No link...is it "badger" as in Wisconsin.....?????..that would be amazing.....can you provide a little more info?...The original article is currently posted online at:
http://www.badgerherald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/05/09/3cd9fbc0325a4?in_archive=1As for being a "liberal" newspaper, see http://www.badgerherald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2001/09/05/3b86a9d151060:
A brief history of the Badger Herald
September 05, 2001
In 1969, pictures of the Vietnam War and various anti-war protests covered the front pages of almost every newspaper in the market. In Madison, four students sat at the Brathaus on State Street arguing over how to accurately record and combat the protests-run-amok on campus.The idea was to create an alternative voice on a campus -- a voice that would provide an accurate, unbiased account of events taking place.
Gathered at the booth in the back of the Brathaus, the Herald?s four founders, Patrick S. Korten, Nick Loniello, Mike Kelly and Wade Smith, debated late into the night how to establish such a voice. "How about revitalizing Insight and Outlook (a student magazine that had died in the early ?60s)?" No, they decided, that would be too boring; not fun. After about the sixth beer, their vision became surprisingly clear. "How about starting a weekly newspaper? A newspaper that would focus on Madison and issues facing UW students?"
After several months of fundraising, scrounging for desks and typewriters, and renting offices where the current Sunroom Café stands (above Steve and Barry?s on State Street), the first issue of the Badger Herald was published on September 10, 1969. In the mid-to-late 1970?s, the Herald moved to 550 State Street (above the current Q-Doba). When the Herald moved to its present-day offices at 326 W. Gorham in 1998, the editors kept much of the furniture, including the original Herald desks and homemade light board.
"This newspaper is an experiment. We are attempting to do what has never been done before," wrote Korten, the paper?s first editor in chief. (Korten went on to work as a Congressional journalist and staffer, and is currently a highly regarded public relations consultant at Rowan & Blewitt in Washington, D.C.)
Even with all the preparation, keeping a conservative newspaper afloat in liberal Madison was a moment-by-moment ordeal. Reporters sent out to cover the riots would sometimes come back bloodied. And, with tear gas shrouding the streets, editors were occasionally forced to wear gas masks while laying out the week?s paper. Editors even put chicken wire on the Herald?s windows to discourage Molotov Cocktails and other missiles.
"It was fully expected to go out of business in a year," said Loniello, a Herald contributor for ten years and currently an attorney at Loneillo, Johnson and Simonini in Madison.
Fortunately, the Herald did survive. It picked up advertisers from State Street merchants, corporations and eventually even national advertisers. And, since its goal was responsible journalism, the Herald attracted writers and readers from a variety of different backgrounds and philosophies.
In 1971, the Herald was on the brink of bankruptcy. Needing cash badly, the Herald hosted a fundraising dinner and managed to lure conservative author William F. Buckley to speak on the paper?s behalf. The fundraiser was a success and the Herald survived, eventually becoming a daily newspaper in the 1980s.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the Herald grew at an astounding rate, at one point reaching a circulation of 20,000 -- a circulation that proved bigger than the audience (today, the Herald boasts a daily circulation of 16,000).
As the Herald grew in size and importance, its contents became more closely watched and criticized. The Herald was no longer a fledgling conservative rag free to consistently offend whomever it pleased without community reaction.
In 1993, the Herald was criticized for printing a cartoon in which the Cleveland Indians mascot, Chief Wahoo, was equated with Sambo. While some found the satire racist, the Herald argued that their attempt was to attack racism, not promote.
In a similar incident in 1999, the Herald again printed a cartoon that involved a student of color being shocked that Ward Connerly, and anti-affirmative action activist, was African-American. This time, the Herald?s editor in chief capitulated and offered a front-page apology and retraction. The Opinion editor at the time quit the Herald, convinced the leadership had forgotten the paper?s ideological roots.
In 2001, the Herald reclaimed its charge to be a forum for all ideas. On February 28, the Herald published a national advertisement by conservative author David Horowitz that argued against giving African Americans reparations for slavery. In the weeks that followed, the Herald weathered threats and protests. Its distribution was disrupted. Nevertheless, while many newspapers, including the Daily Californian at Berkley capitulated, the Herald?s editors and Board of Directors stood firm. The editors refused to concede that the Herald was a "racist propaganda machine" and did not apologize for publishing the advertisement.
The Herald?s position was lauded in Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Wisconsin State Journal. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorialized that the Herald?s newsroom is "living proof that the constitution is a living document."
In the 30-plus years since its inception, the Herald has grown from a weekly conservative rag to the nation?s largest fully independent student daily and the most award-winning student newspaper in Wisconsin. For its 25th anniversary, the State of Wisconsin issued a proclamation sponsored by then-state Rep. Tammy Baldwin stating: "Whereas, despite 25 years of financial and ideological challenges, The Badger Herald has persevered and established itself as the most widely read and well respected student newspaper in the state of Wisconsin."
Today, the Herald?s four founders look with pride and astonishment at the Herald?s continued editorial and financial success. At the Herald?s 30th anniversary bash, the founders and hundreds of former editors and contributors re-united to celebrate the University of Wisconsin?s independent student newspaper. One of the founders said the Herald?s ongoing success was one of his proudest achievements.
"The satisfaction now is in knowing that students come after you and give their time as well," Loniello said. "I?m really glad that it?s still around."