125 Years of Journalism
Storytelling Since 1891
Celebrating 125 Years of Journalism Innovation at Stanford
Innovation in Media since 1891
125 Years
and counting.
On its very first day, Stanford had a newspaper. The opening on October 1891 saw the start of the monthly Palo Alto, whose prospectus noted it was likely “the only college paper ever started simultaneously with the opening of a great university.” The first student body meeting in October 1891 generated a committee on the formation of a university paper, which led to the release of the bi-weekly Sequoia in December 1891. In 1892 a student newspaper entitled the Daily Palo Alto was founded, which eventually became the Stanford Daily. By 1893, students writing for the Daily could get credit for their published work as part of English 8 (advanced composition).
1910 saw the first Stanford course focused directly on journalism, an English class entitled “News Writing.” Since then, more than 210 people have been listed as journalism or communication faculty at Stanford. The technologies that convey stories have changed over time, from print to broadcast, from Internet to mobile, to the coming world of virtual reality. A constant theme in Stanford journalism classes is the drive to tell stories that hold institutions accountable.
The 2016 McClatchy Symposium celebrated 125 Years of Journalism at Stanford. This companion website allows you to explore the history of journalism at Stanford by decade, see a snapshot of the many different parts of campus today involved in journalism, and take part in charting the future through the development of grand challenges in journalism and computation.
Explore Journalism at Stanford by the Decade
Highlights from the last 125 years.
The 2010s:
The 2000s:
Becoming digital-first
The 1990s:
Looking ahead to the next century
The 1980s:
Pushing journalism ahead
The 1970s:
A landmark case for the press
The 1960s:
Fellowship program launches
The 1950s:
Mid-century media opportunities
The 1940s:
Redefining journalism studies
The 1930s:
Continued growth forward
The 1920s:
New home in social sciences
The 1910s:
The first journalism course
The 1900s:
Network of alumni takes shape
The 1890s
The start of something new
Snapshot of Today
What does journalism look like at Stanford in 2016?
The set of people currently working at Stanford to turn unstructured data into structured information that allows you to spot how people use power in public and private institutions is growing.
Global Reach
Stanford alumni are in newsrooms across the world. They’re reporters, editors, producers, anchors, executives and entrepreneurs.
Moving Journalism Forward - Boldly
We are working on identifying a set of “grand challenges” in journalism and computation.
Learn more about what's coming next
In addition to our interdisciplinary community on campus, STANFORD IS IN THE HEART OF SILICON VALLEY — just minutes from tech companies, new media ventures and social media platforms changing the way we discover and tell stories.