The Pitt News to Celebrate 100 Years of Publication During Pitt's Homecoming Festivities Oct. 29-31

The editorial staff of The Pitt News, circa 1971

The Pitt News, the daily student newspaper of the University of Pittsburgh, will celebrate the publication’s 100th anniversary Oct. 29-31 with a Centennial Edition, an open house, and a Centennial Brunch, featuring Scott MacLeod (A&S ’76), former Time magazine Cairo bureau chief and a former Pitt News editor-in-chief.

The Centennial Edition of The Pitt News will be published Oct. 29, and an open house at The Pitt News office will take place that day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Room 434, William Pitt Union (WPU). The open house will feature tours of the facilities as well as an exhibition of past issues.

The evening of Oct. 29, the Pitt Alumni Association will hold a Homecoming Welcome Back Reception from 6 to 8:30 in the Commons Room of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., featuring a Pitt News theme and historic issues on display throughout the Nationality Rooms.

The Pitt News Centennial Brunch will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 31 in the WPU Assembly Room. MacLeod will deliver the keynote address.

The Pitt News published its first issue on Sept. 26, 1910, as The Pitt Weekly; the paper is now published five days a week.

Although the news operations have changed tremendously—from the use of Underwood typewriters and hand-set typography to stories filed with handheld PDAs and Web publishing—there is one constant:  “Journalism is still journalism,” says Harry Kloman, news adviser for The Pitt News and an adjunct professor in Pitt’s Department of English. “It’s still about finding the right people and asking the right questions.”

“It’s ironic how technology has benefited journalism as a whole but is hurting newspapers,” says Chris Kuzneski (A&S ’91, ENGR ’93), international-bestselling author of Sign of the Cross (Penguin, 2006) and Sword of God (Penguin, 2007), who wrote for The Pitt News during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Internet was in its infancy and Google wasn’t available as a research tool. Although the tools of journalism have changed, said Kuzneski, the talent, curiosity, and ability of student journalists remain a constant.

Ron Barber (A&S ’83), who served as Pitt News opinions editor in the early 1980s, said that student journalism is important because it continues to hold student government and school administration accountable for their decisions.  “Many of the stories in these areas wouldn’t be covered by media outside the University,” says Barber, who today represents newspapers as an attorney at one of the oldest law firms in Pittsburgh, Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky.

According to Kloman, the continued vitality of student journalism at Pitt a century after the founding of The Pitt News reflects the obligation that journalists have to their readers: “Many papers are facing problems staying in business. The fact that we’re still thriving speaks to a need for newspapers, whether it’s print or online.”

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.pittnews.com/centennial-celebration/ or contact the Pitt News office at 412-648-7980.