The Daily, A Brief History

The Daily is the independent newspaper created for the students, faculty, staff and alumni of the University of Washington. It is produced almost exclusively by students, both in business practice and editorial content; there is no interference by University of Washington staff or administration. Any University of Washington student is invited to work for The Daily, join its legacy and be paid for their work.

A nine-member board of student publications oversees the newspaper, reviews finances, resolves disputes and appoints both the editor-in-chief and the advertising manager to their positions. The board is comprised of representatives from the University of Washington administration, Faculty Senate, Department of Communication, ASUW, GPSS, a professional publication and The Daily newsroom.

The Daily began its history at the University of Washington in 1891, though in that year, the paper was not called The Daily nor was it published daily. Instead, it was called the Wave and began with the intent of being published monthly. Unfortunately, the difficulties of producing a newspaper caused the publication to be sporadic.

In 1893 the paper was revitalized under the leadership of Otto F. Collins, the first editor-in-chief. The Wave’s permanency on campus came in 1896 when it was officially adopted as part of the student body.

In 1896, the paper was renamed the Pacific Daily Wave and in 1909 it became The Daily. The publication followed its name until 1933 when the tumult of the Depression forced the staff to drop the Monday edition of the paper. The drop lasted over 50 years, however, the edition resumed in 1985 and has been steadily published ever since.

The 1960’s brought another change to college newspapers. College campuses around the nation became hotbeds for political activism and change. Newspapers, including The Daily, were forced to choose between the ethics of providing news and the standards of the universities they belonged to.

“While the freedom of expression has been considered a basic right for the press in this country for nearly 200 years, this right was not articulated for college and high school newspapers until quite recently. Until the 1960’s, college and high school journalists enjoyed about as much freedom of expression as the newspaper’s advisor, the high school principal or the college dean was willing to allow,” Don Pember, a former University of Washington Communications professor said.

In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that censorship of school papers was unconstitutional unless content substantially interferes with the order and discipline of the school and remains so today.

University of Washington faculty, staff and students can be proud of being part of an institution that helped pioneer the freedoms given to student press.

The later years of the 1960s brought harsh criticism for The Daily by not only student readers, but by the staff itself and threats of discontinuing the paper were in discussion.

In response, President Charles Odegaard mandated a report on the paper and instead of discontinuing publication, created the Board of Student Publications, the group that continues to oversee the paper today.

Odegaard also suggested that budgets for the paper be voted on by regents and be given directly to the Board of Student Publications, bypassing the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW). Thus, The Daily became its own publication rather than an ASUW entity.

Today, The Daily continues to reach a broad audience. Nearly 20,000 copies of the newspaper are read on a daily basis and the editorial team continues to cover important news on campus and in the surrounding areas.

In 2006, The Daily won the Apple Award at the College Media Advisors convention in New York City for best four-year college tabloid sized newspaper in the nation and aspires each day to produce an award winning publication for the student body.