Happy 55th Birthday Daily Forty-Niner

Newspaper, campus evolve over years

Anniversary • Fifty-five years ago today, the Daily Forty-Niner made its debut at CSULB. Pages 6 to 9 mark the newspaper's 55th anniversary.

 

By David Whisler
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer

Fifty-five years ago, the Daily Forty-Niner made its first appearance on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Only it wasn't called the Daily Forty-Niner, and it wasn't called California State University, Long Beach.

The campus of CSULB and the paper has seen many changes. The paper has been known as'The Forty-Niner, The 49er, Forty-Niner, Summer Forty-Niner, Summer 49er and finally the familiar Daily Forty-Niner, which is still in use today.

The first incarnation was known simply as the Forty-Niner. It was a typewritten, mimeographed, four-page paper that was issued every other Friday and edited by the English department. It was the school publication of Los Angeles-Orange County State College.

In 1950 to 1951, the paper's name was changed to The 49er. During this time the paper was typeset and published in a four-column format. It was also during this time that the paper ran its first photo and its first paid advertisement.

In the summer of 1950, Los Angeles-Orange County State College became Long Beach State College, and the Summer 49er was published for the first time.

It was a typewritten, mimeographed paper. Later summer editions would be typeset.

In the fall of 1960, the paper, once again called the Forty-Niner, began to be printed in the tabloid style, much like it is today. By this time it was being published once a week and came out on Fridays.

Then in 1964 it transitioned once again, this time into a semi-weekly and came out on Tuesday and Friday. The change coincided with the latest campus rename, as Long Beach State College became the California State College of Long Beach.

In 1967, a Wednesday edition was added and the paper became a tri-weekly affair. Then finally in 1968, the Forty-Niner was first published as a Daily paper. Issues hit newsstands on Tuesday through Friday.

From May until October of 1969 the paper was known as The Daily Forty-Niner, but then once again, it changed back to its original name of the Forty-Niner.

The format has changed intermittently since then, mostly dropping and reinstating the Monday or Friday edition. The paper has been a Daily production, more or less, since 1968.

The current incarnation of the Daily Forty-Niner as a Monday through Thursday publication has been with us since 1992.

The college was officially renamed California State University, Long Beach in June 1972.

In 1994, the paper went paperless. The On-line 49er was established. The then weekly electronic edition has since been retooled as a Daily production that mimics the print version of the paper.

Russell Neyman wrote for various incarnations of the paper from 1966 to 1973.

He saw it go from semi-weekly to a Daily and he witnessed some of the most turbulent times, not only in the history of the Daily Forty-Niner, but in the history of our nation.

"We were children trying to do an adult thing," he said. "I happened to show up right when the blossoming began."

In the tumultuous times of the late 1960s and early 70s, politics dominated the news. Neyman witnessed and reported on news events such as anti-war protests, campus uprisings and the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy.

It was during this time that the paper served as more than just a news source, often times becoming the very heart and soul of the campus.

"We ran a lot of op-ed pieces in those days," he said. "Just trying to make sure that everyone's voice was heard."

Interesting Facts:

• The personal photographers for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are CSULB graduates and former photographers for the Daily Forty-Niner. The White House also employs a third Daily Forty-Niner alumnus as deputy director of its photo staff.

• The Daily Forty-Niner has produced journalists who have gone on to win a total of four Pulitzer Prizes.

• Former Daily Forty-Niner staff members are currently employed with prestigious publications such as The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Orange County Register and the Arizona Republic.