A History of Student and Employee Newspapers at Florida State University
Before the advent of the internet, newsletters and newspapers served as vital communication tools for organizations, including universities. Florida State University (FSU) has a rich history of newspaper publications, both for its employees and students, reflecting the evolving needs and interests of the campus community. These publications have not only documented university events and activities but have also served as platforms for student expression and debate.
State: The Faculty-Staff Bulletin of Florida State University
For half a century, FSU's employee newsletter, State: The Faculty-Staff Bulletin of Florida State University, served as the university's "hometown newspaper," keeping its "residents" informed. State acted as the official record for all university news, spanning from multimillion-dollar research grants to campus-wide steam outages.
Originally titled Florida State, the newsletter was commonly known as State. The publication officially dropped "Florida" from its name in July 1998 (Vol. 33, No. 1) when it rolled out a new design. To enhance the newsletter's appeal, University Communications introduced "spot color" with the August 30, 1999, issue (Vol. 34, No. 3), allowing type and graphics to be printed with garnet ink while photos remained in black and white.
Over its history, State varied in length, ranging from four to sixteen pages. It settled on a 12-page format after incorporating advertising with the September 24, 2007, issue (Vol. 42, No. 5). State was produced in full color from June 2008 to August 2009 due to the absence of printing costs before resuming its black-and-white format from August 2009 until December 2015. The final issue, published online as a PDF, was produced in color. State's final issue was published in January 2016.
FSView & Florida Flambeau: A Student Newspaper's Journey
The FSView & Florida Flambeau is a for-profit newspaper owned by the Gannett Company. It covers on-campus events, happenings, and trends at FSU, as well as concerts, museum and art exhibits, movies, literature and poetry readings, and other events from the larger Tallahassee community.
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The Florida Flambeau's Origins
The first issue of the Florida Flambeau, the school newspaper for Florida State University (then called the Florida State College for Women), was published on January 23, 1915. Lucile Freeman Yates of Tallahassee suggested the name Flambeau, derived from the word "torch." Ruby Leach, the newspaper's first editor, persuaded Milton Smith, editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, to include more news about the Florida State College for Women in his paper. Subsequently, she was hired to write two columns per week on campus activities, for which she was paid $0.50 per column.
Realizing the potential for a dedicated campus newspaper, President Conradi presented the idea to the students, and the Florida Flambeau was established. Initially, faculty sponsors supervised and evaluated all student publications, including the Flambeau. The staff cautiously worded editorials and rarely published commentaries. Dr. William George Dodd, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and head of the Department of English, reviewed each edition before it was printed.
Independence and Rivalry
The Flambeau continued under faculty supervision until 1971 when it gained independence from the university. In 1992, the privately owned FSView emerged as a rival, challenging the Flambeau's audience.
The Rise of FSView
Many students, critical of what they perceived as biased reporting in the Flambeau, voiced their discontent. This led a group of students to create their own "non-biased" newspaper, the FSView. FSU alumnus and Seminole Boosters Executive Director Charlie Barnes conceived the name, short for the Florida State View.
Merger and Current Status
Due to financial difficulties, the Florida Flambeau ceased printing in January 1998. It subsequently merged with the FSView to become the FSView & Florida Flambeau. The FSView & Florida Flambeau publishes weekly on Mondays during the fall and spring semesters, following FSU's academic calendar. The current circulation estimate of the paper is around 25,000.
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Other Student Publications
Besides the FSView & Florida Flambeau, FSU has a history of various other student publications, including literary magazines and yearbooks.
Literary Magazines
- The Talisman: A student-run literary magazine first published in 1906 by the Thalian Literary Society and the Minerva Club. In 1914, it transitioned into the Florida Flambeau weekly newspaper.
- The Distaff/Talaria/Smoke Signals: The Distaff was the literary magazine for Florida State College for Women from 1927-1947. It was renamed Talaria in 1947 and then Smoke Signals in 1951. Smoke Signals shifted its content from literary to satire and humor. Publication continued until at least 1985, but the latest issue in the holdings is from Winter 1970.
Yearbooks
The publication of yearbooks at Florida State University began in 1901 when West Florida Seminary published the Argo. Publication continued on and off over the years under various names, including the Flastacowo, Tally Ho, Artifacts, and finally, Renegade.
Student Handbooks
Student handbooks were the primary source for information regarding campus and university life, including campus rules, information regarding campus services, and social regulations for men and women.
Accessing FSU Publications
FSU publications can be found both in the library catalog and the Special Collections & Archives finding aid database.
The Role of Newspapers in the University Community
Newspapers play a multifaceted role in the university community. They not only record events but also reflect the concerns, opinions, and debates of their communities. Furthermore, a newspaper is also a business, a platform for advertisements, and a commodity for sale.
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Finding News Sources at FSU Libraries
FSU Libraries offer various resources for accessing news sources.
Search Tips
- To find a specific newspaper or magazine, search the title in OneSearch on the FSU Libraries homepage. Filter the results by Resource Type to include only Journals if the desired newspaper doesn't appear immediately.
- To see all news sources from a particular city, state, or country available through the FSU Libraries, use OneSearch on the homepage to search for the desired location.
Databases
FSU Libraries provide access to numerous databases with national and international news coverage, including:
- Nexis Uni: Offers a research experience with flexible search options and tools.
Historical News Coverage Databases:
- African American Newspapers: Provides newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience.
- America's Historical Newspapers: Offers searchable digital facsimiles of thousands of newspaper titles from all 50 states, chronicling American culture and daily life from the colonial era to the early twentieth century.
- The Burney Collection Newspapers: A full-text digital archive of 17th and 18th-century newspapers and news pamphlets from the United Kingdom.
- The New York Times: Offers full-page and article images from the newspaper from 1851 to three years before the current date.
- The Times (London): Provides a searchable and browsable digital reproduction of the London Times in PDF files, 1785-1985 and 2015-2019.
- The Wall Street Journal: The United States financial newspaper of record, offering coverage of national and international finance and hard news.
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