Indiana Daily Student: 150 Years of Headlines, Deadlines and Bylines

For more than 150 years, Indiana University Bloomington's student-produced newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student, has grown and changed with the times and the school. Generations of student journalists, armed with notepads, cameras and a tireless devotion, have pursued both local and national stories since the newspaper's debut in 1867. In Indiana Daily Student: 150 Years of Headlines, Deadlines and Bylines, editors and IDS alumni Rachel Kipp, Amy Wimmer Schwarb and Charles Scudder piece together behind-the-scenes remembrances from former IDS reporters and photographers, newsroom images from throughout the decades and a curated collection of notable IDS front pages. From coverage of the end of World War I to the selection of Herman B Wells as IU's president to the Hoosiers' national basketball championship titles to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the IDS has chronicled news from a student perspective. Today, it serves as a training ground for fledgling journalists who have gone on to be monumental voices in American and global media. Remembrances from some of the most prominent journalists to emerge from the IDS are included here: among them, publisher and journalism philanthropist Nelson Poynter; National Public Radio television critic Eric Deggans; and Pulitzer Prize winners Ernie Pyle, Thomas French and Melissa Farlow. While at IU, students at the IDS built and maintained beloved traditions they continue to share today, all while offering a full spectrum of coverage for their readers. The first book on the paper's history, Indiana Daily Student offers a comprehensive celebration of the newspaper's achievements, as well as historic front pages, photographs and personal narratives from current and former IDS journalists.

Michael Auslen, BAJ 2014, is a graduate student in public policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He previously covered Florida politics for the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald.
Marjorie Smith Blewett, BA 1948, has been closely associated with IU journalism longer than anyone else. After a career at newspapers, she worked as the journalism school's placement director from 1969 to 1990. She continues to serve as the school's de facto historian and on The Media School Alumni Board.
Ray E. Boomhower, BA 1982, MA 1995, is senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society Press, where he edits Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, a popular quarterly history magazine. Boomhower is also the author of numerous books and articles on Hoosier history, including biographies of Ernie Pyle, Gus Grissom, Lew Wallace, John Bartlow Martin and May Wright Sewall.
James Brosher, BAJ 2010, is a multimedia producer at IU Communications, where he captures daily life on campus as a photographer and is an FAA-licensed drone pilot. He previously worked as a staff photographer at the South Bend Tribune and Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Biz Carson, BAJ 2012, is a staff writer at Forbes magazine, where she covers the most valuable tech startups in San Francisco. She previously worked at Business Insider, Gigaom, and Wired and spent her first year after graduation working as a newspaper designer for Gannett.
Kevin Corcoran, BA 1988, is strategy director for Lumina Foundation. He previously worked as an investigative journalist for the Indianapolis Star.
Gina Czark, BAJ 2002, is associate vice president of content management for Northwell Health, New York State's largest health care provider. She previously directed social media for New York Presbyterian Hospital and worked as a reporter for the Times of Northwest Indiana.
Eric C. Deggans, BA 1990, is TV critic for NPR and a media analyst/contributor for MSNBC/NBC News. He previously worked as TV/media critic at the Tampa Bay Times and is author of the 2012 book Race-Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation.
Melissa Farlow, BA 1974, is an independent photographer and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Previously, she was staff photographer for the Courier Journal and Louisville Times and the Pittsburgh Press from 1985 to 1992 and a contract photographer for National Geographic magazine in the 1990s. Farlow currently works as an independent photographer.
Thomas French, BAJ 1980, teaches reporting and writing in The Media School. Since he joined the journalism faculty, his students have won first place six times in the Hearst national writing championship. He previously worked at the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times in Florida.
Paul Heaton, BA 1984, is senior director for member engagement for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, based in Washington, DC. He previously worked at the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times and for higher education and nonprofit organizations in New York and Michigan.
Winston Fournier, BA 1946, worked for 10 years as a journalist for The Wall Street Journal before opening his own public relations firm, Winston Fournier & Associates, in Dallas. He passed along to his two sons lessons about good writing that he had learned while at IU--including that there is no such thing as "very unique." He died in 2007.
Kathryn Flynn, BA 1987, is senior editor for Dragonfly Editorial, an editorial services company based in Dayton, Ohio. Most of her nearly 25-year newspaper career was spent as features editor of the Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. She also edits books for The Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company.
Rachel Kipp, BAJ 2002, is associate editorial director of Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal and podcast of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously worked at the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, the Chronicle-Tribune in Marion, Indiana, and The Associated Press.
Craig Klugman, BA 1967, retired in 2015 after 32 years as the editor of the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. He previously worked at the Chicago Sun-Times and was an instructor and administrator at Northwestern University.
Laresa Lund, BA 2018, has researched university history for the IU Bicentennial Campaign and interned at IU Press, where she helped edit a variety of trade and scholarly titles.
George Lyle IV, BAJ 2005, now works at Purdue--and yes, he appreciates the irony. Before being forced to wear black and gold, he worked at National Public Radio in Washington, DC, then attended law school at Washington University in St. Louis.
Mary Monroe, BA 1946, worked as city editor for the newspaper in Vinita, Oklahoma, before joining Phillips Petroleum Company, where she worked in research development and public relations. She later became the first woman to travel for Phillips throughout the United States and overseas. She died in 2006.
Mark Montieth, BAJ 1977, is a freelance writer and author. He formerly worked at the Chronicle-Tribune in Marion, Indiana, the Journal-Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the Indianapolis Star. He is the author of two books: "Passion Play: A Season with the Purdue Boilermakers and Coach Gene Keady" and "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis."
Myrna Oliver, BA 1964, retired in 2012 after 50 years writing for newspapers, including the weekly Journal in Ellettsville, Indiana, the Bloomington Daily Herald-Telephone, and 34 years at the Los Angeles Times. She now serves on The Media School Alumni Board.
Robert C. Pebworth, BAJ 1932, was introduced to newspapers in his youth as a newsboy for The Indianapolis Star. He spent 30 years working for Sears Roebuck, where he edited the company newspaper, worked in public relations and served as treasurer of the Sears Foundation. He died in 1994.
J. Dwight Peterson, BA 1919, LLD 1966, founded City Securities, Indiana's oldest investment firm, in 1924, and was involved with the company for 70 years as president and chairman of the board. He also served as an IU trustee and director of the IU Foundation. He died in 1990.
Jim Rodenbush became the director of student media at the IDS in July 2018. He has advised student publications for eight years, including previous stops at Colorado State, Penn State and Webster universities.
Amy Wimmer Schwarb, BAJ 1998, is editor of Champion magazine, published by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She was previously a writer and editor at the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times and Indianapolis Monthly and has taught news reporting at IU and the University of Florida.
John Schwarb, BAJ 1996, is a senior content strategist for IU. He was previously communications manager at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was a sports reporter at several outlets, including the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times and espn.com. He is the author of the book The Little 500 (Indiana University Press).
Charlie Scudder, BAJ 2014, is a feature writer at the Dallas Morning News. He received his master's degree in American Studies from Southern Methodist University in 2017.
Aaron Sharockman, BAJ 2003, is the executive director of PolitiFact and is a former government and politics writer and editor with the Tampa Bay Times. Aaron was a 2016-2017 Reynolds Fellow at the University of Missouri and teaches a class on political fact-checking at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Alan Sutton, BA 1970, made newsrooms his second home after departing Bloomington. He worked as an editor and reporter at the St. Petersburg Times, Miami Herald, and--between 1976 and 2008--the Chicago Tribune.
Joe Vince, BAJ 1997, has spent his professional life working in a variety of roles for newspapers, magazines and online publications. In that time he has twice landed his dream job (alas, both jobs were short-lived). He is now an editor for Patch hyperlocal news sites in the Chicago area.
Jeff Vrabel, BAJ 1997, is a freelance writer for GQ, Men's Health, the Washington Post, Garden and Gun, Indianapolis Monthly, and others. He previously was editor-in-chief of Hilton Head Monthly and has seen "Weird Al" Yankovic in concert eight times.
Joel Whitaker, BS 1964, MA 1971, has been a reporter for the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times and the Wall Street Journal. He was a news editor at the Philadelphia Bulletin and managing editor of Institutional Investor. He is an adjunct professor of communication at Prince George's Community College outside Washington, DC.
Ruth Witmer, BAJ 1987, is the newsroom adviser for the IDS and the communications specialist for the Hoosier State Press Association. She has worked as a freelance photographer, writer, editor and designer.
Jamie Zega, BAJ 2018, is a multiplatform editor at the Washington Post and previously interned at the New York Times.