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Houstonian, Building To Open Doors For Anniversary Celebration
Dec. 2, 2013
SHSU Media Contact: Stephen Green, Molly Waddell
The Houstonian, the independent, student-run newspaper at Sam Houston State University, has had 1,000 students pass through its newsroom since Dec. 3, 1913.
The Houstonian will welcome back some of those past staff members, as well as current staff, faculty and students, on Dec. 3 when they celebrate 100 years of publishing.
The Houstonian will hold an open house to look back on its past from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m., during which time events will be held throughout the Dan Rather Communications Building.
On the second floor, there will be food in the Mass Communication Conference Room (Room 209), as well as a timeline going down the hallway that will include various newspapers published throughout the years. The newsroom will also be open for people to walk through.
On the first floor, interviews will be taped in Studio A of former Houstonian alumni, who will share their experience at the Houstonian, their most interesting story and more.
SHSU’s Channel 7 news team will also be recording Christmas carols to air at a later date.
The Houstonian has had many aspiring journalists walk through their doors, including Dan Rather and former CBS producer Jenna Jackson. Working at the Houstonian has taught these alumni and many more great life lessons.
Rather served as editor-in-chief from 1951-1953.
“I had a dream when I came to Sam Houston, which was to find a way to make a living to do what I passionately loved to do: report and write stories,” Rather said. “Sam Houston and the teachers at Sam Houston managed to help that dream survive. They did that primarily through the Houstonian.”
Jackson was recently selected as the Distinguished Young Alumna for SHSU. She worked for the paper in the late ‘90s before being selected for the Dan Rather Internship. Her experience there got her in touch with Rather who helped her get a job at the network.
“I learned so much that has helped me immensely throughout my career—a strong foundation of how to write, how to tell a story, how to talk to people and put them at ease—and about how important it is to be in the position where people entrust you to tell their stories,” she said.
Since Rather’s helm at the Houstonian, the publication has continued to grow.
Now a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the paper has won many awards for advertisement design, writing, non-photo illustration, graphics, special editions, and much more. Last year, staff members took home the inaugural Director’s Trophy at TIPA last year, which put SHSU journalists up against much larger schools like University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University.
“Once again our journalism students faced a lot of great competition from universities all over Texas,” said Robin Johnson, the current Houstonian adviser. “Winning the first Director’s Trophy for overall on-site competition excellence throws down the gauntlet for future competitions. We are the university to beat.”
The Houstonian will continue to grow as journalism evolves and changes.
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