In the Name of Editorial Freedom: 125 Years at The Michigan Daily

At a time when daily print newspapers across the country are failing, the Michigan Daily continues to thrive. Completely operated by students of the University of Michigan, the paper was founded in 1890 and covers national and international news topics from politics to sports to entertainment. With a print circulation of still over 18,000 copies, the Daily has been a vital part of the college experience for countless UM students, none more so than those who staffed the paper as editors, writers, and photographers over the years. Many of these Daily alumni are now award-winning journalists who have worked for the premier news outlets in the world.

In the Name of Editorial Freedom, titled after the Daily’s longstanding masthead, compiles original essays by some of the best-known Daily alumni about their time at the paper. For example Dan Okrent, first public editor of the New York Times, discusses managing the Daily’s explosive editorials page while on assignment at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal,/em>, talks about the intensity of the Daily newsroom and the lasting relationships it forged. Adam Schefter of ESPN recalls his awkward first story that nevertheless set him on the path to become the ultimate NFL insider. The forty essays of this book offer a glimpse, as activist Tom Hayden writes, at the Daily’s impressive role covering history-shaping events and how those stories moulded the lives of the students who reported them.