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The Oracle (University of South Florida)

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The Oracle, University of South Florida (USF)'s student-run newspaper, made history when it printed its first issue September 6, 1966. It was the first college newspaper in the United States to feature full color photographs on the front page of each issue, according to the Associated Collegiate Press.

The paper replaced the Campus Edition of the now defunct Tampa Times, which had previously served as the school's news publication. The Tampa Times had given the student paper three pages of its Monday editions to feature campus news and made a special press run specifically for that purpose. The university had not yet formed a school for Mass Communication so the student newspaper was the responsibility of a modest journalism effort run by its English Department.

In 1966, Dr. Arthur M. Anderson, director of student publications, entered into an agreement with the St. Petersburg Times to print an entire stand-alone newspaper which would be distributed on campus each Wednesday. Associate communications professor Steve Yates, editor-in-chief Harry Haigley and photographer Tony Zappone collaberated in naming it "The Oracle." Its first staff consisted of about 20 student volunteers and paid staffers who used a tiny room on the second floor of the University Student Center as headquarters. Yates became the academic coordinator of the paper and kept offices, along with Sanderson, in a room adjacent to the newspaper office for ease of consultation.

Editor Haigley assigned Zappone the task of creating one color photograph, illustrating an aspect of campus life or events, for each issue. It was a feature no other university newspaper would have for years to come and was made possible because of special offset presses used by the St. Petersburg Times which facilitated four-color process printing.

In 1967, during its first year of publication, The Oracle once again made history by being awarded one of the Associated Collegiate Press' coveted National Pacemaker Awards for the nation's best university campus newspaper. The award is unofficially considered the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism. Another groundbreaking effort was the production of full-color campus feature magazines once each term, edited by Yates and Zappone with contributions from the Oracle staff and USF faculty members. Again, it was recognized by the Associated Collegiate Press as the only one of its kind at that time.

In September, 1970, the newspaper began publishing on Tuesdays and Fridays and in 1972 beefed up the student news and advertising sales staff sufficiently to publish Tuesdays through Fridays in a reduced tabloid-size format. National college journalism organizations still consider The Oracle one of the best university newspapers in the United States.

The newspaper has undergone several facelifts through the years but continues to uphold the traditions of fair reporting, colorful graphics, insightful editorials and broad student participation started by its founders more than 40 years ago.

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