An association for alumni and supporters of The Daily Texan, student newspaper at the University of Texas at Austin

News & Updates

12 named to Texan Hall of Fame

The board of Friends of The Daily Texan has announced the inaugural winners of the Texan Hall of Fame awards. Winners will be honored at our awards ceremony on the evening of Nov. 8. Hall of Fame inductees were chosen based on the accomplishments of their post-Texan career and their commitment to the Texan, either while working at the newspaper or as an alumni. Legacy winners include Walter Cronkite, Willie Morris, Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird Johnson, Fritz Lanham and Helene Wilke McNaughton. 2013 inductees include Karen Tumulty, Ben Sargent, Karen Elliott House, Bill Moyers and Dick Elam. Rising star inductee […]

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Alumni Weekend and Texan Hall of Fame Awards Dinner

The Friends of The Daily Texan will be hosting an Alumni Weekend and Texan Hall of Fame awards dinner on Nov. 8 – 9, 2013. The awards dinner will be on Friday evening. The schedule is not set in stone yet, but there will be a mentoring day in the Texan basement on Friday afternoon, a cocktail reception and Texan Hall of Fame awards dinner on Friday evening, and a day of fun, leisurely activities on Saturday (such as Segway tours of campus). We are working on a registration and payment system for the event. But for those of you […]

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Update from Texan adviser Michael Brick

The new adviser to The Daily Texan, Michael Brick, has written a column on the Texan’s ambitious plans for this year as students prepare to start classes. Here’s an excerpt from the column: And here’s what we’re doing: Starting a mobile-friendly overhaul of our web design and content management systems, with a careful eye toward documentation and continuity. We’re performing a targeted search, with the gracious help of Computer Sciences Chairman Dr. Bruce Porter and new media lecturer Robert Quigley, for new kinds of talent. We’re working directly with the advertising staff to cultivate both old and new revenue sources […]

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Thank you to our charter members!

A big thank-you goes out to the folks who have committed to becoming a member of Friends of The Daily Texan or submitted a donation in the first week of our 2013 membership drive. You guys rock! If you want to donate or become a member click here. Though alumni were successful in preventing a vote to stop “daily” production of The Daily Texan last spring, the newspaper is still very much struggling with declining revenue. We are hopeful that the involvement and financial contributions of our talented alumni can make a difference in promoting the long-term sustainability of this […]

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Become a member of Friends of The Daily Texan

Big news! The Friends of The Daily Texan board has approved a tiered membership structure and we are ready to start accepting memberships. By becoming an official dues-paying member of Friends of The Daily Texan, you will help support the mission of this group. For more information on membership levels go to our “Become a Member” page. We’re working on getting a better website up and running very soon, so stay tuned!

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Nominations for the Texan Hall of Fame awards

Friends of The Daily Texan is pleased to announce the inaugural Texan Hall of Fame awards! This award recognizes Daily Texan alumni who have led distinguished careers and demonstrated support for the Texan. There will be a special category for those under age 40. The deadline for submission is Sept. 5. Winners will be chosen by the board of Friends of The Daily Texan. Award honorees will be recognized at the Texan Hall of Fame fundraiser dinner on Nov. 8. Submit your nomination here: http://tinyurl.com/k4uxnl6

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Update on Friends of The Daily Texan

Greetings Alumni and Friends, As many of you are aware, earlier this year Texas Student Media considered a proposal to end publishing The Daily Texan five days a week in an effort to save money. Thanks to financial pledges and a published letter from The Daily Texan alumni, fervent pleas from the University of Texas journalism staff and media articles that drew attention to the matter, that proposal was shelved. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of cuts to staff salaries and left the Texan in a financially vulnerable position. That event sparked an interest in forming an alumni group […]

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Dear Texas Student Media Board of Directors

Click here for a PDF of this open letter. February 27, 2013 As alumni of The Daily Texan, we read last Tuesday’s editorial (“Keep The Daily Texan daily,” Feb. 19, 2013) with considerable consternation. Those of us who fondly recall our time toiling in the paper’s basement offices are well aware that times are tough. For years we have followed the Texan’s declining circulation, its shrinking advertising base, the unfortunate decision to sell the press, the scaled-back publishing schedule — much as a child follows the decline of an aging parent. Nonetheless, ceasing daily print publication of the Texan strikes […]

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Friends of the Texan

Today, thanks to your generous support, we made public our call to keep The Daily Texan daily by publishing our open letter to the TSM Board as a full-page ad! If you cannot get your hands on a printed copy of the Texan, the ad can be seen here. We have also raised enough funds to purchase an additional half-page ad in Friday’s Daily Texan. We will use that ad to announce the next stage of our campaign: The creation of an independent Texan alumni association, Friends of the Texan, tasked with promoting the publication’s long-term sustainability as a site […]

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