• 1868

    The University Reporter begins publishing as a 16-page monthly student newspaper on the University of Iowa campus.

  • 1878

    The Vidette, a rival student newspaper, begins publishing.

  • A newspaper cover of 'The Vidette-Reporter'
    1881

    The University Reporter and The Vidette merge to become The Vidette-Reporter, a tri-weekly campus publication.

  • 1901

    The Vidette-Reporter combines with The State University of Iowa Quill, a weekly paper established in 1891, to form The Daily Iowan. It is owned by the student editors.

  • 1916

    Stewardship of The Daily Iowan is transferred to a student–faculty board of directors.

  • a group of people sitting at typewriters
    1918

    Mildred Whitcomb, of Ottumwa, Iowa, is named editor of The Daily Iowan, becoming the newspaper’s first female editor and one of the first women to head an American college daily newspaper. She is shown above seated at the desk to the right in a 1919 photo.

  • A group of people writing together
    1920s

    Iowa native George Gallup, creator of the Gallup Poll, attends the University of Iowa and serves as editor of The Daily Iowan. He earns a BA in 1923, an MA in 1925, and a PhD in 1928. He is pictured above surrounded by his staff in the Daily Iowan offices.

  • 1920

    The University of Iowa begins offering a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

  • a room full of people with microphones
    1923

    The Daily Iowan becomes the first college newspaper to feature full Associated Press wire service.

  • Close hall
    1924

    The University of Iowa establishes the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. It is headquartered alongside The Daily Iowan in Close Hall, which was all but destroyed by fire in 1940 and demolished in the late 1960s.

  • 1930

    The UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication becomes one of the first journalism schools in the nation to offer photography classes.

  • 1933

    The UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers courses in radio.

  • A room full of desks and people writing
    1953

    The Daily Iowan moves to the Communications Center. Shown below are students working in the newsroom in a photo from the 1954 Hawkeye yearbook.

  • Two men admiring a trophy
    1962

    The Daily Iowan is honored for excellence by the Inland Daily Press Association. Pictured above: Editor-in-chief Phil Currie and Publisher Fred Pownall review the winning issue of The Daily Iowan near the trophy.

  • 1976

    The Daily Iowan is named Newspaper of the Year by the Iowa Newspaper Association. It earns the honor again in 1981.

  • 1984

    The Daily Iowan is named the nation’s best college newspaper by the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi.

  • 1987

    The Bill Mertens Memorial Daily Iowan Scholarship is established to attract the best high school journalists to the University of Iowa—and to the newsroom. To date, it has awarded more than $1 million.

  • 1996

    The UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers a course in online journalism.

  • 2000

    The Daily Iowan earns its first of five Pacemaker awards, the college newspaper equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, from the Associated Collegiate Press. The paper wins subsequent awards in 2001, 2006, 2008, and 2013.

  • Adler building of journalism
    2005

    The Daily Iowan moves to the Adler Journalism Building.

  • A man reading from a teleprompter
    2005

    The Daily Iowan launches DITV, a daily news broadcast. Below is a behind-the-scenes photo from 2017.

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Great stories happen at Iowa

A group of people talking with a cover of "The Daily Iowan" in the background

“Daily Iowan” celebrates 150 years

The University of Iowa campus has had a student-produced newspaper since 1868. Not only do the student staff members have opportunities many colleges can’t provide, their work has earned multiple honors and awards throughout the years, placing the paper among the best in the country.
A person standing with a camera up to their face

Newspaper acquisition benefits Iowa journalism students

In addition to helping two community newspapers stay afloat, the purchase of the “Solon Economist” and the “Mount Vernon–Lisbon Sun” by “The Daily Iowan” is giving University of Iowa students more on-the-job training — and a taste of journalism practices in a small town.
the iowa women's basketball team huddles up at center court at the end of fiery pregame festivities

Student journalists publish book on women’s basketball

When photographers at The Daily Iowan were granted exclusive access to the Iowa women’s basketball program in the fall of 2023, they got a front-row seat to a historic season and a hands-on workshop on book publishing.