Pulaski News

Pulaski News is a student-run nonprofit newspaper based in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Published by students at Pulaski High School, it serves both the school community and residents of Pulaski and nearby communities. The publication is notable for combining a school journalism program with the functions of a local community newspaper, giving high-school students responsibility for reporting on issues and events beyond the campus. The newspaper began in 1938 and expanded its role the following year when the existing community newspaper, the Pulaski Tricopa, ceased operations. Frank X. Joswick, then superintendent of the local schools, proposed that the school assume responsibility for maintaining a community newspaper. In 1942, students transformed the school publication Pulaski High News into Pulaski News and began reporting more broadly on local community affairs. The paper remained operated through the school while being made available to the wider public. Pulaski News initially appeared as a four-page tabloid issued every two weeks. It later developed into an eight-page weekly before returning to a biweekly schedule. Its circulation grew from a small initial subscriber base to approximately 2,000 subscribers by 1958 and more than 3,000 by the late 1990s. Reference material from that period reported a budget of approximately $68,000 in 1998. The current publication schedule described in reference material is every other Thursday, with circulation of about 3,000. The publication’s editorial model is central to its identity: the editor-in-chief and staff members are high-school students. This makes Pulaski News both a local media outlet and an educational institution in practice, providing students with experience in reporting, editing, photography, production, and community communications. Its long continuity has led to recognition as the oldest student-led community newspaper in the United States. Pulaski News has received recognition from state, regional, educational, journalism, and community organizations. Awards and honors cited in reference material include recognition from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Press Women, the Wisconsin Associated Press and Marquette University, the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association, Quill and Scroll, the National School Public Relations Association, and the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association. The publication has also been recognized by civic, education, agricultural, public-service, and business groups for journalism, photography, school-community relations, and community service. The newspaper’s alumni network includes journalists who continued into professional media careers. Jacqui Banaszynski, who worked as an associate editor in 1970, later became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. No separate commercial parent company, public listing, or independently documented website is identified in the supplied reference material. Pulaski News is best understood as a community-facing educational publication rather than a conventional commercial newspaper chain or consumer-media corporation.

Pulaski News traces its origins to 1938 in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Although it developed within the local school system, its purpose extended beyond ordinary student journalism: it served as a community newspaper for Pulaski and surrounding areas. The publication’s early development was shaped by the disappearance of an established local paper. In 1939, the Pulaski Tricopa ceased operating, and Frank X. Joswick, superintendent of the schools, proposed that the school assume the community newspaper role. The publication’s student identity became more explicit in 1942, when students at Pulaski High School converted the school newspaper, Pulaski High News, into Pulaski News. Students began reporting on community events and local affairs, while the school continued to provide the institutional setting for production. The arrangement allowed the paper to remain educationally focused while distributing its work to the broader public. Pulaski News began as a four-page tabloid published fortnightly. Over time, it expanded to an eight-page weekly, demonstrating growing demand and a stronger connection with local readers. Its subscriber base increased from only a handful of subscribers to approximately 2,000 by 1958. By 1998, more than six decades after its founding, its circulation exceeded 3,000 and its reported budget was approximately $68,000. Reference material describes the publication in its current form as appearing every other Thursday, with circulation of about 3,000. The newspaper’s editorial and production responsibilities remain assigned to high-school students. The editor-in-chief and staff are students, making the publication an unusually durable example of experiential journalism education. At the same time, its distribution to residents means that students work within the standards and practical constraints of community reporting rather than producing only an internal school bulletin. This hybrid role is the principal distinguishing characteristic of the Pulaski News brand. The publication has accumulated recognition across journalism, education, public relations, and community-service organizations. Its cited honors include awards for news writing, feature writing, photography, school-community relations, and service to the community. It received the Quill and Scroll Newspaper Critical Service George H. Gallup Award in 1965 and later received honors from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Press Women, the Wisconsin Associated Press and Marquette University, the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association, the Wisconsin School Public Relations Association, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the National School Public Relations Association, and numerous local and regional organizations. Pulaski News has also served as a training ground for journalists. Jacqui Banaszynski worked as an associate editor in 1970 and subsequently became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. The publication is described in the reference material as the oldest student-led community newspaper in the United States. Its continued operation represents a long-standing connection among a public school, student journalism, and local civic communication. Detailed current information about its ownership structure, digital operations, present leadership, and official web presence is not established by the supplied sources.

• 2009

  Wisconsin School Public Relations Association recognition

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Pulaski News receives a Wisconsin School Public Relations Association Award of Merit.

• 2007

  NSPRA Golden Achievement Award

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  The National School Public Relations Association recognizes Pulaski News with a Golden Achievement Award.

• 1998

  Circulation exceeds 3,000

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports circulation above 3,000 and a budget of approximately $68,000.

• 1965

  Quill and Scroll recognition

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Pulaski News receives the Quill and Scroll Newspaper Critical Service George H. Gallup Award.

• 1964

  Subscription-list acquisition offer declined

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  A nearby weekly newspaper offers to buy Pulaski News's subscription list, but the publication declines.

• 1958

  Subscriber base reaches approximately 2,000

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  The newspaper grows from a small initial subscriber base to about 2,000 subscribers.

• 1942

  Pulaski High News becomes Pulaski News

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Pulaski High School students turn the school newspaper into a publication reporting on the wider community.

• 1939

  Community newspaper role expands

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Following the closure of the Pulaski Tricopa, the school takes on the local community newspaper function at the suggestion of superintendent Frank X. Joswick.

• 1938

  Publication founded

  [1]Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org

  Pulaski News begins in Pulaski, Wisconsin, as a school-connected publication with a community-facing mission.

A school-operated, student-produced community newspaper that combines practical journalism education with local news service for Pulaski and surrounding communities.

• Community newspaper · 1938

  Pulaski News print edition

  The core offering is a student-produced local newspaper serving Pulaski and nearby communities. It began as a four-page tabloid published every two weeks, later expanded to an eight-page weekly, and is described in the reference material as a biweekly publication issued every other Thursday. Coverage includes community news and local-interest reporting, with students handling editorial and production responsibilities.

• Educational media · 1942

  Student journalism program

  Pulaski News functions as a practical journalism program in which Pulaski High School students serve as reporters, editors, photographers, and other staff members. The editor-in-chief and staff are students, while the resulting publication is distributed to the wider community rather than only to the school.

• 1964

  Rejection of subscription-list saleStrategy

  Background

  The newspaper had developed a sufficiently established subscriber base that the nearest weekly newspaper sought to acquire its subscription list.

  Action taken

  Pulaski News declined the offer and retained its subscription relationship with readers.

  Aftermath

  The decision preserved the publication's independent school-community operating model.

  Source

• 1942

  Conversion of Pulaski High News into Pulaski NewsProduct launch

  Background

  Students at Pulaski High School broadened the scope of the school newspaper to cover news beyond the school.

  Action taken

  Students renamed and repositioned the publication as Pulaski News and began reporting on community affairs.

  Aftermath

  The publication developed into a long-running student-led community newspaper with distribution to local residents.

  Source

• 1939

  Assumption of the community newspaper roleStrategy

  Background

  The closure of the Pulaski Tricopa left the local community without its established newspaper. School superintendent Frank X. Joswick proposed that the school take over the community-paper function.

  Action taken

  The school-supported publication continued as a community-facing newspaper, extending its audience beyond students.

  Aftermath

  This decision established the hybrid model that defines Pulaski News: a student-operated publication serving the general community.

  Source

1. 1Pulaski Newsen.wikipedia.org