The Daily Texan

UPDATE: Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to surpass our initial fundraising goal of $3,000! Due to this overwhelming support, we have decided to create a stretch goal of $5,000 to help us purchase additional camera and multimedia equipment, which will allow to help even more students participate at the paper who may not otherwise own this equipment themselves. Our staff is deeply touched by the community’s generosity and support for the Texan.

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The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin, and has been serving the UT community for over a century. The first issue was published on Oct. 8, 1900, 17 years after the University’s founding, and officially became a daily publication on Sept. 24, 1913. 

Today, The Daily Texan is the largest and most award-winning college publication in the nation. The Texan prints every weekday, making it one of the only college papers in the country that prints daily. 

Nearly 300 UT students are on the Texan staff each semester, working wildly long hours and receiving relatively low pay. Each semester, we are brought together by our love of journalism and creating content the UT community cares about.

Our work is an essential part of keeping students informed and the university accountable.

Additionally, the work students do at the Texan is a catalyst for significant internships and professional opportunities. In recent years, Texan staffers have gone on to internships at The Texas Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Politico, and many more. We have more Pulitzer Prize alumni than many of our peer newspapers. And while some alumni have gone on to careers in journalism at publications including The New York Times and those listed above, others have held careers outside the newsroom — including in the U.S. Congress and the Texas Senate, and even in positions in the White House. 

But in addition to the careers the work has the potential to launch students into, the Texan provides an invaluable opportunity for students to experience putting together a daily paper. For many, it’s their first taste of real journalism, and it's a thrilling experience. 

But, the work we do doesn’t always come cheap. Many Texan staffers have to provide their own equipment, from cameras, lenses and microphones to recording devices and interview transcription services, in order to do their work for the paper. We are raising $3,000 to be able to purchase such equipment to ease this burden on students who want to participate. We appreciate any contribution toward our efforts!

Meet the fall 2019 Daily Texan leadership team! Find our photos above, and read more about our department heads here:

Alex Briseño is an associate managing editor at The Daily Texan and a fourth year journalism major from Seguin, Texas. Alex has worked at the Texan for six semesters and three summers dating back to the fall of 2016 when he started as the women’s soccer beat writer.

Lisa Nhan is the associate managing editor of the Texan and is a government and business management senior. She has been at the Texan eight semesters and started as a general reporter in the news department. 

Megan Menchaca is a government and journalism junior and the news editor at The Daily Texan. Since she started as a general reporter, she’s worked at the Texan for six semesters.

Chase Karacostas is the projects editor at The Texan. He has been at the paper for eight semesters and started out as a Life & Arts writer and a photographer before moving on to the news department for five semesters.

Jordyn Zitman is a journalism junior and is the Texan’s life and arts editor. She started at the Texan five semesters ago as a life and arts general reporter. 

Donnavan Smoot is a third year journalism major and is the Texan’s sports editor and football writer. He first worked as the Longhorns in the NFL writer and has been at the Texan for six semesters.

Channing Miller is the comics editor and is a fourth year radio-television-film and theatre student. This is her sixth semester at the Texan since she began her work here as a humble issue staff comic artist.

Lauren Ibanez is a senior studio art major and comics editor at the Texan. She has been a comics artist with The Daily Texan since the Spring of 2017, when she started as a comics staffer.

Eddie Gaspar is a history senior, and the photo editor at the Texan. He started off as a staff photographer three semesters ago.

Jason Lihuang, a computer science junior, is a co-copy desk chief. He started as a copy editor, and has now been at the Texan for five semesters.

Copy desk chief Brittany Miller has worked at the Texan for five semesters and is a public relations junior. She started out as a copy editor her freshman year.

Christiana Peek is the Design editor for The Daily Texan. She is a pre-med biology major and this is her fifth semester at the Texan. Her first job at the Texan was as an Issuu Designer.

Rebeccah Macías is a senior journalism major and is the social media editor at The Daily Texan. She has been part of the Texan for the last four semesters where she first began as a social media staffer.

Taylor Leen is a journalism and graphic design senior and serves as the Texan’s newsletters editor. This is her fifth semester at the Texan and began as a social media staffer. 

Faith Castle is a journalism junior and video editor at the Texan. She started as a videographer and has been at the Texan for five semesters. 

Journalism junior Sara Schleede is The Daily Texan’s audio editor. While she now focuses on podcasts, she started at the paper five semesters ago as a wee general reporter in the news department.

Malú González is a corporate communications senior and is the events director at the Texan. She first started at the Texan seven semesters ago as a social media staffer. 

In his first semester at the Texan, Mauricio Aguilar a second-year government major is the co-events director.