The Lantern
Encyclopedia
The Lantern is the name of the official, daily student-published university newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 at The Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, reaching a circulation of 15,000.

Sections of The Lantern include Campus, Sports, Arts+Entertainment and a Student Voice page managed by the editor-in-chief.

Copies of the paper are free and available on campus and throughout Columbus. Editions are published in print Monday through Friday with online-only editions published Fridays (with exceptions) and during Summer Quarter.

The Lantern received national attention in 2011 when it broke news regarding members of the school's illustrious football team selling memorabilia for money and tattoos.

History and Background

The paper was chartered in 1881 and became an integral part of the School of Journalism in 1914. At one time in the past, with a circulation of 28,000 papers during the regular school year and readership of 75,000, it was the third largest college newspaper in the country.

The Lantern is a laboratory paper that is put together daily by students in the newsroom of the Journalism Building. There are 14 paid student editors and assistant editors who change after completion of three academic quarters. Student reporters, most of whom contribute through the Lantern practicum class, are not paid.

The business side of the newspaper is operated by 15 full-time employees and 5-7 student account executives responsible for advertising sales.

Recent troubles

The Lantern has faced several of the same problems the rest of the newspaper industry has suffered over the past few years.

It was projected to lose more than $150,000 in 2008, according to School of Communication officials. In efforts to prevent further losses, the newspaper was forced to cut circulation down to about 15,000 and suspended the summer printing of The Lantern. Summer Quarter issues continue to be published on the paper's website.

In the past few years, The Lantern has gone through several different advisers, some of whom grew discontent with the school. The current faculty adviser for The Lantern is Dan Caterinicchia, a former editor for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

.

Online

The Lantern posts all its stories on its website. Stories are posted online-only on Fridays (apart from weeks when the football team has a home game, in which case a paper is printed on Friday) and during Summer Quarter.

In addition to the stories in print, the website includes a multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 section for photo slide shows, videos and a weekly video webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...

. Sports and Arts & Life podcasts
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

 are also posted on the website.

Visitors may also view print editions of the paper, made available by Issuu
Issuu
Issuu is an online service that allows for realistic and customizable viewing of digitally uploaded material, such as portfolios, books, magazine issues, newspapers, and other print media. It integrates with social networking sites to promote uploaded material. Issuu's service is comparable to what...

.

The website is powered by College Media Network's
College media network
College Media Network [CMN], formerly known as Y2M: Youth Media and Marketing, is a source of innovation within modern news media that over 3,000 student writers and editors rely on to publish their content across all digital media...

 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...

. It is routinely one of the most frequently visited websites in the network.

Stories from The Lantern's website are also made available through the online college wire service
Wire Service
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.-Synopsis:Wire Service focuses on three reporters for the fictional Trans-Globe wire service, which was similar to real-life news wire services such as the Associated Press and United Press International...

, UWIRE.

Awards

In 2011, The Lantern won the "General Excellence" award from the Ohio Newspaper Association, deeming it the top collegiate newspaper in the state of Ohio. The Lanterns seven wins in the categories of editorial writing, sports coverage, headline writing, photojournalism, design, best newspaper website and news coverage combined to give the newspaper the General Excellence award.

The Lantern also won "Best College Daily Newspaper" in Ohio by the Ohio chapter of the 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...

 in 2011, as well.

Controversy

In Spring 2010, a situation occurred on campus in which two cows escaped from the Veterinary Hospital, and started running loose on campus. After several vet students and faculty were trampled in attempts to wrangle the animals, the Ohio State University Police cordoned off several areas of campus, and eventually resorted to deadly force to stop the angry animals. The cows were eventually tranquilized and recaptured with assistance of staff from the Columbus Zoo
Columbus Zoo
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located in Powell, Ohio , just north of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Scioto River, at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Powell Road...

.

During the commotion, a student photographer from The Lantern purportedly disobeyed orders from police officers to leave the area. After claiming freedom of the press, he was arrested for the misconduct. The School of Communication protested the arrest, though the school did not provide the photographer legal aid. Many other journalism outlets took his side, and the photographer was never charged.

Coverage of Tattoogate

Months after news broke that Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor
Terrelle Pryor
Terrelle Pryor is an American football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2008−2010...

, as well as several other teammates, had been involved with selling memorabilia for tattoos and money, The Lantern published a story on May 25, 2011, in which former football player Ray Small admitted to also selling memorabilia for money. The two reporters on the story, editor-in-chief Zack Meisel and sports reporter James Oldham, received threats from angry Ohio State fans as a result. Meisel, Oldham and The Lantern received national attention for their coverage, including appearances on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

's Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines, or also referred to as OTL, is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in American sports on and off the field of play....

 and in the Wall Street Journal, among others.

Head football coach Jim Tressel
Jim Tressel
James Patrick Tressel is a gameday consultant for the Indianapolis Colts, and former collegiate football head coach at both The Ohio State University from 2001 to 2011 and at Youngstown State University from 1986 to 2000. Tressel is most notable for his time at Ohio State. He was hired by the...

 resigned on May 31, 2011, in response to the scandal.

Notable alumni

  • Leonard Downie, Jr.
    Leonard Downie, Jr.
    Leonard "Len" Downie, Jr. , was the executive editor of The Washington Post. He held the position for seventeen years, starting September 1, 1991, after serving as managing editor for seven years. Downie announced his retirement as executive editor on Monday, June 23, 2008 which took effect on...

    , former executive editor of the Washington Post

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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