- David FolkenflikDavid FolkenflikDavid Folkenflik is an American reporter based in New York City and serving as media correspondent for National Public Radio. His work primarily appears on the NPR news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He also appears regularly on the "Media Circus" segment on Talk of the...
, Editor-in-Chief (1990-91), reporter for NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting... - Frank E. Gannett, founder of the Gannett Company; coincidentally, Gannett now owns and operates The Ithaca Journal
- Marc Lacey, Mexico City correspondent, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Eric LichtblauEric LichtblauEric Lichtblau is an American journalist and Washington bureau reporter for The New York Times.-Life:Lichtblau joined The Times in September 2002 as a correspondent covering the Justice Department. Previously, Lichtblau worked at the Los Angeles Times for 15 years, where he also covered the Justice...
, Washington bureau reporter, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization... - Deborah SolomonDeborah SolomonDeborah Solomon is an American art critic, journalist and biographer. She is best-known for her weekly column, "Questions For," which ran in The New York Times Magazine from 2003 to 2011.-Early life and education:...
, magazine columnist, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization... - Carl P. Leubsdorf, The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
columnist - Oscar G. Mayer, Jr.Oscar G. Mayer, Jr.Oscar Gustave Mayer was an American business executive who served as chairman of the Oscar Mayer meat and cold cut production company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, the third Oscar Mayer to lead the family business, following his grandfather, company founder, Oscar F. Mayer, who died in...
, Business Manager (1933-1934), executive of the Oscar MayerOscar MayerOscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.-History:...
meat company - Dick SchaapDick SchaapRichard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
, Editor-in-Chief (1954-1955), noted sports writer and broadcaster - Jeremy SchaapJeremy SchaapJeremy Schaap is an American sportswriter, television reporter, and author. Schaap is a six-time Emmy Award winner for his work on ESPN's E:60, SportsCenter, and Outside the Lines.-Biography:...
, Sports Editor (1990-1991), ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
contributor and son of Dick SchaapDick SchaapRichard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:... - Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, Associate Editor (1942-1943), novelist and satirist - E. B. WhiteE. B. WhiteElwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
, Editor-in-Chief (1920-1921), columnist and novelist - Allison DanzigAllison DanzigAllison "Al" Danzig was an American sportswriter who specialized in writing about tennis, but also covered college football, squash, many Olympic Games, and rowing. Danzig was the only American sportwriter to extensively cover real tennis, the precursor to modern lawn tennis.Danzig covered every...
, sportswriter for The New York Times, 1923 through 1968, author, who was co-editor with E.B. White
External links
- Cornell Daily Sun official site
- Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association
- Cornell University LibraryCornell University LibraryThe Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. In 2010 it held 8 million printed volumes in open stacks, 8.5 million microfilms and microfiches, more than of manuscripts, and close to 500,000 other materials, including motion pictures, DVDs, sound recordings, and...
, Cornell Daily Sun Digitization Project - Sun Editorial Board