By snoadmin
The Daily 49er is old. We’re celebrating our 60th anniversary along with Cal State Long Beach this year. Although there are older student newspapers in California, the 49er is unique in that it has been published continuously since CSULB was founded.
In celebration of the past 60 years, we’ve decided to share some of our extensive archives with the rest of the community.
1949 – 1959
Our first issue was published in 1949 during the first semester of school at what was then known as Los Angeles-Orange County State College. The newspaper was known as “The Forty-Niner” as daily publication came much later.
Within 10 years, The Forty-Niner had grown from four to eight pages, and was soon recognized as a first class publication by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press. These were the first of dozens of awards that now decorate our newsroom.
Although journalism was not among the majors offered in the early years of the college, the fledgling newspaper wasn’t afraid to tackle tough issues on and off campus. In November 1955, The Forty-Niner published editorials on the topic of segregation, following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
1959 – 1969
The 1960s were among the most tumultuous times in American history, and Cal State Long Beach was not exempt from the social upheaval of the time. The campus, known as California State College at Long Beach from 1964-1968, grew by over 16,000 students during this time, and the Forty-Niner grew along with it. Publication was expanded throughout the decade, with a daily paper being produced by 1969.
Some of the most compelling stories to come out of the Forty-Niner newsroom during the ’60s include a visit by then-gubenatorial candidate Richard Nixon, a protest against a communist speaker that saw red apples being thrown, and the surprise resignation of long-time college President Carl W. McIntosh.
News wasn’t limited to the campus, of course, and the Forty-Niner did report on some of the top stories on a national scale. As news of President Kennedy’s assassination began to came in, students surrounded the teletype machine in the Forty-Niner newsroom.
1969 – 1979
Life for The Forty-Niner, and the Long Beach State campus, didn’t get any calmer during the 1970s. Protests, political unrest, and even violence marked the decade.
The paper expanded circulation to the current 10,000 copies each day. At the same time, the relationship between the Daily Forty-Niner’s editors and Associated Students, which had provided funding for the newspaper, became strained, and by 1978 the groups had severed all ties.
Much of the coverage of the decade reflected the changes of the decade. In 1972, an officer of the Associated Students accused police of planting drugs in his car. In 1973, we reported on a part-time economics lecturer that was charged with the double-murder of his former fiancée and another man.
In May 1979, four staff photographers were issued subpoenas after an article was published chronicling an on-campus shootout. The editorial staff at the time destroyed the negatives of the published photographs, not wanting to turn over newspaper property to state officials.
Not everyone was happy with the Daily Forty-Niner’s coverage during the decade. Thousands of newspapers were stolen from newsracks twice in the late ’70s. Though the thieves were never caught, editors at the time believed the thefts were related to controversial stories the newspaper had printed.
Special sections dealt with the issues of the decade, including Vietnam, the draft, and the Women’s Rights movement.
Check back next weekend for a look at Daily 49er history from 1979 to the present
