.gif)
The Medium (Rutgers)
Encyclopedia
The Medium is the student-run weekly entertainment and comedy newspaper at Rutgers University
. The paper refers to itself as "The Entertainment Weekly of Rutgers University."
During the 2000s, as a result of frequent attacks on their right to print offensive material, the editors and contributors of The Medium had turned the paper into a veritable exercise of their First Amendment Rights
, often in ways that resulted in protests from the student body and pressure from the administration. Nearly all protests against The Medium have been largely ineffective because of the University's commitment to democracy.
The current version of The Medium is purely satire and humor based on events on the Rutgers University campus, current events, and popular culture
.
and real student submitted opinion pieces commenting on current events and occurrences at the university. A popular feature of this page is the Point/Counterpoint which gives two views of things occurring simultaneously.
The new Wine & Lifestyle page is more so a diversions page featuring games such as mazes and puzzles. Other features include a weekly music review from independent radio station 90.3 The Core
, and food reviews of the numerous on campus eateries.
. During the 1980s, the newspaper began to abandon the traditional news-gathering and reporting activities in favor of its current, satirical format. This was partly due to The Daily Targum
becoming the official college daily newspaper across all of the New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses.
In 2004, the paper came under fire for a cartoon published on the cover of a Spring issue. The cartoon involved Holocaust Remembrance Day and resulted in the resignation of senior staff members.
Although at one time it stood as standard practice, The Medium no longer prints pornographic material. This has come at the request of advisors, and with mixed feelings from past editors and current readers.
On April Fool's Day, the staff of the paper distribute a parody of The Daily Targum called The Daily Medium. The parody includes fake university news and opinions.
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. The paper refers to itself as "The Entertainment Weekly of Rutgers University."
During the 2000s, as a result of frequent attacks on their right to print offensive material, the editors and contributors of The Medium had turned the paper into a veritable exercise of their First Amendment Rights
Freedom of speech in the United States
Freedom of speech in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions and state and federal laws, with the exception of obscenity, defamation, incitement to riot, and fighting words, as well as harassment, privileged...
, often in ways that resulted in protests from the student body and pressure from the administration. Nearly all protests against The Medium have been largely ineffective because of the University's commitment to democracy.
The current version of The Medium is purely satire and humor based on events on the Rutgers University campus, current events, and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.
News
The front pages of The Medium is the news section provides articles that are satire of news on the Rutgers University campus, current events, and popular culture. Usually these articles are twisted out of real occurrences, the normal exception being The Daily Medium issue where many of the articles may be completely false for the shock reaction of the readers.Features
The features section includes normally recurring content every week. Examples include a piece by the editor giving a humorous opinion or point of view on events on campus, a Student of the Week piece featuring students around campus, and the Cute Thing of the Week which shows images of cute things submitted by students.Opinions/Editorials
The opinions section contains in-characterAlter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
and real student submitted opinion pieces commenting on current events and occurrences at the university. A popular feature of this page is the Point/Counterpoint which gives two views of things occurring simultaneously.
Arts
The arts section includes staff artist and student submitted comics and art pieces. People also submit images of graffiti found around the campus. Occasionally, a writer or editor may also review music or movies here.Personals
In the personals section, anonymous messages are printed in the newspaper, classifieds style, allowing students to freely criticize Rutgers administration, other students and national establishments.Wine & Lifestyle
The newest revision to the paper has been the replacement of the former What's Shakin page, which during the early 2000s listed on-campus events such as underground concerts, comedy shows, and other events submitted by readers. As submissions to this section decreased, it took on a more variety style with the editor of the section having the freedom to carry the page out as they saw fit, making it similar to the Arts and Features sections at times.The new Wine & Lifestyle page is more so a diversions page featuring games such as mazes and puzzles. Other features include a weekly music review from independent radio station 90.3 The Core
WVPH
WVPH is Piscataway, New Jersey's community and student-run radio station.It is a broadcasting agreement between the former WRLC AM station from Rutgers, Livingston College and WVPH-FM from Piscataway High School. The two institutions combined forces in 1977 to create an educational opportunity and...
, and food reviews of the numerous on campus eateries.
History of The Medium
The Medium printed its first issue on September 1, 1970 as the campus newspaper of Livingston CollegeLivingston College (Rutgers University)
Livingston Campus, originally known as Kilmer Campus, is one of the five campuses that make up Rutgers University's New Brunswick/Piscataway area campus. The campus was originally built to house Livingston College. It is a large campus, although the majority of its land is the undeveloped Rutgers...
. During the 1980s, the newspaper began to abandon the traditional news-gathering and reporting activities in favor of its current, satirical format. This was partly due to The Daily Targum
The Daily Targum
The Daily Targum is the official student newspaper of Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. Founded in 1869, it is the second-oldest collegiate newspaper in the United States. The Daily Targum is student written and managed, and boasts a circulation of 18,000...
becoming the official college daily newspaper across all of the New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses.
In 2004, the paper came under fire for a cartoon published on the cover of a Spring issue. The cartoon involved Holocaust Remembrance Day and resulted in the resignation of senior staff members.
Although at one time it stood as standard practice, The Medium no longer prints pornographic material. This has come at the request of advisors, and with mixed feelings from past editors and current readers.
On April Fool's Day, the staff of the paper distribute a parody of The Daily Targum called The Daily Medium. The parody includes fake university news and opinions.
Notable alumni
- Christopher McCullochChristopher McCullochChristopher McCulloch , also known by the pseudonym Jackson Publick, is an American comic book and television writer, storyboard artist, and voice actor known for his work on several Tick properties and for the animated television series The Venture Bros. He authored the comic book miniseries The...
- creator of The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros.The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their... - Paul Mulshine - political columnist for The Star-LedgerThe Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...