WASHINGTON, D.C. — In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Post Newspaper’s publication, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) entered the following statement into the Congressional Record on November 28, 2012.  The Post is an independent, student-run newspaper at Ohio University in Athens.    

“The Post has been an important and independent voice at Ohio University and throughout Athens County,” Brown said. “Not just the training ground for some of our nation’s most talented reporters, the Post works to strengthen and preserve our democracy. As we mark this milestone, it is my privilege to salute the students who work to keep this publication alive while fully participating in our First Amendment freedoms.”

Originally launched as “The Green and White” in 1912, The Post is a student-run newspaper that publishes five days-a-week. Though student-run, it is editorially independent.

Below is full text of Brown’s congressional record entry:

     

         TRIBUTE TO THE POST NEWSPAPER AT OHIO UNIVERSITY

 

     MR. BROWN of Ohio. Madame President, I rise to commemorate the centennial of the Post, an independent, student-run newspaper at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

 

     Finley Peter Dunne once noted that “the newspaper […] comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the comfortable”. Newspapers also connect concerned citizens with their elected officials by providing a venue for valuable discussion on issues that affect our lives and communities. It is no secret that a free press is critical to strengthening and preserving our democracy.

 

 

    For 100 years, students at Ohio University have celebrated their First Amendment rights by creating a newspaper that informs residents, students, and business leaders in Athens County about vital news on campus, around Ohio, and throughout the world.

 

     When students are encouraged to present structured, well-written views in writing, they are given the opportunity to develop life-long skills that will serve them as citizens – and leaders – of our enduring American institutions.

 

     Ohio University has produced many first-class journalists, including 13 Pulitzer Prize winners and reporters and columnists whose bylines and photographs appear in our nation’s leading newspapers. I regularly witness the fine reporting of several Post alumni, including Columbus Dispatch Washington correspondent Jessica Wehrman, among others.

 

     As the tools and resources of journalism evolve, the Post continues to respond to a changing world. Whether students read the news on a handheld device and draft tomorrow’s editorial for a website, Ohio University students can expect to hear from an independent voice on campus and in Athens.

 

     Throughout the next century, the Post will undoubtedly continue to play a critical role in training student-journalists to shape and inform Ohio University. As we mark this milestone, it is my privilege to salute the students who work to keep this publication alive while fully participating in our First Amendment freedoms. As the proud husband of a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Connie Schultz, I have immense respect for journalists and the role the play in the public sphere. Improving our democracy starts with papers like the Post, that are willing to cultivate America’s next generation of journalists.

 

     Thank you.