Oracle History
The Oracle’s history stretches back 35 years. Before The Oracle’s first issue came out on Sept. 6, 1966, USF’s charter class of 1,991 students had to read a one-page weekly edition of The Tampa Times called the “Campus Edition” to get campus news.
Now The Oracle publishes five times a week in the fall and spring with an average circulation of 12,000 issues. Along the way, The Oracle has earned numerous awards for excellence in journalism. It was voted by the Society of Professional Journalists as the Best College Daily in the Nation in 1990 and is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame. It has collected numerous regional awards during the years and has gained a national reputation for excellence.
The Oracle has served as a training ground for journalists and others devoted to the idea of a free press.
Some notable events in Oracle history:
- Sept. 26, 1960 – The charter class of about 1,500 students started its first day of classes. The Tampa Times covered university news in a weekly page called the “Campus Edition.”
- Sept. 6, 1966 – Six years after USF opened its doors, the campus finally got its own paper, The Oracle.
- First Quarter 1971 – Editor Jane Daugherty and other staff members resign after adviser pulls an editorial cartoon. Cartoon criticized Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for arresting on-campus protestors.
- Nov. 28, 1973 – First Omnibus, a student literary magazine.
- Second Quarter, 1977 – The Oracle published five days a week.
- April 1, 1984 – Parody Oracle published. Lead stories: “Karl Brown (SG President) fires himself, John Lott Brown says nothing at all.”
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