The Daily Universe
From College of Fine Arts and Communications
Contents |
Overview
The Daily Universe is the student newspaper for Brigham Young University and was started shortly after the school was founded. It was first titled Y News, which was then changed to The Blue and White and finally to The Daily Universe. The Daily Universe is part of a larger news organization called BYU NewsNet, which was the first integrated (Web, radio, newspaper, and television) news organization in the world.
General Information
The paper is printed Monday through Friday, except during school breaks and some holidays. It is distributed free of charge on BYU campus and is sent around the world to alumni and friends of the university for a small fee.
The editors, writers, photographers and copy editors are all students, some paid, some reporting for a journalism class. The opinion pieces in the paper are overseen by an editorial board that includes student staff, professional staff, university professors and local professionals.
One of the paper's most popular features are the letters to the editor, which routinely become a forum for campus issues or ideas. Some issues will be argued back and forth for weeks. Some (in)famous topics are parking on campus, Right v. Left politics, dating, the wearing of socks with sandals, and various mistakes stemming from the student editors' collective inexperience.
Predecessors
- The Academic Review (1884-1885)
- The BYA Student (Five months in 1891)
- White and Blue (1897-1921)
- The Y News (1921-1948)
- Brigham Young Universe (1948-1956)
History
In the early days of BYU’s campus newspaper, the student body oversaw all aspects of production. The managing editor was selected by the students and students occupied all editorial and staff positions. Participation was voluntary, drawing in students from all majors and emphases.
During the 1950s, the newspaper started receiving criticism for its amateurish style. Stories featured social activities rather than news. Readers frowned upon the alliterative headlines popular in the newsroom such as, “Bunker’s Babes Battle Big, Bad Basketballers,” and “Waddie Windis Whip Worries Waiting Watts.”
In 1966, members of the Journalism Department began efforts to convert the paper to a laboratory structure. The change was initiated under President Ernest L. Wilkinson, and was finalized under the administration of President Dallin H. Oaks in 1970.
Students and faculty involved with The Daily Universe during those formative years credit President Oaks with helping the paper develop the reputation it deserved. He saw the value of a free press and the need for a meaningful lab experience to foster the skills students need to become successful journalists.
As the paper matured, more of the content focused on national and international news. Daily circulation 1956 was around 7,000, and in less than 20 years, circulation skyrocketed to 20,000. It has been estimated that by 1975, 72 percent of the student body read the paper daily, and 99 percent read it at least once a week.
Staff Memories
Many of the current faculty and staff members have fond memories of working at The Daily Universe during their undergraduate days.
Assistant Professor Quint B. Randle remembers great mentoring experiences during his time as a student at the paper.
“Some of my most vivid memories revolve around Jack Nelson, who I have called my ‘magazine mentor’ over the years,” Randle said. “What I remember most fondly was his ‘Charlton- Hestonesque’ voice and mannerisms when teaching the mechanics of good writing. His delivery both demanded respect and projected authority.”
Kaylene Armstrong, former editorial director of The Daily Universe, remembers the pre-computer days.
I graduated in 1976 and that was the end of the old typewriter era. Before computers, we had a true horseshoe for the copy desk, with the copy editor sitting in the slot and assigning the stories in hard copy form for editing. All the hard copy stories were sent to the BYU press and then retyped there by typesetters. As an editor, I took my turns going to the press building late at night to do ‘press checks’ of the pages before the paper was ‘put to bed.’
Daryl Gibson, NewsNet managing director of systems and productions, joined The Daily Universe in 1976 as a student, and has been with the paper ever since.
“Sometimes alumni come back to visit—look around at ‘their newspaper,”’ Gibson said. “It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been gone— it’s still their newspaper, every bit as much as it belongs to me or anyone else.”
The Daily Universe now receives world, national and regional news through the AP wires. Nevertheless, the paper remains committed to informing students, reflecting student opinion and serving as a lab for the Department of Communications.
Former Daily Universe staff members have gone on to jobs at many newspapers and magazines, including all daily papers in Utah, The Orange County Register, The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, and Newsweek.
