The Daily Gamecock
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet and tabloid |
| Owner(s) | University of South Carolina |
| Editor | Kamila Melko |
| Founded | 1908 (as The Gamecock) |
| Headquarters | 1400 Greene Street Russell House, 3rd floor Columbia, SC 29208 United States |
| Circulation | 8,000 daily |
| Website | dailygamecock.com |
The Daily Gamecock (formerly The Gamecock) is the editorially independent daily student newspaper of the University of South Carolina. It primarily serves the main campus of the university in Columbia and regional campuses of the University of South Carolina System in the state of South Carolina.
The Daily Gamecock circulates 6,000 papers Monday through Thursday and claims a daily readership of 35,000. It was recently ranked as The Princeton Review's 14th best college newspaper. According to the South Carolina Press Association, The Daily Gamecock is South Carolina's 14th largest newspaper. The newspaper is editorially independent from the university. The newspaper is printed at the press of The State in Columbia
History
The first issue of The Gamecock was published on January 30, 1908. Robert Gonzales, a student, was largely responsible for the paper's establishment.
In its first semester only three issues were produced, but in the following term the paper began weekly production. The paper eventually moved to publication on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and in the fall semester of 2006 began publishing Monday through Friday in print and online. Renamed The Daily Gamecock, it became the first student paper in South Carolina to publish daily. The print version of the Daily Gamecock is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and nine times during the summer, with the exception of university holidays and exam periods.
On January 30, 2008, the newspaper completed 100 years of operation, which it marked with prizes, a special letterhead, historical headlines, and an alumni ball celebrated the milestone.
In March 2013, the newspaper launched the latest version of its Web site at dailygamecock.com. In 2009, the newspaper also launched its Facebook account and fan page "The Daily Gamecock" as well as four Twitter accounts: "TDG_Sports", "GamecockMix", "GamecockNews" and "TheGamecock". The staff also launched staff and section blogs. The Twitter account now has more than 20,000 followers.
Content
"The Daily Gamecock" prints all-original coverage for its daily campus news, metro news, sports, opinion, and comics, as well as its daily "Arts & Culture." The Gamecock also publishes the award-winning Weekender, tabloid-format specials released each Thursday.
Awards and honors
The Gamecock has won many South Carolina Press Association awards and was a finalist for the National Pacemaker Awards for the Associated Collegiate Press in 1999. In October 2007, the Gamecock won the Sun Newspaper of the Year Award and ten other awards at the 2007 Southern University Newspaper Conference. The newspaper also won 31 SCPA awards in 2013. It also won first place in the "General Excellence" category (formerly "Best Overall") at the SCPA awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
In March 2006, The Daily Gamecock was recognized by the South Carolina Press Association for excellence for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Eight Gamecock staffers drove to hurricane-affected areas in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi to report on the story.
The Daily Gamecock was awarded a "Top 10" national ranking by the Princeton Review in 2013 (#10). It was ranked No. 17 in 2011, the first time the newspaper appeared in the annual rankings.
Operations
The newspaper has a staff of more than 50 students, both paid and volunteers. The paper's main staff of editors include 21 members of the editorial board, 10 copy editors, two online editors, three photography editors, and three design directors, all of which are appointed by the editor-in-chief.
