Carleton University | |
---|---|
Type | Weekly student newspaper |
Format | Tabloid |
Owner(s) | Charlatan Publications Inc. |
Editor-in-chief | Nadine Yousif |
Launched | November 28, 1945 |
City | Ottawa |
Country | Canada |
Circulation | 8,500 |
Readership | 15,000 |
ISSN | 0315-1859 |
Website | charlatan |
The Charlatan (ISSN 0315-1859) is the independent weekly student newspaper at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.
It is published by a not-for-profit corporation, Charlatan Publications Inc., and is independent of student associations and university administration. Papers are free, and are available in news-stands both on and off campus. It is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. Its circulation as of 2015 was 8,500 copies with an average readership of 15,000. All Carleton students are eligible to contribute.
Originally called the Carleton, the paper's first issue appeared on November 28, 1945, the same year Carleton College's School of Journalism was formed. Only four issues appeared in the first year, but by 1948 it was a regular weekly newspaper.
News coverage in the beginning focused on veterans’ affairs and experiences during the Second World War, as Carleton's student body was primarily made up of returning veterans. During the 1960s, the newspaper became more anti-establishment and frequently published stories critical of the university.
The paper's first office was in the Student Union Building on First Avenue in the Glebe neighbourhood in Ottawa, but when Carleton relocated to its current Rideau River campus in 1952, the Carleton moved to a basement-level office below Patterson Hall. When Carleton's student centre, or University Centre, was built in 1970, the Carleton moved to the fifth floor of that building, where it remains today.
Prior to 1971, The Carleton had a tradition of naming its end-of-term issue as The Charlatan. Citing a desire to have a more fun, pranksterish image in keeping with the political spirit of the times, editor-in-chief Phil Kinsman encouraged using that name permanently. The Charlatan became the paper's official name after a staff referendum in March 1971. As the student body became progressively more fragmented, the paper distanced itself from the Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA) and became a self-appointed critic.
During this time the paper coverage became more humorous. Editors frequently published joke articles or made up stories entirely. In 1973, the editorial staff invented a joke candidate for a student government election. In 1974, the Charlatan’s photo editor Paul Couvrette secretly inserted a fake obituary of himself into the paper on production night.