Since its inauguration during the 1926-27 school year, The Southern DIGEST has upheld a tradition of excellence in the field of print journalism.
The DIGEST has been published on a regular basis since 1928. Prince O. Wells was the first student editor-in-chief.
The bi-monthly publication was financed by students and composed of a staff of student volunteers. The editor-in-chief was elected in the student elections.
The combined fee for the DIGEST and the Cat, the yearbook, was $4.50 until it was reduced to $1.50 in 1931, when only the DIGEST was published.
The DIGEST became a weekly in the 1960s. Throughout the years, staff members reported on many historical events such as the brutal murders of Denver Smith and Leonard Brown in 1972.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the DIGEST was there to witness the rise of prominent political figures such as State Senator Cleo Fields and the flourishing yet hidden talents of artists such as former Student Government Association President Lavell Crump, now famously known as “David Banner.”
The new millennium ushered in a pivotal point in DIGEST history. In 2001, the DIGEST began to print in color and in 2003 the publication began printing semiweekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.
In the last two years, the DIGEST has won over 30 awards, including the 2003 National Association of Black Journalists Ma’at Award, 2003 HBCU Newspaper Conference General Excellence Award and the 2002 Louisiana Press Association General Excellence Award, third place.
Over the decades, thousands of students have acquired considerable experience working with the university student publication and have used the knowledge as professions in the mass media as well as other fields.
Southern University graduates have found fulfilling employment in newspaper and television newsrooms, magazines, radio public relations and on-line media.
For many years to come, the Southern DIGEST will continue to be the “Sentinel of and Enlightened Student Body.”
Information provided by A Centennial History of Southern University and A&M College 1880-1980 by Charles Vincent: 1981.
