Photograph of The Minnesota Daily Board of Editors, 1900-1901
Cover, First Issue of The Minnesota Daily, May 1, 1900
Inaugural Editorial Clipping, The Minnesota Daily, May 1, 1900
On May 1, 1900, the first issue of The Minnesota Daily, the “Official Paper of the University of Minnesota,” was published.
The inaugural editorial provided a summary of how the publication came to fruition, asserted what the object of the daily paper “shall be,” and elicited the support of “Every individual connected in any way with the University, from the president down” to help them in their endeavor.
The editors concluded:
“We desire to make the Daily the medium through which the student body is kept informed of the sum of those events and happenings which go to make up University life. Our aim is to make the Daily so useful that the students cannot do without it.”
Read the full text of the inaugural editorial by selecting the image of the clipping on the right.
Transitioning from the weekly Ariel to the Daily proved to be a formidable task, which was transparently chronicled in the 26 issues of Volume 1 published from May 1 - June 7, 1900. Multiple editorials include appeals for more subscribers, extend apologies for mistakes, and request patience as the editors, who confess to their lack of training, reassured readers that they would “grow into the work.”
A list of issues in Volume 1 with links to digitized versions available in the University Digital Conservancy (UDC) can be accessed from the finding aid for the Ariel and The Minnesota Daily Student Newspaper and Magazine collection (ua00626): The Minnesota Daily, Volume 1, 1900.
