ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF THE DAILY TEXAN
Friends of The Daily Texan is a non-profit organization formed in the spring of 2013 by a group of alumni concerned about The Texan’s future. The Daily Texan is known as one of the best student-run newspapers in the country, producing notable alumni like Walter Cronkite and fulfilling an important watchdog role at the University of Texas. But in 2013, the newspaper was struggling for survival, with its revenue and circulation dropping in half over the previous five years. A threat to cut print production days of The Daily Texan in the face of this bleak financial picture galvanized hundreds of alumni into creating a group that would not only raise money for the Texan, but establish alumni as a prominent advocate and valuable resource. As the Friends group was organized, two other key changes took place on the UT campus: supervision of The Daily Texan passed to Moody College of Communication, and Moody hired a newspaper revenue expert to lead Texas Student Media and build a media-savvy team. Today The Texan faces the same challenges mainstream media faces, but it faces those challenges with guidance from Moody, an energized TSM management and the supportive Friends of The Daily Texan group. There is much to be done, but as in previous decades, The Texan remains the leader in the world of student media, working to build a successful future to carry that paper through its second 100 years.
Mission
Promoting the publication’s long-term sustainability
The Friends of The Daily Texan is an association for alumni of The Daily Texan and others interested in promoting the publication’s long-term sustainability as a site of student press innovation. Through mentorship, fundraising, networking and public education, Friends of The Daily Texan works alongside current Texan staffers to continue the publication’s rich tradition of journalistic excellence into the future.
Vision
Assist The Daily Texan as it transitions
Friends of the Texan will assist The Daily Texan as it transitions into the digital age, by:
- Providing mentorship to Texan staffers, sharing with them not only new tricks of the trade but institutional memory, in a way that embraces the cherished history of the Texan while giving students the guidance to forge a new path in a new media environment.
- Raising funds to give Texan staffers the financial bandwidth to innovate, to discover new business models and new ways of collecting and delivering news and ideas vital to the UT student body.
- Networking Texan staffers and alumni with the objective of strengthening not only the Texan alumni community, but with assisting recent Texan grads as they transition into their professional lives.
- Advocating publicly for the Texan as an independent medium for student voices.
To learn more about the board of The Friends of The Daily Texan, click here.
The Daily Texan Hall of Fame
Recognizing outstanding former staff members of The Daily Texan
Each year the Friends of the Texan recognizes outstanding graduates of The Daily Texan. That list includes former Texan staffers who have achieved great success in their careers, whether in media or any other endeavor. They are honored at an annual banquet held each year in The Texas Union’s Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom.