ET 100

In 2023, the East Tennessean celebrates its 100th anniversary. The publication plans to publish historical content, a special edition and more throughout the momentous year.

Click here to read ET Alumni spotlights

In the news
(WJHL) ETSU student paper East Tennessean celebrates 100 years in operation

(WJHL) East Tennessean student newspaper to host Breakfast at Aubrey’s

(Johnson City Press) ETSU’s student newspaper hosts fundraiser to kick off centennial celebration

ET Reader’s Choice Awards Winners 2023

We’d like to introduce you to something special as part of our celebration of the East Tennessean centennial celebration — the 2023 East Tennessean Reader’s Choice Awards.

The East Tennessean wants to recognize some of the champions and favorite student spots on campus and in the community. This will be the first-ever ET Reader’s Choice Awards, picked by students for students.

Winners:

Best on-campus retail dining: Treehouse takeout 
Best residence hall: Centennial hall 
Most helpful student center on campus: Carrier Center
Best pizza place: Main Street Pizza
Best thrift/consignment store: Owl’s Nest 
Best coffee shop: Dos Gatos 

Upcoming events

CENTENNIAL EDITION – APRIL 6

A special edition of the East Tennessean to mark 100 years as the student-run newspaper at ETSU will be available online and on racks around campus on April 6. For more information, email eteditor@etsu.edu.

Previous events

Aubrey’s Fundraiser – March 11

On March 11, about 200 guests came out to enjoy some tasty food and celebrate the East Tennessean’s centennial achievement this year. We raised over $1,000 for the East Tennessean and Student Media Center.

Deborah Douglas & Amber Payne – March 23, 7 p.m.

Douglas and Payne are nationally renowned leaders on social issues. “The Emancipator” is a joint effort between The Boston Globe and Boston University. The digital publication launched in May 2022 and works to “center critical voices, debates and evidence-based opinion to reframe the national conversation on racial equity and hasten racially just outcomes.” 

The original “Emancipator” was published in Jonesborough in 1820 by Elihu Embree and was the first newspaper in the United States devoted solely to the abolition of slavery. The Town of Jonesborough will host Douglas and Payne Wednesday, March 22, for a tour of historically significant sites. 

Partners in the event include the ETSU Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement, College of Arts and Sciences’ Office of Equity and Inclusion, Student Government Association, the East Tennessean, the Student Media Center and the Division of Student Life and Enrollment. 

Douglas was recently named the director of the new Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. She has served as the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at Depauw University and as a senior leader with The OpEd Project, leading fellowships and programs that include the University of Texas at Austin, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, Urgent Action Fund in South Africa and Kenya, and Youth Narrating Our World (YNOW). While teaching at Northwestern’s Medill School, she created a graduate investigative journalism capstone on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She is the founding managing editor of “MLK50: Justice Through Journalism”, and has published a book, “U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places and Events That Made the Movement.” 

Payne was a 2021 Nieman fellow at Harvard University. She formerly served as managing editor of BET.com, leading editorial and video strategy; executive producer of Teen Vogue and Them; and in 2015, launched NBCBLK, a section of NBCNews.com dedicated to elevating the conversation around Black identity, social issues and culture. Payne started her career at NBC Nightly News producing breaking news and feature stories.  

ET 100 CELEBRATION – March 31, 7 p.m.

Congrats to Stephanie McClellan, editor of the Johnson City Press, on receiving the first-ever ET Icon Award.

McClellan has served as the editor for the Johnson City Press for the past two years. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from ETSU, and she has continued to give back to the community through serving several local newspapers since.

The award was presented to McClellan during the East Tennessean 100 celebration reception by Don Armstrong, adviser for the East Tennessean.

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At the start of the ET 100 celebration reception tonight, ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland presented a proclamation from the ETSU Board of Trustees to Editor Allison Winters and Adviser Don Armstrong. Dr. Joe H. Sherlin Jr., vice president for ETSU Student Life and Enrollment, was also on hand.

“THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that I, Dr. Noland, President of East Tennessee State University, do hereby proclaim Friday, March 31, 2023, as East Tennessean Day,” the proclamation read. “The student-run newspaper has provided a century of insightful analysis on our campus. I encourage the entire ETSU community to join me in this observance.”

History

The East Tennessean, ETSU’s campus newspaper, has existed under several names: Old Hickory, The Chalkline, The Collegian, The Pirate Press and now The East Tennessean.

Here are the names of each iteration of the paper and when they were used.

Old Hickory (1919-1929)
The Chalk Line (1930-1936)
The Collegian (1938-1968)
The Pirate Press (1969- Nov. 1973)
East Tennessean (1973- present)

Content of the newspaper

The East Tennessean is currently subdivided into five sections: News, Features, Arts and Entertainment, Athletics and Editorial.

News: The “news” beat centers around news pertaining to ETSU or local news, which can span to Johnson City or the Tri-Cities, but typically try to focus on what’s going on around campus.

Features: The “features” beat can also relate back to news, but is usually used as a way to highlight the stories of students, faculty and staff, or special events or programming on campus.

Arts and Entertainment: The “arts and entertainment” beat includes stories relating to fun events happening around campus, which can include concerts, performances, meet-ups, screenings, talks, exhibits, etc.

Athletics: The “athletics” beat includes stories about ETSU Athletics related events or stories, typically about the results of games. We have also been including player/staff/coach profiles as well, expanding athletics to include eSports as well.

Editorial: The “editorial” beat is a space for editorial writers to voice their opinion on local, regional, national and international topics. These topics vary based on happenings of the week, and can also include political, racial and environmental discussions.

Production of content

Printed by the Elizabethton Star (almost) every Monday and Thursday during the academic year, the East Tennessean is distributed to most university buildings and can be obtained for free from one of the publication’s many racks.

The East Tennessean is 8 pages long, with select pages in color.