Technician (newspaper)

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Technician has been NC State's student newspaper since 1920.

Technician is the student newspaper of North Carolina State University. Its first edition was published in 1920, and it has been published continuously since that date, becoming a daily paper in fall 1988.

Overview

NCSU Technician Newspaper Stand

The newspaper is published four times per week when school is in session and also has an online presence, [1]. 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, Technician's 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, media mogul, founder of broadcasting and newspaper chain Park Communications Inc.
• William C. Friday (1941), American educator and leader of the University of North Carolina system from 1956-86.
• Chris Hondros, photographer and 2003 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
• Richard Curtis (1972), a founder and managing editor of graphics and photography for USA Today
• Joseph Galarneau (1989), chief operating officer for Newsweek

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. 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.

• On September 3, 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. The inflammatory article resulted in widespread theft of the edition (it is distributed free). Students also burned copies of the Technician in the Brickyard in protest. The aftermath led to the creation of the university's African-American interest publication, Nubian Message.

• In 1992, Owen S. Good explained that 'cheerleading is not a sport'.

• In 1993, the men's basketball team lost to Campbell University 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.

• On August 29, 2005, a crowd of approximately 200 Greek Life and African American Student Advisory Council representatives gathered on Harris Field to protest a Technician article entitled “Sorostitutes are weak and wounded.” Students complained the article was an unfair representation of women's activities in Greek Life. While the event received a lot of media attention, it was quickly overshadowed by Hurricane Katrina’s destruction on the Gulf Coast.

• 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.

• In February 2014, Editor-in-Chief Sam DeGrave discontinued the traditional "Daily Tar Hell" satire newspaper while citing racist, sexist, and homophobic humor of past editions as his motivation for halting the ever-popular publication. A majority of students and alumni were disgruntled by the decision and consequently, a plethora of letters to the editor were sent in as a voice of frustration. Many argued that the "hateful humor" was not prevalent in recent years and the satire was all in good taste while others were upset to see one of the few longstanding traditions of the university be tampered with. A handful of others, however, backed DeGrave and submitted letters to the editor in support.

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, 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 • A. Lawrence Aydlett, editor
1929-1930 • vol. 10• A.L. Weaver, editor
1930-1931 • vol. 11• Roy H. Park, editor
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 • Eugene S. Knight, editor
1935-1936 • vol. 16 • Robert B. Knox Jr., editor
1936-1937 • vol. 17 • R. Hall Morrison, Jr., editor
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 • Don Barksdale, editor
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
2012-2013 • vol. 93 • Mark Herring, editor
2013-2014 • vol. 94 • Sam DeGrave, editor
2014-2015 • vol. 95 • Ravi K. Chittilla, editor; Paper reverts to publishing four days a week (Monday through Thursday)

2015-2016 • vol. 96 • Kaitlin Montgomery, editor

References

• Technician Online
• Guide to the North Carolina State University Division of Student Affairs Publications, 1889-2008 [2]