The University Press Club is an organization of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

undergraduates who work as professional freelance journalists for local, regional, and national publications. It is the only student-run group of its kind in the country. Press Club alumni have gone on to careers in journalism at publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', and the ''

New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...

'' and have won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

. In addition to freelancing, Press Club members also run a blog called The Ink, covering campus events at Princeton.

Overview

The University Press Club is a highly selective group of undergraduate students who write professionally for a variety of newspapers and magazines in the northeast and United States. The club was founded in 1900, making it one of the oldest student organizations at Princeton University. Members typically write for a number of papers during their three or four years with the club, filing stories on a range of topics from speeches at the university, higher education trends, and events at Ivy League schools. In the past year, members have been published in papers such as ''

'', ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'', the ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

'', the ''

Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', the ''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...

'', and the '' Times of Trenton''. Members are chosen through a three-month application process called Candidates Period. During Candidates Period, candidates write fifteen mock articles across three "folders," or sections of the application process, and submit them for consideration to Club members. Each candidate meets one-on-one with a Club member after each folder to discuss their stories and receive feedback. Press Clubbers cover breaking news, feature stories, and sporting events at Princeton University and in the surrounding community. As stringers, each member works with professional editors and is paid on a per-story basis. On campus, the University Press Club regularly sponsors lectures and events for the Princeton community, including the annual Louis Rukeyser '54 Memorial Lecture Series, which brings prominent journalists to the university. Past speakers include

Jill Abramson Jill Ellen Abramson (born March 19, 1954) is an American author, journalist, and academic. She is best known as the former executive editor of ''The New York Times''; Abramson held that position from September 2011 to May 2014. She was the first ...

formerly with ''The New York Times'',

David Remnick David J. Remnick (born October 29, 1958) is an American journalist, writer, and editor. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book '' Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire'', and is also the author of ''Resurrection'' and ''King of t ...

'81 from the New Yorker,

Evan Thomas Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, lawyer, and author. He is the author of 11 books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Early life and career Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, ...

from Newsweek,

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...

'76 from Time, Matthew Cooper formerly with Time, and Todd Purdum '82 from Vanity Fair. The University Press Club also hosts dinners with visiting journalism professors and alumni throughout the year. The Press Club is advised and guided by an Alumni Board, made up of Club alumni from a wide range of graduation years.

History

The Press Club was founded in April 1900 by undergraduate journalists who worked as correspondents for newspapers across the country. The club was conceived as a collective reporting enterprise that would pool quotes and leads, and membership was sold to the highest bidder. In 1915 the Club introduced an application process called candidates period. Over the course of three months, applicants would conference with current members of the club to eventually produce three folders of full-length news stories. In 1979, a group of Press Club members founded the campus weekly student newspaper the '' Nassau Weekly''.

Past Leadership

*Anika Asthana, Class of 2025 *Emmett Willford, Class of 2024 *Anna Allport, Class of 2023

Notable alumni

* James Barron, Reporter for the ''New York Times'' * Alan Blinder, Professor at Princeton University and former vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve * Marc Fisher, Editor and Columnist at the ''Washington Post'' *

Craig Forman Craig Forman is an American entrepreneur, media executive, and former foreign correspondent who served as chief executive officer of The McClatchy Company. He previously worked at ''The Wall Street Journal''. He is currently a partner at NextNews ...

, Silicon Valley entrepreneur; board member at McClatchy Co., former Bureau Chief at the ''Wall Street Journal'' * Adam Frankel, White House Speechwriter for President Obama * Hank Hersch, Assistant Managing Editor at ''Sports Illustrated'' *

Wendy Kopp Wendy Kopp (born June 29, 1967) is the CEO and co-founder of Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations working to develop collective leadership to ensure all children have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. B ...

, Founder of Teach for America * David Lawrence, Founder of ''U.S. News & World Report'' * Michael McCurry, Former Press Secretary in the Clinton White House * Todd Purdum, National Editor of ''Vanity Fair'' *

, Editor-in-Chief of the ''New Yorker'' * Dan Grech, Former Foreign Correspondent for The Miami Herald and NPR show "Marketplace" *

Louis Rukeyser Louis Richard Rukeyser (January 30, 1933 – May 2, 2006) was an American financial journalist, columnist, and commentator, through print, radio, and television. He was the host of two television series, ''Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser' ...

, Host of PBS's ''Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser'' * William Rukeyser, Managing Editor of Fortune and Founding Managing Editor of ''Money Magazine'' * Bianca Bosker, Contributing writer for ''The Atlantic'' and author of New York Times bestselling books Cork Dork and Get the Picture *Jessica Stahl, Executive Editor, Strategic Initiatives at Grist *Logan Sander, Co-founder and Editorial Director at Midstory *Ben Weissenbach, author of North to the Future

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:University Press Club Princeton University publications Student newspapers published in New Jersey Newspapers established in 1900