The Pitt News
Encyclopedia
The Pitt News is an independent, student-written and student-managed newspaper
for the main campus of the University of Pittsburgh
in Oakland
which has been active in some form since 1910. It is published Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. According to an independent survey, more than 90% of Pitt students read The Pitt News each day.
According to the constitution of The Pitt News, the organization's purpose is "to prepare and publish a high-quality newspaper, to provide experience for its members in all facets of the journalism
profession, to provide a voice for the students of the university, and to provide a public forum for the university community."
The Pitt News is a million-dollar non-profit operation
, employing more than 100 undergraduate editors, roughly 25 students in the business division, and five professional staff members. The paper includes five regular sections: News, Opinions, Arts & Entertainment, Sports, and Classifieds. It also produces about a dozen special issues a year, such as the Dining, Employment and Rental guides. Circulation includes 14,000 copies an issue, distributed at approximately 100 sites. Currently, The Pitt News is printed by the Butler Color Press on tabloid-sized newsprint
.
Overseeing The Pitt News is the Pitt News Advisory Board, which serves as publisher, and, according to its constitution, works to "advise students, support the freedom of the student press and further the educational mission of The Pitt News." The Board consists of the editor in chief, the business manager, two other Pitt News employees, at least one non-Pitt News student at the University, local journalists, University journalism and business professors, and area businesspeople.
In 2004 The Pitt News, in the Third U.S. Circuit Court of appeals, overthrew PA Act: 199, which previously prevented Pennsylvania college newspapers from running advertisements making any mention of alcohol. The ACLU
represented The Pitt News against the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
. The opinion was written by now Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
.
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....
for the main campus of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in Oakland
Oakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...
which has been active in some form since 1910. It is published Monday through Friday during the regular school year and Wednesdays during the summer. According to an independent survey, more than 90% of Pitt students read The Pitt News each day.
According to the constitution of The Pitt News, the organization's purpose is "to prepare and publish a high-quality newspaper, to provide experience for its members in all facets of the 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...
profession, to provide a voice for the students of the university, and to provide a public forum for the university community."
The Pitt News is a million-dollar non-profit operation
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, employing more than 100 undergraduate editors, roughly 25 students in the business division, and five professional staff members. The paper includes five regular sections: News, Opinions, Arts & Entertainment, Sports, and Classifieds. It also produces about a dozen special issues a year, such as the Dining, Employment and Rental guides. Circulation includes 14,000 copies an issue, distributed at approximately 100 sites. Currently, The Pitt News is printed by the Butler Color Press on tabloid-sized newsprint
Newsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, and other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use in printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of...
.
Overseeing The Pitt News is the Pitt News Advisory Board, which serves as publisher, and, according to its constitution, works to "advise students, support the freedom of the student press and further the educational mission of The Pitt News." The Board consists of the editor in chief, the business manager, two other Pitt News employees, at least one non-Pitt News student at the University, local journalists, University journalism and business professors, and area businesspeople.
History
Started in the late 19th century as a quarterly literary magazine, The Courant is the earliest traceable ancestor of The Pitt News. By 1910, it had morphed into a weekly student newspaper called The Pitt Weekly, which premiered on September 26th of that year. Gradually, the paper began adding days to its production schedule. By the 1970s it was a business daily (Mon-Fri) paper. The Pitt News has remained an editorially independent, student-run newspaper - funded by a student-run business staff which provides revenue for the paper via ad sales.In 2004 The Pitt News, in the Third U.S. Circuit Court of appeals, overthrew PA Act: 199, which previously prevented Pennsylvania college newspapers from running advertisements making any mention of alcohol. The ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
represented The Pitt News against the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is an independent government agency that manages the beverage alcohol industry in Pennsylvania. It is responsible for licensing the possession, sale, storage, transportation, importation, and manufacture of wine, spirits, and malt or brewed beverages in the...
. The opinion was written by now Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
.
Notable alumni
- Leonard BakerLeonard BakerLeonard S. Baker was an American Pulitzer Prize winning writer.He won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for Days of Sorrow and Pain: Leo Baeck and the Berlin Jews , a book about Leo Baeck.His other published works include The Johnson Eclipse: A President's Vice...
- Pulitzer Prize winning biographer - Michael ChabonMichael ChabonMichael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
- Pulitzer Prize winning Writer, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. They are a Czech artist named Joe Kavalier and a Brooklyn-born...
", "Wonder BoysWonder BoysWonder Boys is a 1995 novel by the American writer Michael Chabon. It was adapted into a film in 2000.-Plot summary:Pittsburgh professor and author Grady Tripp is working on an unwieldy 2,611 page manuscript that is meant to be the follow-up to his successful, award-winning novel The Land...
". - Murray ChassMurray ChassMurray Chass is an American sportswriter and blogger who covers baseball. He previously wrote for The New York Times and before that the Associated Press on baseball and sports legal and labor relations. In 2003 the Baseball Writers Association of America honored him with the J. G. Taylor Spink...
- Sports journalist for 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...
; recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. - Myron CopeMyron CopeMyron Cope , born Myron Sidney Kopelman, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster who is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers."...
- Color commentator for the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. - Michael Clinton - Executive vice president, chief marketing officer, and publishing director of Hearst Magazines. He was business manager for The Pitt News.
- Chris KuzneskiChris KuzneskiChris Kuzneski is a New York Times bestselling American author. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have been published in more than 40 countries. His works have also been named a Literary Guild's featured selection and honored by the Florida Book Awards...
- International bestselling author of The ProphecyThe Prophecy (novel)The Prophecy is the fifth novel by New York Times bestselling author Chris Kuzneski. Published in October 2009 by Penguin UK, the action thriller follows the adventures of Jonathon Payne and David "D.J." Jones as they try to decipher a newly discovered manuscript written by Nostradamus...
, The Lost ThroneThe Lost ThroneThe Lost Throne is the fourth novel by New York Times bestselling author Chris Kuzneski. Published in November 2008 by Penguin UK, the action thriller peaked at #5 on the British fiction chart and stayed in the Top 10 for four weeks. Putnam released the American hardcover in July 2009...
, and Sword of GodSword of God (novel)Sword of God was the third novel by New York Times bestselling author Chris Kuzneski. First published in September 2007 by Penguin Group , the action thriller followed the exploits of Jonathon Payne and David "D.J." Jones as they slipped into the Islamic city of Mecca in order to rescue an American...
. - Joe Zeff - Sports editor at The Pitt News, former graphics director for Time Magazine, former art director for The New York Times, and owner of Joe Zeff Design, Inc.