Fairfield Mirror
Encyclopedia
The Fairfield Mirror is the student newspaper
of Fairfield University
in Fairfield, Connecticut
. It is financially and editorially independent of the University, and publishes weekly on Wednesday during the academic year with additional issues during commencement and orientation. The Mirror staff has won numerous Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists
.
founded and published the first edition of The Mirror in 1977. The newspaper was founded after the merging of two prior publications: one produced under the supervision of the University (The Voice), and one published independently (The Free Press and Review).
,
The genesis of the change to The Mirror, was Ned Barnett. who as Editor-in-Chief of "The Voice", was one of the driving forces to create an independent newspaper. In addition, the University was seeking to limit its liability from the publication of a student-run media outlet.
The Mirror's first Editor-in-Chief was Robert M. "Doc" Dougherty, who was responsible for the editorial content, and Frank Godfrey, the Business Manager, who was responsible for the paper's finances and operations as an independent, incorporated entity.
The paper was printed by Stratford Printing, and delivered weekly to campus dorms, classroom buildings, and the Campus Center.
The online edition was founded in 2000, and it was the first partner to have a signed contract with the now ubiquitous College Publisher
network of online student newspapers.
The Mirror incorporated full-process color in the print edition for the first time in the early '00s.
Dr. James Simon has been the adviser of The Mirror since 1998.
s and the walk of shame
at Fairfield. The columns (especially the "He Said" column by student Chris Surette) resulted in immediate controversy among students and administrators. There was a sit-in
protest of students at the Mirror's campus offices, and public rebukes from the University president and from dean of students Thomas Pellegrino. Pellegrino informed The Mirror was that they had violated the ethical guidelines in the paper's funding agreement with the University, and that this funding agreement was "null and void". Later, a group of students sought disciplinary action against The Mirror claiming the offensive content in the "He Said" column had violated the school's harassment policy.
In its first issue of 2010 the Mirror announced that the He Said/She Said column would be discontinued.
Since 2005, The Mirror has been printed weekly by Turley Publications of Palmer, MA, a boutique printing press serving local and college newspapers.
The Mirror is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.
The Mirror staff meets weekly on Thursdays at 6pm in the office to discuss the week's issue and to plan stories for the following week.
Until October 2007, The Mirror had been produced (completion of all copy editing, layout, and pre-press processing) on Tuesday nights beginning around 5pm and concluding as late as 6am Wednesday morning, the printer's deadline for timely delivery. That month, having found difficulty completing the pages on time due to unprecedentedly large page counts, the staff split production between Monday and Tuesday nights. Managing editors mandated that section editors complete 90% of their pages before leaving on Monday, leaving only last minute photos and deadline stories for addition on Tuesday nights.
When the staff finishes the paper on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, the Editor in Chief transmits the page files via File Transfer Protocol to the printing press more than 100 miles away in Palmer, MA.
Pages are burned onto plates almost immediately and the press run of 4,000 lasts for about a half hour. The finished papers are delivered to the Barone Campus Center loading dock by noon on Wednesday, sometimes less than six hours after file transmission.
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....
of Fairfield University
Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...
. It is financially and editorially independent of the University, and publishes weekly on Wednesday during the academic year with additional issues during commencement and orientation. The Mirror staff has won numerous Excellence in Journalism Awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
.
History
The students of Fairfield UniversityFairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
founded and published the first edition of The Mirror in 1977. The newspaper was founded after the merging of two prior publications: one produced under the supervision of the University (The Voice), and one published independently (The Free Press and Review).
,
The genesis of the change to The Mirror, was Ned Barnett. who as Editor-in-Chief of "The Voice", was one of the driving forces to create an independent newspaper. In addition, the University was seeking to limit its liability from the publication of a student-run media outlet.
The Mirror's first Editor-in-Chief was Robert M. "Doc" Dougherty, who was responsible for the editorial content, and Frank Godfrey, the Business Manager, who was responsible for the paper's finances and operations as an independent, incorporated entity.
The paper was printed by Stratford Printing, and delivered weekly to campus dorms, classroom buildings, and the Campus Center.
The online edition was founded in 2000, and it was the first partner to have a signed contract with the now ubiquitous College Publisher
College Publisher
College Publisher is an online hosted college newspaper system used by hundreds of college newspapers around the United States. The product is an application service provider that provides web site design and hosting...
network of online student newspapers.
The Mirror incorporated full-process color in the print edition for the first time in the early '00s.
Dr. James Simon has been the adviser of The Mirror since 1998.
The Thomas Moore Letter
In 1984, Editor in Chief Thomas Moore saved the newspaper from a threatened permanent cancellation stemming from an April Fool's prank that offended many on campus. The item, published in what was at that time the annual lampoon edition called "The Morron," sarcastically alleged that a female member of the board of trustees had solicited students in Jogues Hall (then called Northwest). It had been inserted by an editor, apparently with no other staff members having approved its inclusion prior to publication. When the administration reacted by canceling its subscription to The Mirror newly-appointed EIC Thomas Moore submitted a letter to the administration promising better oversight for the paper and outlining definitive protocols in an effort to prevent another misstep. The Mirrors subscription was restored and the practices established by Moore continue to this day, as every successive Editor in Chief must agree to the terms of the letter by means of a signed contract with the student affairs division.2009 He Said/She Said controversy
In 2009 a controversy erupted over the recurring humorous columns He Said/She Said, which typically offer a male and female perspective on some issue. The October 1 2009 issue's columns focused on best practices for conducting one night standOne Night Stand
One Night Stand is an HBO stand-up series that first aired on February 15, 1989. The half-hour series aired weekly and featured stand-up comedy specials from some of the top performing comedians. The series originally comprised 55 specials over the course of its four years on HBO...
s and the walk of shame
Walk of shame
The walk of shame refers to where a person must walk past strangers or peers alone for an embarrassing reason before reaching a place of privacy. Most commonly, it occurs the morning after a night out at a bar, dance club, or party...
at Fairfield. The columns (especially the "He Said" column by student Chris Surette) resulted in immediate controversy among students and administrators. There was a sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
protest of students at the Mirror's campus offices, and public rebukes from the University president and from dean of students Thomas Pellegrino. Pellegrino informed The Mirror was that they had violated the ethical guidelines in the paper's funding agreement with the University, and that this funding agreement was "null and void". Later, a group of students sought disciplinary action against The Mirror claiming the offensive content in the "He Said" column had violated the school's harassment policy.
In its first issue of 2010 the Mirror announced that the He Said/She Said column would be discontinued.
Excellence in Journalism Awards
- In 2007, six Mirror staff writers won ten collegiate journalism awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional JournalistsSociety of Professional JournalistsThe Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
including four first place awards for editorial writing, general column writing, sport story writing and sports photography. - In 2008, seven Mirror staff writers won nine collegiate journalism awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional JournalistsSociety of Professional JournalistsThe Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
including four first place awards for editorial writing, general column writing, sport story writing and sports photography. - In 2009, eight Mirror staff writers won fourteen collegiate journalism awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional JournalistsSociety of Professional JournalistsThe Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
including four first place awards for editorial column, feature photo, news photo, sport story.
Notable interviews
Over the years, The Mirror has landed interviews with many well-known entertainers, politicians, celebrities, and other notable figures in American pop-culture. More recently, they include...
|
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr .... Spin Doctors Spin Doctors is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits, "Two Princes," and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #7 & #17 respectively.... Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band... Menomena Menomena are an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States; currently made up of Justin Harris, Danny Seim and more recently Joe Haege of 31Knots and Tu Fawning... Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... Dispatch (band) Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston .... State Radio State Radio is an alternative rock band from Sherborn, Massachusetts, consisting of Chad Urmston , Chuck Fay and Mike Najarian... Cake (band) Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and... Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love.... |
Circulation and distribution
The Mirror is distributed at Fairfield University on Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters. While the print circulation is limited to 3,500 copies, tens of thousands of alumni, parents, and other members of the university community read the Web edition on a regular basis.Since 2005, The Mirror has been printed weekly by Turley Publications of Palmer, MA, a boutique printing press serving local and college newspapers.
The Mirror is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network.
Production
Weekly RoutineThe Mirror staff meets weekly on Thursdays at 6pm in the office to discuss the week's issue and to plan stories for the following week.
Until October 2007, The Mirror had been produced (completion of all copy editing, layout, and pre-press processing) on Tuesday nights beginning around 5pm and concluding as late as 6am Wednesday morning, the printer's deadline for timely delivery. That month, having found difficulty completing the pages on time due to unprecedentedly large page counts, the staff split production between Monday and Tuesday nights. Managing editors mandated that section editors complete 90% of their pages before leaving on Monday, leaving only last minute photos and deadline stories for addition on Tuesday nights.
When the staff finishes the paper on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, the Editor in Chief transmits the page files via File Transfer Protocol to the printing press more than 100 miles away in Palmer, MA.
Pages are burned onto plates almost immediately and the press run of 4,000 lasts for about a half hour. The finished papers are delivered to the Barone Campus Center loading dock by noon on Wednesday, sometimes less than six hours after file transmission.
| Technical Specs | |
|---|---|
| Layout & Design | Adobe Indesign CS3 |
| Photo Editing | Adobe Photoshop CS3 |
| Computing Platform | Mac OS X |
| Page Size | 11" x 17" (since Jan '07) |
| Color | Full Process on two plates (8 pages of full color, in layman's terms) |
| Advertising | 30-40% of page count |
| Average Page Count | 24 |
2011-12 Mirror Staff
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Mikaela Tierney | Editor in Chief |
| Gabriella Tutino | Executive Editor |
| Charlotte Adinolfi | Managing Editor |
| Elizabeth Koubek | News Editor |
| Loan Le | Entertainment Editor |
| Martin O'Sullivan | Opinion Editor |
| Eric Bernsen | Sports Editor |
| Thomas McKiver | Photo Editor |
Past Mirror Editors in Chief
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
| Peter Caty | 2010-2011 |
| Thomas Cleary | 2009-2010 |
| Alexandra Gross | 2008-2009 |
| Steph Lauto | 2007-2008 |
| Ryan Blair | Fall 2006 |
| Tara E. Lynch | 2005-2006 |
| Steven M. Andrews | 2004-2005 |
| Ethan Fry | 2003-2004 |
| Sean Hayes | 2002-2003 |
| Frank Washkuch | 2001-2002 |
| Paul Pennelli | 2000-2001 |
| Karen Affinito | 1999-2000 |
| Theresa Vitello | 1998-1999 |
| Lynn Casey | 1989-1990 |
| Bob Schumm | 1979-1980 |
| R.M. Dougherty | 1978-1979 |