By Kaylene Armstrong
Adviser
In 1873, newspaper historian Fredric Hudson mentioned college newspapers briefly in his chapter on the transient press in his book “Journalism in the United States.” He noted that “some of the [student newspaper] contributions are marked with ability and a show of genius,” yet “it is not expected, from the nature of things, that they are to be permanent institutions.”
Hudson would likely be surprised to see that a college newspaper, sometimes only in a digital format, continues to survive today on almost every college and university campus in the United States. The Northwestern News at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, marking its 80th birthday this year, is also one of these survivors.
Most people don’t realize that the college student newspaper has continued as a more enduring fixture on the landscape of newspapers than most professional publications. More than 100 student newspapers trace their history to the late 1800s; hundreds more began in the early 1900s. The Northwestern News joined the ranks in 1938. However, its predecessors date back to February 1901.
Which student newspaper in the country is the oldest? That question is a thorny one. It really depends on how the individual student publication chooses to trace its lineage.
The Dartmouth student newspaper at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, claims to be the oldest student newspaper. It makes that claim based on the fact that Daniel Webster and other Dartmouth students wrote for the local community newspaper, the Dartmouth Gazette, beginning in 1799. The Dartmouth today claims that early Gazette in its lineage.
At Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, the Miami Student places its beginning with The Literary Focus in 1827 and claims the title of oldest university paper because students printed the Focus on campus with a press the students bought.
The Harvard Crimson (daily publication in 1883) claims to be the oldest continuously published daily student newspaper, appearing on stands even during the world wars.
However, Yale Daily News began daily printing five years earlier but did not publish daily during the world wars, so it settles for just the oldest daily title.
The Northwestern News doesn’t claim any national titles, but it is the oldest student newspaper on the NWOSU campus. The library archives are incomplete, so it is difficult to piece together the full history of the newspaper. It began publishing in 1936 as Volume 1 though it was Volume 8 in 1947 when it should have been Volume 10. It is likely that the student newspaper did not publish during World War II, as was the case for many student newspapers. That would account for the numbering system being off today.
A broadsheet-size newspaper called The Northwestern immediately preceded the current Northwestern News. It published for about 23 years. The N.T.N., a monthly journal, was the first publication on campus, beginning in 1901. That was followed by the Northwestern X-Ray in 1903, which published for an unknown amount of time.
In 1968, the Northwestern News went from a biweekly to a weekly, which it still is today. Its format also moved to the tabloid size that it has been for several decades.
And today, at 80, the Northwestern News is still a strong, vibrant part of the NWOSU landscape.