One hundred ten years ago, The Daily Cardinal was born. As one of the oldest student newspapers in the country, the Cardinal has served as an independent paper for UW-Madison students through countless historic events on campus, throughout the city and state and across the country and world. The headlines of the newspaper screamed the news of the times, from war to student accomplishments, from protests to presidential races.
As we reflect upon the Cardinal's contribution to the UW-Madison community for more than a century, it is impossible to name the thousands of UW-Madison students who dedicated their time to shaping this newspaper. But one man who deserves special mention is William Wesley Young, the founder and original publisher of The Daily Cardinal. On April 4, 1892, with a horse-drawn cart as his transportation, Young distributed free copies of the first issue of the newspaper. The Daily Cardinal continued throughout his day with a circulation of 400 and a price of 3 cents per copy.
On these pages you will find reminiscences by former Cardinal staffers about their time at the paper, as well as photos and archives that represent just a small part of our history.
The timeline on the following pages outlines some of the milestones in the Cardinal's history, such as its integral role in the creation of the UW-Madison journalism school, two staff strikes and an event that would make this university the only one in the country with two competing daily student newspapers.
Throughout the past 110 years, at least five days a week, the staff of The Daily Cardinal has put its heart, soul and passion into creating a newspaper for the UW-Madison student body. Although it has faced obstacles and impediments throughout its history, it has also achieved a great deal, which has helped mold it into what it is today.
The layout of this page is done in the style of the first issue of The Daily Cardinal. Although the appearance, means of production and distribution of the paper have changed, the underlying principle for which the paper was founded'to serve the UW-Madison community'remains the same.
