In November of 1923, The Johnsonian was officially approved — printing its first issue less than two weeks later.
When Winthrop’s founding president, David Bancroft Johnson, was approached with the proposal, he admitted that he had had similar ideas and wanted to create a student publication specifically for Winthrop College. He sent out a survey to each of the classes individually in order to ascertain student interest based on classification level.
The entire college responded with almost unanimous support, and the seniors began vetting their classmates to find the first Editor-in-Chief; Josephine Weinberg was officially elected by the committee and quickly began planning the first issue. On Nov. 21, 1923, Winthrop history was changed as the debut issue of The Johnsonian was printed and distributed across campus.
In this issue, the articles detail everything from sports to advertisements for local businesses. There is also a column explaining how The Johnsonian got its name. The staff held a contest to see if students could come up with a name before the first publication date. According to the debut issue of The Johnsonian, names like “The Blue Dress” and “The Tigress” were considered before the newspaper’s current name was chosen. The winner of the contest, Edna Jordan, received ten dollars as a reward — over one hundred dollars today.
The pilot issue of The Johnsonian also gives modern students a glimpse into what Rock Hill was like during the twentieth century. Advertisements for pharmacies, clothing stores and tea shops take up the majority of the publication, giving insight into what sort of businesses college students frequented before the Great Depression. There is also a request from the staff to patronize the businesses that have supported the publication — creating a circular economy in what was, at the time, a small town with limited patrons.
Now, nine months before the centennial anniversary of the first publication, The Johnsonian is a thriving publication. Though The Johnsonian was originally run by the English department, it has since been passed on to the Department of Mass Communication. Since its inception, The Johnsinan has published hundreds of issues discussing thousands of campus events, community news and the opinions of the Winthrop community. Since its inception, The Johnsonian has been named first in general excellence in its division and the best student newspaper in South Carolina by the South Carolina Press Association.
Despite the countless evolutions of The Johnsonian throughout the past century, one value has remained at the center of each publication — student collaboration and a sense of community. Each published issue highlights how the Rock Hill and Winthrop communities are growing and meshing. Since 1923, The Johnsonian has served as the meeting place for the two communities — whether that is shown through advertising small businesses, reporting on Rock Hill events or simply being one of the longest running student publications in South Carolina.
The first issue — as well as hundreds of others — of The Johnsonian is stored at Louise Pettus Archives, with digital copies being provided for free on their website. The Johnsonian encourages Winthrop’s students and faculty to read these crucial pieces of the university’s history, as they give insight into how the campus culture has shifted since its inception. The Johnsonian will also celebrate its centennial anniversary later in the semester, and perhaps on the actual date of the first publication.
Source:
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=thejohnsonian
