Texas Student Media Explained

Texas Student Media
Former Name:	Texas Student Publications, Inc.
Foundation:	1921
Location:	Austin, Texas
Industry:	Publishing, Broadcast media
Products:	Newspapers, Magazines, Radio stations, Television stations
Operating Income:	$2.3 million
Parent:	University of Texas at Austin

Texas Student Media (TSM) is an auxiliary enterprise of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and the largest student media operation in the United States.^[1] It is composed of faculty, student, and professional news industry representatives.

History

UT's first publication was the Cactus Yearbook, established in 1894;^[2] followed in 1900 by the weekly Texan (which evolved into The Daily Texan in 1913). In 1902, the Student Association was formed, partly to oversee UT student publications. In 1921, as more publications emerged, Texas Student Publications, Inc. (TSP) was formed. Over the years the organization oversaw a number of UT publications:

• On Campus
• The Coyote (1908 – 1915)^[3] — humor magazine banned by the Student Association^[4]
• Longhorn Magazine (1915 – 1929) — literary journal merged with The Texas Ranger
• The Scalper (Oct. 1919 – Nov. 1922) — humor magazine banned by the TSP for its perceived "immorality"
• The Texas Ranger (Oct. 1923 – Jan. 1972) — humor magazine; a number of staffers (from the period 1959–1965) later went on to become key members of the underground comix scene
• The Peregrinus (1949 – 2004) — University of Texas School of Law yearbook (named after Praetor Peregrinus, the patron saint of law students); first published by the Society of Peregrinus and taken over by TSP in 1970
• The Riata: The Student Literary Magazine of the University of Texas (Spring 1961 – Spring 1971)
• Texas Engineering and Science Magazine (1965 – Jan. 1972)
• The Pearl (Fall 1972 – Apr. 1977) — successor to The Texas Ranger; monthly supplement to The Daily Texan that changed its name to The Maverick in its final year
• Texas Law Forum
• Texas Times;
• UTMost (Fall 1978 – 1992) — the sixth UT magazine^[5]

The Texas Ranger, The Riata, and Texas Engineering and Science Magazine were all cancelled in January 1972 by the TSP Board^[6] because they were being published with more liabilities than assets.

In 2002, reflecting its increasing engagement with broadcast media, the organization changed its name to Texas Student Media.

Media properties

The Daily Texan is the most significant of TSM's properties. With a daily print circulation of 14,600 copies and an online presence that reaches an average of 10,600 visitors per day, The Daily Texan is the centerpiece of what has become a $2.3 million multimedia operation.^[7]

The following is a comprehensive list of Texas Student Media properties:^[8]

• The Daily Texan, the most award-winning college newspaper in the United States, established in a previous form in 1900
  • DT Weekend,^[9] The Daily Texan's weekly entertainment resource
  • Longhorn Living,^[10] the first student-created housing and apartment search engine for all University of Texas students
• The Texas Travesty, the college humor publication with the largest circulation in the United States;^[11] originally independent but absorbed by TSP/TSM in 1998
• Texas Student Television, one of few FCC-licensed Student television station in the United States
• Cactus Yearbook, the school's yearbook, established in 1894
• KVRX-FM, one of the few completely student-run college radio stations in the United States
• Vector Magazine,^[12] a monthly publication within the Cockrell School of Engineering
• BurntX^[13]
• Texas Connect^[14]
• Bevo Video Productions^[15]

Board of Operating Trustees

A joint student-faculty Board of Operating Trustees sets policy and oversees the operation of student media on behalf of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. The Board also appoints the Director of Student Media, who oversees the daily business functions of TSM. The Director serves renewable annual terms. The Board of Operating Trustees is composed of three faculty members appointed to two year terms by the UT President, two outside media professionals appointed to two year terms by the UT President, and six students elected by the general student body to two year terms.

Board presidents

• Natasha Solce (2000-2001)
• Craig Daniel (2001-2002)
• Michael M. Hoffman (2002-2003)
• Coleman Lewis (2003-2004)
• Cale McDowell (2004-2005)
• Camden Gilman (2005-2006)
• A.J. Bauer (2006-2007)
• Zachary Warmbrodt (2007-2008)
• Benjamin Trotter (2008-2009)
• Nicole Juneau (2009-2010)
• Brennan Lawler (2010-2011)

Board Vice Presidents

• Michael Hoffman (2001-2002)
• Jonathan Lee (2002-2004)
• Brandon Chicotsky (2006-2007)
• Nicole Juneau (2008-2009)
• Mary Dunn (2009-2011)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2012-13 catalog - Student Media . 2022-10-11 . catalog.utexas.edu . Texas Student Media (TSM) is the largest student media enterprise in the country, with an annual budget of $1.8 million..
2. Web site: Texas Student Publications photographers . A Guide to the UT Texas Student Publications (UT TSP) Photographs, circa 1895-2004 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180527224440/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/03283/cah-03283.html . 2018-05-27 . Texas Archival Resource Online . The University of Texas at Austin . Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
3. Web site: Battle . W. J. . 1976 . University of Texas at Austin . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220704095809/https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/university-of-texas-at-austin . 2022-07-04 . 2022-10-11 . Texas State Historical Association . Austin, TX.
4. Web site: The Blunderbuss . 2016-08-26 . Comic Relief . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170902232927/https://richardzelade.wordpress.com/2016/08/26/comic-relief/ . 2017-09-02 . 2022-10-11 . The Blunderbuss . en.
5. Web site: Muñoz . Laura . de la Garza . Roddy . May 1992 . Texas Student Publications: Financial Decline . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20161220151432/http://www.utwatch.org/archives/tejas/may1992_tsp.html . 2016-12-20 . Tejas . UT Watch . 26, 45.
6. Cactus Yearbook (University of Texas Austin, 1972), p. 66.
7. News: Emily . Steel . Big Media on Campus . . . August 9, 2006 . 2007-06-24 .
8. Web site: 2022 . Our Entities . 2022-10-11 . Texas Student Media . The University of Texas at Austin.
9. Web site: DT WEEKEND . www.dtweekend.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060102210535/http://www.dtweekend.com/ . 2006-01-02.
10. Web site: Keyword Acquisitions. longhornliving.org.
11. Web site: 2019-10-08 . About Us . 2022-10-11 . Texas Travesty . en-US.
12. Web site: Vector Magazine . 2022-10-11 . sec.engr.utexas.edu . University of Texas at Austin.
13. Web site: About BurntX Burnt X . 2022-10-11 . www.burntx.com.
14. Web site: About . 2022-10-11 . Texas Connect . en-US.
15. Web site: Bevo Video Productions – Video Production by Longhorns for Longhorns . 2022-10-11 . bevovideo.com.