The Captain's Log

From CNUpedia, an IEEE Innovation.

The February 22, 2006 front page of The Captain's Log. |
Type	Weekly newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Advisor	Dr. Terry Lee.
Editor-in-Chief	Elizabeth Beck
Founded	1963
Price	Free
Office	Student Union
Website: www.cnu.edu/captainslog

The Captain's Log is the official student newspaper of Christopher Newport University. Entirely student-run, the newspaper publishes on 24-wednesdays during the academic year. The newspaper covers issues affecting student activities, interests, and organizations on CNU's campus, as well as subjects dealing with the university community and its surrounding areas.

The current issue and archives of past issues can be found at their website

History

The Captain's Log began only three years after the school was founded, on November 7, 1963, with the publication of Chris' Crier. While it began as only a one-sheet mimeographed flier, Chris' Crier was the first student-run media on the young campus. The newspaper has been in continuous operations ever since. Within a few years the name Chris' Crier was dropped, and by 1978 the newspaper was known as The Captain's Log. Although only published on a semi-regular basis, the Captain's Log grew to a tabloid-sized newspaper. It also began to be printed on newsprint, after an initial print on heavy-stock white paper.

In the late 1970s the newspaper was re-launched with a greater focus on events that occurred on campus and a determination to publish on a weekly basis. With the opening of the new Student Union, now known as the Student Center, in 198_, The Captain's Log took a prominent place in student organizations on campus.

As The Captain's Log began to take itself more seriously, campus expectations about how the newspaper should be run increased. As a result of increasing demands to for improvement in the paper's copy-editing, Professor James Morris of the History Department was brought in as permanent faculty advisor to the newspaper. Morris, who had two PhDs in both History and English, increased the rigors of the newspaper's copyediting process.

Although the newspaper had always been ostensibly affiliated with the Department of English, up until the early 1990s that relationship was informal at best. At that time a movement developed in the Department of English to expand and formalize the already existing Concentration in Journalism. To that end, Dr. Terry Lee, formally of Syracuse University, was hired as professor of English and Journalism. Part of his responsibilities included oversight of the newspaper as new faculty advisor.

Lee took a much more hands-off approach to the newspaper, empowering the students to take their roles more seriously as journalist and guardians of the public interest. He remains the newspaper’s advisor to this day.

During the 1990s, concurrent with the arrival of former Senator Paul Trible as the university’s sixth president, the Captain’s Log began to expand its size and scope. By the late 1990s the newspaper was regularly covering campus events, sports, and entertainment. Because the newspaper was including less and less content from outside wire services, it became more and more relevant to students’ lives. Readership increased dramatically, and the newspaper achieved a weekly print-run of over 2,000 copies for the first time.

The newspaper’s growth was not without controversy, however. At various times it has been on the receiving end of accusations of bias or sloppy writing. Groups, such as various fraternities, sororities, or cultural organizations, accused the newspaper of slighting them. Sometimes such discussions grew contentious, particularly in 2000 when the newspaper was accused of racial insensitivity. Many such allegations failed to stick, however, and the newspaper remains the most trusted source of news and opinion on Christopher Newport’s campus.

As the academic quality of the overall student-body improved, so the did the quality of the newspaper’s staff. More students began coming to CNU to focus academically in journalism. With this in mind, the relationship between the concentration in journalism and the Captain’s Log was formalized. All students concentrating in journalism were required to work to the newspaper to graduate. This expanded the organization dramatically, with newspaper averaging 40+ regular staff members annually.

The newspaper's relationship with the Student Government Association was a continuing source of tension in recent years. Since the SGA's founding in the early 1980s, The Captain's Log had operated ostensibly as a student organization under the SGA's purview. As the newspaper began to more regularly write about and comment on the SGA's role on campus, however, it became obvious that the current arrangement was no longer working. In an effort to ease some of that tension and establish more independance for itself, The Captain's Log broke away from the SGA in 2002. The Student Media Board, an independant governing body of student-run media organizations on campus, was created to oversee the newspaper and allocate funding for it's operation.

That same year the overall look of the newspaper began to take significant changes. A tabloid format was abandoned in favor of a more traditional broadsheet. A weekly unsigned editorial, speaking as the voice of the newspaper, was created. Advertising increased dramatically as well. Finally, a major push was made to begin to utilize color in the newspaper for the first time. 2004 saw a significant experiment with color on page one and in 2005 the newspaper began regularly printing multiple pages in full-color.

Organization & Makeup of the Newspaper

The Captain's Log is entirely student written, edited, and run. The student-editors are entirely responsible for the contents of the paper.

The newspaper is run on a day-to-day basis by an Editor-in-Chief, who is hired by the Student Media Board for a one-year term begining in June of each year.

Current Staff

• Editor-in-Chief - Laura Gee

• News Editor - Ryan Kelly

• Assistant News Editor - Dan Callas

• Layout and Design Manager - Paul Abruzzo

• Assistant Layout and Design Manager - vacant

• Photos and Graphics Editor - Jesse Hutcheson

• Photos and Graphics Assistant Editor - Karen Hymes

• Copy Editor - Summer Gladden

• Sports Editor - Sara Isenhour

• Assistant Sports Editor - vacant

• Arts and Entertainment Editor - Mark Newton

• Assistant Arts and Entertainment Editor - vacant

• Online Editor - Christopher M. Book

• Advertising and Business Manager - Christopher M. Book

• Faculty Advisor - Dr. Terry Lee

Policies & Procedures of the Newspaper

Contacting the Newspaper

• Phone (757) 594-7196
• Fax (757) 594-7664

Office: DSU 393

Address: The Captain’s Log 1 University Place Newport News, VA 23606

Email General Inquiries: [desk@thecaptainslog.org]

Business / Advertising: [cbook@thecaptainslog.org]