The Cornell Daily Sun

Front Page Layout

The Cornell Sun was founded in 1880 by William Ballard Hoyt to challenge Cornell's original and leading publication, the weekly Cornell Era (founded 1868).

The Sun boasted in its opening paragraph: "We have no indulgence to ask, no favors to beg." The paper incorporated and changed to daily frequency, earning its longstanding boast "Ithaca's Only Morning Newspaper." In 1912 it added a second, "first collegiate member of the Associated Press."

Throughout its history, the publication has faced competition from The Cornell Review and the Ithaca Journal in the market for Cornell news and analysis.[3]

Common features include "Cornell's 161 Faces," which highlights a diverse group of Cornell students and a sex column that appears every Thursday.

Following the shift of its main competitor, the Ithaca Journal, from evening to morning daily publication in 1996, The Sun changed its traditional front page slogan which, after several iterations, now states "Independent Since 1880." This period also marked a shift in The Sun's content from national to local and university-related stories.

In January 2003, the Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association purchased the former Elks Lodge in downtown Ithaca, erected 1916. Led by Stanley Chess, the founding president of the Association, John Schroeder '74, and Gary L. Rubin '72, the alumni completely renovated the building over the next several months. Now called the Cornell Daily Sun Building, it has housed the paper's offices since June 2003 and is coincidentally located next door to the Ithaca Journal's offices. The building also houses a kava bar in its basement.

In the fall semester of 2004, The Sun turned free and started featuring full-color front and back pages as part of a redesign in its layout. These moves were partially effected to boost circulation in response to Cornell's Student Assembly's decision to provide The New York Times and USA Today on campus for free to all undergraduate Cornell students.

On September 17, 2005, more than 370 Sun alumni and guests gathered in Manhattan to celebrate The Sun's 125th anniversary. Speakers included Kurt Vonnegut '43, Carl Leubsdorf '59, Sam Roberts '68, Jay Branegan '73, Howard A. Rodman '71, S. Miller Harris '44, and Jeremy Schaap '91. The emcee was Stan Chess '69. A 130th anniversary dinner was held on September 25, 2010.

In 2016 the paper announced that it was reducing its publication rate from five days a week to three.[4]

The Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association, comprising former editors, managers and staff of the Cornell Daily Sun, exists to further journalism by Cornell University students.

The Sun claims over one dozen Pulitzer Prize winners and boasts a number of other prominent alumni, including:

Kurt Vonnegut, Associate Editor 1942-1943, Novelist and Satirist

E.B. White, Editor-in-Chief 1920-1921, Author of Charlotte's Web, Pulitzer Prize Winner

S.E. Cupp, Arts & entertainment editor – CNN host, political commentator and author

Farhad Manjoo, editor-in-chief (1999–2000) – journalist and author; New York Times technology writer and opinion columnist[5]

Harold O. Levy, Columnist — New York City Schools Chancellor from 2000-2002, and executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

Svante Myrick, editorial board – Former Mayor of Ithaca, New York

• Kurt Vonnegut, associate editor (1942–43) – novelist and satirist[6]
• Harold O. Levy, columnist — New York City Schools Chancellor from 2000-2002, and executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• Andrew Morse, editor-in-chief (1995–96) – President and Publisher Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Former Executive Vice President of CNN
• E. B. White, editor-in-chief (1920–21) – columnist and author; 1978 Pulitzer Prize special award
• Victor Berlin, Business Board – Information security expert and Founder of the University of Fairfax
• Frank E. Gannett, Sun Board – media mogul and founder of the Gannett Company, Inc.
• Stephen Asprinio, food & wine columnist – restaurateur, sommelier, chef, and former Top Chef contestant
• Jim Axelrod, Sports Department – CBS News national correspondent and reporter
• Whitney Balliett, film critic – New Yorker jazz critic
• Gordon G. Chang, editorial board – lawyer, author, and television pundit
• Tom Allon, sports editor – publisher; Manhattan Media owner
• Neil Best – sports journalist at Newsday
• Keri Blakinger – criminal justice author and journalist
• S. E. Cupp, arts & entertainment editor – CNN host, political commentator and author
• Jay Branegan, senior editor (1971–72) – 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with The Chicago Tribune
• Dick Brass, associate editor (1971–72) – technology investor, executive, and pioneer; developed first electronic dictionary and thesaurus; responsible for development of ClearType and Open eBook
• Stanley Chess, editor-in-chief (1968–69) – legal commentator and former bar review course executive
• Jeff Coplon, editor-in-chief (1972–73) - prolific author of biographies and other interesting stories
• Allison Danzig – The New York Times sportswriter (1923–1968); author
• Charles Divine, news editor – poet and playwright
• Edward D. Eddy, editor-in-chief (1943–44) – president of Chatham College and the University of Rhode Island
• Bob Filner, Business Board – Mayor of San Diego; former Congressman
• Rob Fishman, columnist - entrepreneur and writer
• David Folkenflik, editor-in-chief (1990–91) – NPR reporter
• Jeffrey Gettleman, photographer – 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; The New York Times East Africa Bureau Chief
• Davidson Goldin, editor-in-chief (1992–1993); PR firm owner, formerly: MSNBC executive, NY1 anchor, New York Times contributor [7]
• Joey Green, political cartoonist – humor author known as "The Pantry Professor"
• Daniel Gross, News Board – financial and economic journalist; executive editor of strategy+business magazine
• David Gura, News Board (2003–2006) – host of Up with David Gura on MSNBC
• John Hassell, managing editor (1990–91) – 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with The Star-Ledger
• Lewis Henry, editor-in-chief (1908–09) – U.S. Congressman from New York
• Scott Jaschik, editor-in-chief (1984–85) – founder and editor of Inside Higher Ed
• Marvin Josephson, managing editor (1948–49) – founder, chair, and CEO of ICM Partners
• Lawrence Kasanoff, business manager – American film & television producer; co-founder of Lightstorm Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment with James Cameron
• Robert Kessler, editor-in-chief (1964–65) – 1997 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with Newsday
• Neeraj Khemlani, editor-in-chief (1991–92) – CBS News President
• Andrew Kopkind, editor-in-chief (1956–57) – noted journalist with Washington Post, The New Republic, and others
• Marc Lacey, editor-in-chief (1986–87) – The New York Times national editor;[8] 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with The Los Angeles Times
• Patrick LaForge, associate editor (1983-84) – The New York Times Editor, Breaking News Hub / Express Desk
• Carl P. Leubsdorf, associate editor (1958–59) – The Dallas Morning News columnist; political journalist
• Eric Lichtblau, news reporter – 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; The New York Times Washington bureau reporter
• Stuart Loory, editor-in-chief (1953–54) – journalist and academic; Chicago Sun-Times managing editor
• Farhad Manjoo, editor-in-chief (1999–2000) – journalist and author; New York Times technology writer and opinion columnist[9]
• Joseph Masci, supplement editor – physician, educator and author
• Will Maslow, associate editor – lawyer and civil rights leader
• Oscar G. Mayer, Jr., business manager (1933–34) – executive of the Oscar Mayer meat company
• Phil Mazo, cartoonist – stand-up comedian
• James C. McKinley Jr. – The New York Times journalist
• Anne Morrissy Merick, sports editor – pioneering Vietnam War journalist
• Philip Merrill, managing editor (1954–55) – diplomat, banker, and philanthropist; Export-Import Bank of the United States chairman
• Svante Myrick, editorial board – Mayor of Ithaca, New York
• George Jean Nathan, editorial board – drama critic and editor, The American Mercury co-founder and editor
• Scot J. Paltrow, News Board – financial journalist
• Paul A. Rahe, associate editor – historian, writer and professor of history
• Jon Ralston, Sports Department – American journalist, political commentator, and talk show host
• Henry S. Reuss, editor-in-chief (1932–33) – U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin
• Sam Roberts, managing editor (1967–68) – The New York Times columnist, reporter, and editor; inaugural author of the "Metro Matters" column; author; biographer of David Greenglass and Nelson Rockefeller
• Howard A. Rodman, editor-in-chief (1970–71) – screenwriter and professor
• Wallace A. Ross, News Board – advertising executive and founder of the Clio Awards
• Kirkpatrick Sale, editor-in-chief (1957–58) – environmental and technology scholar and author; leader of secessionist movement
• Dick Schaap, editor-in-chief (1954–55) – noted sports writer and broadcaster
• Jeremy Schaap, sports editor (1990–91) – ESPN contributor and son of Dick Schaap
• Richard Schechner, news editor (1955), theatre reviewer (1956) -- author, editor, theatre director, professor NYU Tisch School of the Arts
• Danny Schechter – television producer, filmmaker, and media critic
• Alan Sisitsky - Massachusetts House of Representatives member and Massachusetts Senate Judiciary Committee chairman
• Deborah Solomon, associate editor – The New York Times magazine columnist; art critic; biographer
• Barry S. Strauss, feature editor (1973–74) – Professor of history and classics at Cornell University; ancient military history author and expert
• Elmer E. Studley, editorial board – U.S. Congressman from New York
• Jacob Sullum, senior editor – syndicated newspaper columnist
• Molly O'Toole, news editor (2009) – inaugural recipient of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting
• Ronald Thwaites, editor-in-chief (1966–1967) – Jamaica Minister of Education (2012–2016)
• Elbert Tuttle, editor-in-chief (1917–18) – Chief Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; member of Fifth Circuit Four
• Jamie Weinstein, columnist – political journalist and commentator
• David Wild, arts editor – TV and music writer and critic; Rolling Stone contributing editor
• Joseph J. Schatz, assistant sports editor (1998) – Managing editor for Politico
• Ed Zuckerman, editor-in-chief (1969–70) – Emmy Award-winning producer and writer for Law & Order, as well as episodes of Miami Vice, Star Trek: The Next Generation, JAG, and others

Other prominent Cornellians have written letters to the editor, like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who responded to an op-ed on wiretapping written by Cornell Law students on with a letter of her own in 1953.

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• Cornell Daily Sun official site
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• Cornell University Library, Cornell Daily Sun Digitization Project
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