History
In fall 1913, the student body of the San Diego Normal School voted affirmatively to begin publishing a campus newspaper. On Nov. 26, 1913, as a four-page tabloid, the first edition of the Normal News Weekly was published. On the front page, the following announcement appeared: “You voted for the establishment and maintenance of a school paper. It is now up to every one of you, individually, to meet this responsibility.“
The Normal News survived until 1921, when it was replaced by the Paper Lantern. The first editor, J.C. Almy Harding, was responsible for both the campus newspaper and yearbook, Del Sudoeste. He noted that, “[CSU] President [Edward] Hardy gave us the best gifts an editor can ask — a free rein both editorially and financially. He offered no advice, guaranteed no subsidy, and reminded us we would be accountable for any journalistic misdeeds.”
The Paper Lantern discontinued the tabloid tradition by moving to a standard size, seven-column news format. Then, in 1925, the students voted to change their official nickname to “The Aztec.” Reluctantly, the Paper Lantern bowed to this new banner.
During World War II, The Aztec, still a four-page weekly, also published a newsletter for students in the armed services.
The next milestone in the newspaper’s history came in 1959, when The Aztec’s staff proposed publishing on a daily basis. The idea initially was not well received. Most members of the Publication Authority Board did not think there was enough campus news, student interest or money to support a daily newspaper. In 1960, the Aztec became daily, thus The Daily Aztec.
During its adolescence, from 1925 to 1973, The Daily Aztec was heavily subsidized by the university and Associated Students. It was regularly advised and, in some measure, directed by a faculty advisor who was connected with the journalism department. The Associated Students Council approved the budget and all the expenditures for the newspaper. It also appointed the student editor, but not without the approval of the university president. Students who worked on the paper were required to turn in carbon copies of their articles to the faculty advisor, who, in turn, taught the journalism class titled, “Newspaper Production.” The articles were graded and returned to the students who wrote them.
Tensions from these complicated and overlapping relationships prompted University President Brage Golding in 1973 to appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission on The Daily Aztec. The commission evaluated the newspaper’s governing structure and recommended a radical departure from previous arrangements. The commission argued for greater autonomy for the newspaper — away from the Associated Students Council and the university administration. They did not achieve this goal. But The Daily Aztec did sever its formal connection to the journalism department as a result of the study. And, the idea of a campus-wide policy board, a Publications Authority, serving as publisher of The Daily Aztec, was proposed and implemented a year later.
The centennial publication of The Daily Aztec reflects a new century of journalism with the launch of the Spanish version, Mundo Azteca, and the launch of an official app.
In an effort to best serve the SDSU community, The Daily Aztec transitioned to a semi-weekly print publication in 2013. The Daily Aztec then focused on increasing its presence online and on the mobile platforms that students, faculty and staff of SDSU relied on for their news and entertainment.
In Spring 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of campus, The Daily Aztec transitioned to an online-only format and continues to deliver students, faculty, staff and SDSU community members quality journalism. In fall 2024, Associated Students handed over control and oversight of The Daily Aztec to the School of Journalism and Media Studies, which appointed a new advisor to help navigate and modernize the student-run publication.
Today, The Daily Aztec continues to publish online every day during the school year while producing a weekly newsletter and podcast. The JMS Student Media Committee is responsible for hiring and evaluating the editor in chief, who, in turn, selects their own editorial staff and steers the student-run publication through an evolving digital media landscape.
