Washington Square News

Washington Square News
WSN logo
TypeStudent newspaper
FormatBerliner
SchoolNew York University
Owner(s)Independent
Editor-in-chiefManasa Gudavalli (2023)[1]
Founded1973; 51 years ago (1973)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersNew York, New York
Circulation65,000
Websitenyunews.com

Washington Square News (WSN) is the weekly student newspaper of New York University (NYU). It has a circulation of 10,000 and an estimated 55,000 online readers. It is published in print on Monday, in addition to online publication Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, with additional issues published in the summer. It serves the NYU, Greenwich Village, and East Village communities in Manhattan, New York City.

History

The newspaper was born in 1973 as the result of NYU's merging of their two campus weeklies: the University Heights campus in the Bronx had published The Heights Daily News, while the Washington Square campus in Lower Manhattan originally published The Washington Square Journal.

Between 2003 and 2004, WSN debuted the "Bobst Boy" story, which went on to become an overnight national sensation.[2]

In 2000, WSN launched its website nyunews.com. In 2017, WSN launched its podcast, "Newsflash", and then rebranded the following year as "Washington Square Noise". In 2018, WSN launched its digital weekly magazine, Under the Arch.

In late September 2020, the entire staff of WSN resigned after disagreements with the university over their faculty advisor.[3] The resignation lasted until the mid March, 2021, when the staff returned after the hiring of a new editor.[4]

Staff

WSN is run solely by NYU students, with the paper's senior staff mostly composed of undergraduates. Its offices are located at 75 Third Avenue. It serves the student population by helping with opportunities for reporting, writing, editing, coding, photography, video production, design, illustration and business.[5]

The paper is editorially and financially independent from the university and is solely responsible in selling advertisements to fund its production, with an average cost of US$350,000 annually.[6][7]

The term for the positions of editor-in-chief is one academic year, beginning in the summer semester and ending after the spring semester.

Awards

In 2009, reporters Marc Beja and Adam Playford (Editor-in-Chief, 2008) won first place in the category of "Best News Story" from the New York State Press Association and National Winner in the category of "In-depth reporting" from the Society of Professional Journalists. At the same time Alvin Chang (Editor-in-Chief, 2007) won best columnist.

Washington Square News won an Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award in 2004, that same year it was awarded the title of Overall Best Newspaper. It won the Pacemaker Award again in 2019.[8]

In 2003, the paper won seven first-place awards in the Division 1 "Better College Newspaper Contest" of the New York State Press Association.

Notable former staff

See also

References

  1. ^ "Manasa Gudavalli appointed editor-in-chief". Washington Square News. Apr 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "Broke student 'slept in library'". 2004-04-28. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  3. ^ Hofstetter, Abby (28 September 2020). "We're Resigning from WSN. Here's Why. | Washington Square News". Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  4. ^ Manager, Business (5 February 2021). "WSN Board Appoints New Editor-in-Chief | Washington Square News". Retrieved 2021-03-10. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "About". Washington Square News. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  6. ^ Elizabeth Castro (2004). "Next Generation Radio Project". 2004 National College Media Convention. NPR. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  7. ^ Local, N. Y. U. (2016-11-16). "The Washington Square News Profile". Medium. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  8. ^ "Washington Square News Voted Best Undergraduate Paper". The Villager. 2004-03-14. Retrieved 2008-10-03.