The Badger Herald
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Badger Herald | |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheets |
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| Owner | Independent |
| Editor | Taylor Hughes |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Political allegiance | Moderate |
| Headquarters | Madison, WI, U.S. |
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| Website: www.badgerherald.com | |
The Badger Herald is one of the nation's independent daily student newspapers. It serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year. It is available at newstands across campus and is also published on the Web. The print circulation is 16,000. It is the largest independent student newspaper in the United States.
The Badger Herald, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation run entirely by University of Wisconsin–Madison students and funded strictly by advertising revenue. The staff consists of more than 100, about half of whom are salaried employees. The office is located off-campus at 326 W. Gorham St., less than one block from State Street. The paper is printed by Capital Newspapers, Inc., home of the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times.
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[edit] History
The Badger Herald was founded in 1969 by a group of four students seeking a conservative alternative to the University of Wisconsin's then-primary student newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, which editorialized against the Vietnam War and had close ties to leaders of the campus protest movement.
After several months of fundraising, scrounging for desks and typewriters, and renting offices where the Sunroom Cafe now stands (above Steve and Barry’s on State Street), the first issue of The Badger Herald was published Sept. 10, 1969. In the mid-1970s, the Herald moved to 550 State St. (above the current Q-Doba). When the Herald moved to its present-day offices at 326 W. Gorham St. in 1998, the editors kept much of the furniture, including the original desks and homemade light board.
Founding editor Pat Korten received financial support for the new paper from nationally known conservative writer William F. Buckley after the paper ran into financial trouble in 1971. Buckley raised money for the struggling paper by giving a speech, with proceeds going to the paper.
Today, The Badger Herald is still perceived as more conservative than The Daily Cardinal.
The Badger Herald was founded as a weekly newspaper, but went daily in 1987. It quickly established itself, overtaking the much-older Daily Cardinal by the early 1990s in circulation and advertising revenue.
In 2001 The Badger Herald published an advertisement by controversial conservative writer David Horowitz that argued against reparations for slavery. Weathering several protests and disruptions in circulation, The Herald refused to apologize for publishing the advertisement. After a flurry of national news coverage, the paper's status as an independent student newspaper stood firm.
The Herald’s position was lauded in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Wisconsin State Journal. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel editorialized that the Herald is “living proof that the Constitution is a living document.”
On Feb. 13, 2006, The Badger Herald's editorial board published a controversial cartoon that depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist. In the accompanying column entitled "Sacred Images, Sacred Rights", the board said it considered the cartoon "offensive" but also deemed it "clearly newsworthy" and a "vehicle of facilitation in the grand marketplace of ideas."
[edit] Comics
The Badger Herald also publishes a comics page five days per week. Favorite comics among students include White Bread & Toast and the long-running Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon.
[edit] Rocky the Herald Raccoon
Rocky, a whiskey-loving Raccoon, appears daily in The Badger Herald. Rocky is known for his witty sarcasm and clever observations. Rocky the Herald Comics Raccoon is written and produced by Davy Mayer.
[edit] Other student publications
The Daily Cardinal publishes daily on a similar schedule and has a circulation of 10,000, making The University of Wisconsin the only university in the United States with two daily student newspapers. The campus also hosts two bimonthly newspapers: The Mendota Beacon, founded in February 2005, and The Madison Observer, founded in April 2003. In addition, the campus was the birthplace of satirical weekly The Onion.
[edit] Editors in Chief
- 1969-1970: Pat Korten
- 1979-1980: Michael Voss
- Spring 1989: John Zipperer
- Fall 1989: Jamie Simpson (now Jamie Mair)
- 1991-1992: Joel Kaphingst (now Joel Christopher)
- 1997-1998: Franklin Delano Schwab
- 1997-1998: Jennifer Carnig
- 1998-1999: Daniel Alter
- 1999-2000: Christopher Tennant
- 2000-2001: Julie Bosman
- 2001-2002: Alexander Conant
- 2002-2003: Lars Russell
- 2003-2004: Eric Bengston Cullen
- 2004-2005: Cristina Daglas
- 2005-2006: Mac VerStandig
- 2006-2007: Taylor Hughes
