The Daily and Beyond the Page Online

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Clipping, “The Daily Online,” The Minnesota Daily, September 21, 1995

The Daily Online

On August 21, 1995, The Minnesota Daily added online publishing to its repertoire with the launch of a website, The Daily Online. Newspaper staff promoted the new platform with advertisements in the print edition that had the tagline, “Net the news in bigger bytes.” The ad text encouraged students to “Stop by any of the 20 computer labs on campus and ask about the World Wide Web.” At the bottom of the ad in large print was the full web address: http://www.daily.umn.edu

In 1996, The Daily Online was named the best collegiate online newspaper in the country by the College Press Service. The article, “Daily Online wins national award,” printed in the May 2, 1996 issue of the Daily, reported that the website had a daily readership “of more than 350 people, giving the Daily’s World Wide Web server approximately 11,000 hits per day.”

Image of the clipping, "Daily Online wins national award" by Kris Henry, published in the May 2, 1996 issue of The Minnesota Daily. At the center of the image is a graphic of a computer with the text, "Point your browser to http://www.daily.umn.edu for The Minnesota Daily's Web site."

Clipping, “Daily Online wins national award,” The Minnesota Daily, May 2, 1996

Explore archived versions of the Daily website on the Wayback Machine.

The Minnesota Daily Online, 1997

Beyond the Page Online

In what ways did the Daily embrace emerging technologies and adapt to the evolving interests of its readership over time? How has the independent student press maintained its relevance as an organ for the dissemination of information and an amplifier of the needs and concerns of the campus community? How do archivists preserve the history of one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Minnesota?

Answers to these questions, and more, can be found on Beyond The Page Online, a digital exhibit about the history of Ariel and The Minnesota Daily student newspapers.

Image of 'Beyond the Page' exhibit online. At the top left is the title, "About the Exhibit" with the exhibit poster and and synopsis text below it. To the right of the image and body of page's content, is the exhibit's menu, which outlines and section on the introduction, the Ariel, The Minnesota Daily, Access and Process, Archive and Preserve, and Beyond The Exhibit.

Beyond The Page Online Exhibit

Photograph of two individuals behind a glass enclosure. Inside the enclosure is a mounted photograph of a group of students behind an issue of The Minnesota Daily. To the right is the cover of the Ariel monthly edition with a postcard of the University of Minnesota campus above it and a flier of the "Beyond the Page" exhibit at the very back.

Rebecca Toov (left) and Katelyn Morken (Right), Curators of the ‘Beyond the Page’ exhibit

Curated by archivists Rebecca Toov and Katelyn Morken of University of Minnesota Archives, in collaboration with Darren Terpstra, Archives and Special Collections Exhibit Design and Project Specialist, the online exhibit is adapted from “Beyond the Page: Preserving the Spirit of the University Through An Independent Student Press,” a physical exhibit displayed on the 2nd and 3rd floor hallways of Elmer L. Andersen Library from October 13, 2025 – January 30, 2026.

Originally presented to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the founding of The Minnesota Daily in 1900, the exhibit highlights how throughout its history, the independent student press has endeavored to preserve the spirit of the University of Minnesota on the pages of the newspaper and beyond.

Beyond the Page demonstrates ways in which viewers may engage with an essential source of University history, in hopes of inspiring curiosity, evoking memory, and encouraging reflection upon the University experience past, present, and future.