Compiled by Tim Hernandez
March 25, 1926
The first issue of The Junior Ranger is published.
Sept. 19, 1932
The Junior Ranger, which evolved into The Ranger, charges 5 cents per copy, 75 cents for a year’s subscription and 50 cents for a semester subscription. Subscriptions are free to students who have paid their blanket tax, a fee encouraged but not required to fund extracurricular activities like The Junior Ranger and intramural sports.
April 28, 1933
Only 40 of the 250 students pay the $3 blanket tax, generating only $120 for extracurricular activities. An editorial suggests students be required to pay at least $1 of the tax to ensure at least $250 for extracurricular activities.
Dec. 3, 1937
The Junior Ranger is asked by the administration to stop running cigarette ads in exchange for the funds raised by a $2 fee. Funding for the newspaper is only half of the amount generated by cigarette ads.
1946
The first journalism course is offered in the English department.
Sept. 13, 1948
The Junior Ranger changes its name to the Jaysee Ranger, Jaysee meaning J.C. for Junior College.
May 1950
The Alpha Delta Chapter of the Beta Phi Gamma Co-Educational Journalistic Fraternity is chartered.
March 4, 1955
Cigarette ads reappear in The Ranger.
1958
Edith Fox King begins teaching English and journalism at this college and does so for 10 years. She advised an underground Ranger that was not part of any courses.
Sept. 29, 1961
The Ranger and President Wayland P. Moody speak out against talkers in the cafeteria. Those not eating or who love to talk are urged to leave so hungry students may sit and eat in peace.
March 22, 1963
The Ranger receives a second place award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Oct. 18, 1964
The staff of The Ranger expands to 74 writers, editors, cartoonists and photographers.
1967
The staff of The Ranger publishes El Alamo yearbook for the final time.
Fall 1968
The Fourth Write magazine begins and is published once a semester.
Sept. 10, 1968
While attempting to publish a four-page paper for the first day of registration, The Ranger runs into obstacles, such as a staff of only six, so it does not appear on newsstands until Sept. 27.
1969
W.B. “Dub” Daugherty begins to teach journalism at this college and advise The Ranger.
Spring 1970
Daugherty attends his first Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention and is quoted as saying, “I want to know how to make this the best newspaper in the country.”
Oct. 30, 1970
The Ranger sponsors a letter drive to secure the release of American prisoners of war. The letters should be addressed to North Vietnam officials and placed in boxes at Ranger stands.
1971
Lynnell Burkett joins the journalism faculty and advises The Ranger.
1973
The Ranger is published in a tabloid format.
Fall 1974
The Ranger publication format changes from tabloid to broadsheet.
1975
The journalism and photography department is formed.
1976
The Ranger earns its first Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention. The Pacemaker is college journalism’s most prestigious prize for general excellence among college and university publications.
1977
The journalism program is accredited by the Community College Journalism Association.
1977
Jerry Townsend joins the journalism faculty as a photojournalism instructor and adviser to The Ranger.
1978
The first Edith Fox King Journalism Lecture is held to honor the former journalism teacher and bring a Pulitzer Prize winner or other prominent journalist to campus.
1978
Chester F. “Chet” Hunt joins the journalism faculty and advises The Ranger. He is declared “a legend of Texas journalism” for his work as a high school journalism teacher.
1978
Eight maintenance workers blow the whistle on corruption at the district by taking their story to The Ranger, and two student journalists, Trent Everett and Richard Smith, spend six weeks reporting the story, “Maintenance men allege personnel, supplies misused.” Their reporting resulted in indictments. S.A. Magazine publishes an article on The Ranger for breaking that story and confirms the value of a good student newspaper to a college and community.
1981
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1983
The Ranger brings paste-up “in house” with students producing camera-ready pages for off-campus printing.
1983
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1984
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
Summer 1985
The first Urban Journalism Workshop for High School Students is held in conjunction with Dow Jones News Fund and local newspapers as a community service and recruiting vehicle, and the first issue of You S.A. is published.
1985
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1986
Student publication board begins.
1987
The first Fourth Write magazine is produced on Macintosh.
Fall 1987
Marianne Odom joins the journalism faculty as a full-time adjunct and advises The Ranger.
1988
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1988
The Society of Professional Journalists names The Ranger the best collegiate non-daily newspaper in the United States, the first community college newspaper to win the top award.
1988
The Ranger becomes an all-Macintosh newsroom.
1990
The Ranger is awarded a Pacemaker for the Southwest Region at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
Fall 1990
Marianne Odom is hired as a tenure-track journalism instructor.
1991
The Ranger is awarded a Pacemaker for the Southwest Region at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1991
The Fourth Write magazine begins to publish once a year.
1992
The Ranger is awarded a Pacemaker for the Southwest Region at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1992
The Fourth Write is named Best Collegiate Magazine in the nation by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Oct. 6, 1992
The Ranger becomes the first community college newspaper to have its own SPJ student chapter. The national president visits the college to conduct the first induction ceremony.
1993
The Ranger is a finalist for the Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
1993
The student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is named the best student chapter in the country, partially because of its work with the Urban Journalism Workshop.
February 1995
Tricia Buchhorn and Irene Abrego join the department as advisers.
April 13, 1995
Tremors felt at this college caused by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in West Texas interrupt Ranger production when campus police order staff to evacuate Loftin. The staff regroups outside and covers the unprecedented campus evacuation. The next day, Good Friday, officials allow staffers back in the newsroom to finish the week’s edition.
April 18, 1995
Photos were scanned and incorporated digitally into The Ranger.
June 17, 1995
W.B. “Dub” Daugherty dies from complications of AIDS at 52 after teaching journalism at this college for 26 years.
1996
Former Ranger editor Irene Abrego joins the journalism faculty and helps advise The Ranger.
1996
The Ranger is inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame.
1996
The Ranger is named the Best Non-daily Newspaper in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, the first community college newspaper chosen by this organization of newspaper editors.
1996
The Ranger is awarded a Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press at its national convention.
1997
The Ranger is a finalist for the Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
Spring 1997
The Ranger first publishes online.
1998
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
1998
The Ranger is named best student Non-daily Newspaper in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.
1998
Jerry Townsend retires from this college after 21 years.
1999
The Ranger is a finalist for the Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
2000
Jerry Townsend rejoins the journalism and photography faculty as a full-time adjunct.
2001
The Ranger is named best Non-daily Newspaper in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.
Sept. 11, 2001
Even though the college dismisses classes and closes the campus mid-morning, The Ranger staff goes into action and produces a four-page wrap-around section for the semester’s first issue on the 9-11 terrorism, and for many students, this is their first story assignment in journalism classes.
2002, 2003, 2004
The Ranger is named best Non-daily Newspaper in Texas by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors.
2003
Staff photographers are equipped with digital cameras.
2004
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
Spring 2004
The Ranger begins Source Awards, which allows the staff at the end of each semester to vote on their best sources and honor them with a reception.
March 30, 2004
The Ranger sponsors its first Chalk Day during National Newspaper Week, a campuswide event to encourage appreciation of the right to free speech.
2005
Yuk-kwong “Edmund” Lo joins the journalism faculty to teach photojournalism and help advise The Ranger.
Fall 2005
The Ranger format changes from broadsheet to tabloid.
2005
The Ranger Online earns its first Online Pacemaker Award at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
2005
The Ranger is a finalist for the Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
2006
Chester F. “Chet” Hunt retires as chair of the journalism-photography department after 28 years.
2007
The Ranger Online earns an Online Pacemaker Award at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
2009
The journalism and photography programs join radio-television-broadcasting, music business, and communication design to form the media communications department.
Fall 2009
The Ranger publication format changes to a news magazine.
2009
The Ranger Online is a national finalist for the Best Affiliated Web Site for 2-year/Community College newspaper by the Society of Professional Journalists.
2010
The Ranger Online is a finalist for the Online Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
2010
The Ranger earns a Pacemaker at the Associated Collegiate Press national convention.
Jan. 31, 2011
The Ranger changes from Friday to Monday publication.
Fall 2011
The Ranger front page returns to a news format.
2014
The Ranger Online creates and hosts its own website using WordPress.
2014
Former Ranger staffer Teresa Talerico joins the journalism faculty as a full-time adjunct and helps advise the Ranger.
2015
The Ranger is a finalist for the Pacemaker from the Associated Collegiate Press.
2016
In a re-alignment of departments, the journalism and photography programs join English, humanities, EDUC 1301 and 2301, teacher education, Mexican-American studies and the integrated reading and writing developmental courses in a new department beginning in fall 2016.
1 Comment
So much prestige presented in so few words. Nine decades of excellence. What a legacy!