The University Register

Infobox Newspaper
name =


caption = The November 8, 2007 front page of
"The University Register"
type = Weekly newspaper
format = Broadsheet
owners = Students of UMM
editor = Ellery R. Fisher
foundation = 1960
price = Free
political = None
circulation = 1,500
headquarters = 600 E 4th St
Morris, MN 56267
USA
website = [http://www.universityregister.org/ universityregister.org]

The University Register (UR) is the official campus newspaper of the University of Minnesota Morris, and is published weekly during the academic year. It primarily serves the University of Minnesota Morris campus and the greater Morris community. The paper is entirely student-run, operating out of the basement of the school's Multi-Ethnic Resource Center, and distributes over 1,500 copies to the campus every Thursday afternoon. A typical issue of "The UR" is between twenty-four and twenty-eight pages long, and consists of six sections: News, Opinion, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Variety, and a bi-weekly Feature.

History

The first edition of "The University Register" ran in 1960. While only a few surviving issues from the first six years of publication remain, it is clear that the title "The Vanguard" was adopted immediately following the publication of the first issue. Printed on 8.5"x11" glossy stock and printed in a newsletter format, "The Vanguard" adopted a newspaper format by the 1970s, and finally switched to the compact format soon thereafter. By 1975, however, the "Vanguard" changed its name to "The Campus Community Writer", and then again changed its name to "The Morris Weekly" in 1977. As "The Morris Weekly", the newspaper became more recognizable as the publication it is today, with five distinct sections, consistent news coverage, and the adaptation of AP style. In 1987, the newspaper made its longest lasting name change as "The University Register", and has been printed under that title ever since.

The UR debuted its first color photograph in the fall of 2003, and continued to periodically feature a color front page, depending on the extent of incoming ad revenue for that particular issue. In 2006, "The University Register" began printing its first page in color for every single issue.

In the fall of 2003 "The University Register" moved its prepress production to an entirely digital process, by sending PDF documents electronically to its printing company. Previously, the page proofs were printed on oversized paper and driven to the printer, where the proofs were converted into plates for printing.

In the fall of 2007, "The University Register" switched from the compact format to broadsheet.

Organization

"The University Register" is an entirely student run organization, and is administrated by an editorial board. The board is constituted of twelve students who are elected each year by regular contributors to the paper, with each board member serving a one year term. Typically, it is the Editor-in-Chief who makes most of the day to day policy decisions for the paper, with big issues going before the board for approval; however, leadership styles of past EICs have varied widely from year to year. Some EICs have only served as figureheads to the organization, with most policy decisions being made by the Editorial Board. However, other EICs have been known to use the board just as an advisory group. In any case, while it is the collective power of the Editorial Board which determines the direction of the organization, it is the executive power of the Editor-in-Chief who carries the paper in that direction.

The Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Advertising Manager, Photo Editor, Online Editor, Circulation Manager, Head Copy editor, and the five section editors: the News Editor, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Variety Editor, Sports Editor, and Feature Editor.

After the 2004–2005 academic year, the Business Manager position was eliminated, and was absorbed into the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor and Advertising Manager positions.

Notoriety

"The University Register" has covered many local events that made national news, including the election of a male homecoming queen in 2001 ( [http://www.morris.umn.edu/register/article.php?volume=14&issue=5&section=news&icndex=0 UR] , [http://www.mfc.org/contents/article.asp?id=312 MFC] ), the production of a children's show that contained themes of gay tolerance in 2005 ( [http://www.morris.umn.edu/register/article.php?volume=17&issue=23&section=opinion&index=0 UR] , [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1500523/20050421/story.jhtml MTV] ) and the death of a student in a homecoming accident in 2005 ( [http://www.morris.umn.edu/register/article.php?volume=18&issue=7&section=news&index=0 UR] , [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2201895 ESPN] ).

In 2006, the Minnesota Newspaper Association awarded writer Eagan Heath second place in general reporting for his article on a controversial forum on racism and free speech that occurred on campus.

ee also

* University of Minnesota Morris
* KUMM
* "Minnesota Daily"

External links

* [http://www.universityregister.com/ "The University Register"] - official website of the campus newspaper
* [http://www.kumm.org/ KUMM: The U-90 Alternative] - official website of the campus radio station
* [http://www.thecounterweight.com/ The Counterweight] - online edition of UMM's conservative student magazine
* [http://morris.umn.edu/ University of Minnesota Morris] - official website of the campus