'The Record' Turns 100

A hundred years is a long time to be in business. On Friday, November 1, the Record, Buffalo State’s student-run newspaper, will celebrate that remarkable achievement with an anniversary dinner at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. “Anybody who ever worked for the Record was invited,” said Brandon Schlager, the paper's current executive editor. More than 75 guests are attending, including alumni who worked at the publication from the 1950s on.

The Record’s first issue came out in May 1913, and it was “more a literary publication” according to Schlager, who said it didn’t become a broadsheet until 1931. A decade later, as the nation became embroiled in World War II, the Record began to cover national issues as well as campus news.

During the turbulent 1960s, student-run campus newspapers became a crucial part of student communications. “The Record exploded,” said Schlager.

Today, the Record prints 1,500 copies every week. The paper goes to press late Tuesday night—or more accurately in the wee hours of Wednesday morning—and is dropped off on campus at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. The paper is the product of 20 to 30 staff members serving as its reporters, writers, and editors. Most are volunteers, although some editorial positions include stipends.

The Record seeks to provide Buffalo State students with “unbiased coverage of campus news,” according to Schlager. “We’re hyperlocal,” he said. “We cover anything that happens at Buffalo State that pertains to the student body. We’re the only source for those kinds of stories.”

The Record has a specific focus, but it shares the loftiest goals of the best journalism. “Accuracy counts above anything,” said Schlager. “We want to tell all the sides of a story, and we strive to be worthy of the trust of our readers. Objectivity is so important, and to get there, you have to be persistent and dedicated to getting the facts. Ultimately, journalism is a public-service profession: you’re providing information without bias.”

The Record also provides its staff members with experience and a dedication they can show to prospective employers. “If you can show you have the kind of experience the Record offers,” said Schlager, “you can compete successfully with students from the best-known journalism schools. You have stories to show, you’ve met deadlines, and you’ve worked as part of a team getting a paper out. That’s huge.”

You don’t have to pick up a print copy to read the Record. You can read it online, too. Whatever form journalism takes in the century to come, the Record at Buffalo State intends to inform the college’s students about the issues that matter to them.