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Spring is here, and we hope that all of you are enjoying the weather and longer days.

We would like to update you on the latest developments at The Daily as we head into the spring quarter here at Stanford, and keep you in the loop about what the Friends of The Stanford Daily has been up to in the last year. At The Daily, we experienced a changing of the guard when Kathleen Chaykowskis term as editor in chief and the work of the Volume 240 staff came to an end in late January. In the fall, The Daily launched a new version of the website, replaced several computers and updated software to improve paper layout, involved 100 new staffers in the Daily Fellows program, and published an op-ed that was picked up by The New York Times and NPR. Since then, Margaret Rawson and the editorial staff of Volume 241 have taken the reins, and are providing more of the high quality content that The Daily has become known for. During Volume 241 thus far, Daily stories have been picked up by several top news organizations, including the Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and ESPN. Spring staff recently piloted a new training program for young writers, including workshops on reporting, writing and editing. We are also excited to have launched a new iPhone and Android application at the beginning of February. Our new app features real-time deals offered at local businesses alongside the same great content. If you havent already, you can download our new app at the iPhone App Store or the Android Marketplace by searching for The Stanford Daily. We hope youll see the improvements weve made with this app, and appreciate any feedback you might have! Advertising sales are looking like they will improve upon last years promising totals. As of February, weve been able to pull in close to $225,000 in local advertising revenue with a sales team of four individuals. Our national advertising revenue exceeds $150,000, meaning that we are on track to see another profitable fiscal year by the end of June. We are exploring other ways of expanding our online advertising platform, and are learning a lot as a team about how our advertising platforms, both new and old, may bring additional return on investment to the local and national advertisers who work with us. The Friends of The Stanford Daily has had a productive year thus far. In conjunction with the Stanford Library, Executive Director Charlie Hoffman has spearheaded the Friends project to digitize The Dailys print archives. At the moment, microfilm reel images are being scanned in preparation for the word recognition and hosting process. Once the project is complete, we hope to make a searchable website available to researchers and alumni to use as a permanent record of Stanford campus history. The alumni reunions at the Homecoming and Big Game football games brought over 50 Daily alumni members together and allowed us to reflect on the many ways in which The Daily has evolved and stayed very much the same over the years. Christy Wise 74 was recognized as the Friend of the Friends at this years reunion for her many years of dedication to the Friends longer-term projects.

One of Christys biggest contributions to The Daily is the coordination of the Friends scholarship, award and internship program every year. This year will be the programs 13th. The following is an update on the thriving program from Christy:

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The Friends added a summer internship this year at the St. Louis Beacon, an innovative, nationally recognized nonprofit regional news website. The Beacon was founded by four former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporters, including Margie Freivogel 71, Daily Editor in Chief in the spring of 1970. Additionally, Margie is Editor of the Beacon. The first Beacon intern is Neel Thakkar 15. Closer to Stanford, the Friends of the Stanford Daily Foundation/San Jose MercuryNews Internship, founded by Scott Dorfman 02, then Daily COO and Business Editor, is now in its 10th year. Sophomore Molly Vorwerck 14 will intern at the San Jose Mercury News this summer. Scholarships honoring former Daily editors have provided summer stipends to Daily staffers since the establishment of the first scholarship in 1999 in memory of Julius Jacobs, Editor in Chief of Vol. 87. All scholarships require a steady commitment to the Daily and each one varies in its specific requirements. Other scholarships honor Harry Press 39 and George Caulfield 48. Scholarships honoring Elna Tymes 61 and in memory of Newton E Wise, Jr. 47 are no longer active. This years recipients are: Julius Jacobs Billy Gallagher 14 Harry Press Lauren Wilson 13 George Caulfield Kathleen Chaykowski 13 and Miles Bennett-Smith 13 (Honorable Mention) William F. Woo Miles Unterreiner 12 To honor the memory of Stanford Daily Board Member and Stanford journalism professor William F. Woo, who died in 2006, The Stanford Daily established an award recognizing a Stanford University student who demonstrates excellence in opinion writing for The Stanford Daily. Five Stanford Daily columnists have received awards in honor of Professor Woo since 2007.

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Thank you all for reading, and we hope you stay in touch! We look forward to seeing you at next years Homecoming reunion in the fall, and wish you all the best in the coming months.

Sincerely,

The Stanford Daily staff and the Friends of the Stanford Daily

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