Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Arizona State University
Arizona State University

The State Press and the ASU Web Devil

The State Press has been part of Arizona State University since 1890. It began as The Normal Echo, a one-page supplement to what is now the East Valley Tribune newspaper. The publication became the Arizona State Press in 1936, with the motto “Watchdog of the Student Body.”

For many years, the newspaper was part of the journalism department at ASU, but in the mid-1970s, amid a nationwide movement to make campus newspapers independent of academic departments and direct faculty supervision, ASU President John Schwada placed it under the authority of a Board of Student Publications. The first board resigned within a month because of a disagreement with the Arizona Board of Regents over its independence, which led to recognition of the newspaper as an editorial product independent of university interference. By the 1980s, the paper had evolved into a five-day-a-week publication and one of the largest newspapers in the state.

Today, The State Press is a free, five-day-a-week publication distributed on ASU’s Tempe, West, Polytechnic and Downtown campuses, as well as throughout downtown Tempe. The paper prints an average of 18,000 copies a day.

The State Press staff is made up of about 60 students each semester who work in paid positions as reporters, photographers, copy editors, section editors and columnists. Several also produce comic strips and cartoons for the newspaper. The editor is chosen each semester by the Student Media Advisory Board, which is made up of journalism faculty and professionals, a representative of ASU’s Office of Student Affairs and undergraduate and graduate students. The editor, in turn, hires the rest of the staff.

The newspaper has consistently been rated among the best college newspapers in the country. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association named The State Press a Gold Crown and Silver Crown winner, respectively - the highest awards given to college newspapers. The State Press also was honored in 2005 with the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism, a prestigious national award given to one college paper each year for its commitment to ethics. Student journalists working for The State Press consistently place in the prestigious Hearst awards for college journalism students and sweep the Society of Professional Journalism regional awards.

The State Press is part of ASU’s Department of Student Media. While students make all decisions regarding editorial and advertising content, the university appoints a director of Student Media, who manages the business side of the operation and advises the students on the editorial side. Like any professional newspaper, The State Press’s income comes primarily from advertising sales, which average about $1.2 million each year.

In addition to the newspaper, the department offers a student-run Web site. The Web-based ASU Web Devil features State Press content online, as well as original content developed for the site. The site is staffed by an editor, chosen by the Student Media Advisory Board, and two other paid staff members who review and post the work of dozens of student freelancers. Site visits exceed 1 million a month during the school year.

In 2005 the Web Devil was named the Best Student Web Site in the country by the Online News Association, as well as winning first place for College Internet Service in the EpPy awards and being named a national finalist in the Webby awards competition. The Web Devil was second runner-up for the prestigious EpPy award in 2006.

The vast majority of students involved in The State Press and Web Devil are majors in the Cronkite School. Student Media Director James Crutchfield, former publisher of the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal newspaper, is also the Edith Kinney Gaylord Visiting Professor in Journalism Ethics at the Cronkite School and teaches each semester. He can be reached at james.crutchfield@asu.edu or at 480-727-6884.

For more information on how to get involved, contact Student Media at 480-965-7572 or visit www.asuwebdevil.com and click on the employment link.