Best Newspaper (Public Universities)

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Best Newspaper (Public Universities)
     "There’s something about The Alligator." But unlike Cameron Diaz’s character Mary in the goofy blockbuster movie from last summer, The Independent Florida Alligator at the University of Florida is packed with substance—by the swamp-full. The Alligator chews up the competition this year, providing the most comprehensive reporting of any publication in the state on the Florida Student Association’s lobbying activities in Tallahassee. In addition, its comprehensive coverage of Gator athletics and vibrant editorial pages pump up readership. The simple truth is The Alligator is better written than most professional community papers in Florida.
     In this category, there are two megadailies—UF’s Alligator, the perennial favorite in the "Best Of" awards, and last year’s winner The Oracle of the University of South Florida. And then there’s the rest.
     Is it fair to compare these powerful dailies to weeklies, bi-weeklies, or even monthlies? At Florida A&M University, The Famuan, led by Editor-in-Chief Danielle Wright, certainly features cleaner design and crisper writing than Florida Leader has seen from that paper in some time. While it’s been musical chairs in the editor’s office over the past year, The Beacon at Florida International University still manages to put out a newsy and entertaining weekly. And Editor Amy Sowder’s Voyager at the University of West Florida has come a long way. But these papers aren’t even in the same league as the two big boys on the block.
     Both the USF and UF papers, the state’s only daily campus publications, enjoy the luxury of respected journalism colleges, which should feed them vast pools of potential reporters and photographers. Both papers have huge enrollments from which to draw stringers, letters to the editor, news tips, and readership to support advertising sales. And both do a splendid job of covering their respective campuses.
     In Gainesville, The Alligator’s fearless call for SG President John McGovern’s head after he was convicted of defaming a former SG election has generated tremendous reader feedback and interaction. "We have devoted large amounts of editorial space to question his authority, morality, and effectiveness," says William Harnett, managing editor. In fairness, Hartnett says, the paper repeatedly granted McGovern rebuttal space and has continued to use him as a source. "Our job is to serve as a watchdog over SG."
     The repercussions of the SG president’s trial coverage still reverberate beyond Gainesville, Hartnett says. UF’s vice president for student affairs investigated the relationship between SG and Florida’s hallowed leadership honorary Florida Blue Key, resulting in UF President John Lombardi wresting away Blue Key’s financial control of Homecoming and Gator Growl. Plus, a new state law was passed to prevent elected student officials from taking office if they have a criminal record. "This series of stories is particularly gratifying because they resulted in a broad discussion across campus about the nature of our student government and the character of those who run it," Harnett says.
     On a lighter note, Hartnett boasts that The Alligator’s sports coverage is every bit as good as any local or state paper. "When one considers that our sports staffers also are full-time students, it leads one to wonder what the competition is doing all day," he says.

At USF, staff turnover in every editorial position since summer 1998 has brought new design ideas for The Oracle. Gone is last year’s large feature photo on page one, which Managing Editor Joe Humphrey says had nothing to do with any article. "There were no stories on the front," he says. "A newspaper should look like a newspaper and not a magazine."
     Knowing that USF’s average student is 29, Humphrey says The Oracle doesn’t cover SG "every time one of its members sneezes," he says. "Most of our readers are too concerned with real life to worry about the latest proposal SG made to form a committee to discuss the feasability of creating a proposal to…"
     The Oracle editors are particularly proud of a late spring 1998 article which impacted the entire campus. "When a student committed suicide and his family didn’t have enough money to pay for a funeral, we wrote about it," Humphrey says. "The outpouring of support helped give the student a proper burial. We have also written about disabled students wanting better access and students seeking better dining options on campus. Since those stories, a student organization has been formed to deal with disabled issues and more than 80 students are refusing to renew their ‘mandatory’ meal contracts."
     Humphrey says The Oracle’s sports coverage is most popular. "Sports begins on the back page and jumps inward, placement which allows for daily color and fast access to info about USF’s 18 varsity sports teams," he says. "Though we don’t feature high-profile sports on-par with Florida or Florida State, fans are increasingly enthusiastic about the future of the Bulls."
     "We do more with less than any daily newspaper of our size in the nation," says John Wing, editor in chief. "I challenge anyone to put our paper up against them on any given day, and I am sure we will compare favorably."

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