About

Mission and History:

The Columbia Chronicle is the official student-run news publication of Columbia College Chicago. While providing award-winning news content on Columbia’s campus and the South Loop area for our readers, the Chronicle also serves as a laboratory for journalism instruction and practice, producing professionals in various fields who can successfully contribute to their industries.

Divided into five sections—Campus, Metro, Opinion, La Crónica and Arts & Culture —the Chronicle provides a wide variety of appealing content and news to engage a range of interests and personalities.

The Chronicle was established on campus in 1973, then known as the CC Writer and printed tri-weekly. The first known issue of the CC Writer was printed on Nov. 1, 1973. In 1978, the CC Writer was renamed The Columbia Chronicle, the first issue of which was printed on Oct. 31, 1978. The paper soon began printing weekly until the pandemic. Currently, the Chronicle produces three print editions per academic year.

Throughout the years, the Chronicle has continued its commitment to being a reflection of the media industry while at the same time setting new professional standards.

The newspaper evolved from its standard print edition to become an overall news organization in response to changes in the industry. It adopted a website, created podcasts and multimedia elements and is now implementing daily web coverage in addition to its quarterly print edition.

Although it has taken many forms, the Chronicle student organization has remained a staple of Columbia as a hallmark of press freedom and student creativity, winning numerous awards nationwide and leading the way for student media publications.

Policies:

Reprint Permission: Please contact the Editor-in-Chief to request reprint permission. All reprints must include the language “Reprinted with permission from The Columbia Chronicle” — along with a live link to https://columbiachronicle.com/. Content may not be reproduced, in any form, without permission from The Columbia Chronicle.

©The Columbia Chronicle. All rights reserved. The Columbia Chronicle site is property of The Columbia Chronicle. Articles, photographs and other content on The Columbia Chronicle site may not be reproduced, in any form, without permission. Op-eds, columns, editorials and illustrations represent the opinions of the authors and should not be construed to be those of The Columbia Chronicle or Columbia College Chicago. Authors retain original copyright after first publication and may reproduce their work as long as credit is given to The Columbia Chronicle as the original publisher.

In an effort to contribute to a more objective and transparent media industry, the Chronicle has made available organization documents with information on its policies and standards. Below are several files with additional information on our policies and procedures for our staff and production process. This page will continue to be updated as our policies and procedures do.

Social Media policy
Staff agreement policy
Fact-checking process

The Chronicle has an in-depth fact-checking process for all content that is completed before publication. The Chronicle strives for accuracy and objectivity, and this process was developed over the years in collaboration with staff members and media professionals to ensure our content is of the highest standards.

As a college newspaper, the Chronicle does its best to cover as much of Columbia’s campus as possible with limited resources.

Letters to the Editor: The Columbia Chronicle welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are meant to be responses specifically to Chronicle coverage.

We reserve the right to fact-check and to edit pieces for clarity and length. Please do not submit a letter if you are unwilling to work with a student editor for publication. We do not print unsubstantiated allegations or solicitations for causes. We also do not run press releases or general statements as letters. We reserve the right to limit letters to two per semester.

AI policy: The Chronicle allows students to use generative AI to assist in story production in consultation with an editor. We require staff to be transparent about how they are using it and to verify any sources cited in AI-generated material. AI also can be used for digital collaboration in formulaic news writing, transcription and for data scraping. We do not allow AI for image generation except for graphic art or illustration and if properly labeled.

Chronicle Stylebook:

The Chronicle maintains its own guidelines for writing style, which are updated each semester in collaboration with the student management team and the copy desk with the help of the Associated Press Stylebook, industry standards and consideration for our community and audience.

Important media guides we follow: In addition to its in-house stylebook, the Chronicle also looks to multiple organizations for guidance on its coverage.

• The Associated Press Stylebook: https://www.apstylebook.com/
• National Center on Disability and Journalism Language Styleguide: https://ncdj.org/style-guide/
• GLAAD Media Reference Guide: https://www.glaad.org/reference
• the Native American Journalists Association’s reporting and indigenous terminology guide: https://najanewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NAJA_Reporting_and_Indigenous_Terminology_Guide.pdf
• Religion Newswriters Foundation Religion Stylebook: http://religionstylebook.com
• The Trans Journalists Association Style Guide: https://transjournalists.wordpress.com/style-guide
• Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism Diversity Styleguide:  https://www.diversitystyleguide.com