“The Missouri Student is dead,” pronounced MU sociology major Joe Gold in 1955, after he was chosen as editor-in-chief of the fraternity-run tabloid. Gold wrote a new, fierce editorial policy for the publication and gave it a new name: The Maneater.
During five decades of reporting on historic events at the university, city, state and national level have led the paper to where it is today. From student protests of the Vietnam War, to political controversy between Gov. Kit Bond and UM System President C. Bryce Ratchford, The Maneater has dedicated itself to serving as a watchdog for student interests. Many things have changed since ‘55 — the university grew in enrollment from about 9,000 to more than 30,000, we use computers instead of typewriters and the paper has moved offices – from Read Hall to the basement of Brady Commons to the basement of the MU Student Center – but the essence of the paper is still the same.
Gold’s words still ring true today. Below is the editorial policy Gold set Feb. 18, 1955:
A newspaper has a personality of its own. That personality dictates the editorial policy, and the writers, from the editor on down, must melt their individual differences into the personality of the paper itself.
The Maneater by its very name cannot content itself with merely presenting the news. For a newspaper to attempt to walk the fine line of impartiality or to present both sides without indicating where it stands is to commit suicide both in circulation figures and in the minds of its readers.
The Maneater is a tiger with fangs bared and claws sharpened ready to analyze the facts and then to pounce. A tiger exists because it is, and not for one group or another.
The Maneater recognizes no vested interest, no political party, no group, no matter how powerful. As a publication of the student body of the University of Missouri, the vital consideration must ever be to the entire student body of this university.
The editorials will be aimed toward what is right and against what is wrong. They will be the results of a staff fitting themselves to the personality implied and evident in the vital name of The Maneater.
We would like to thank everyone who has made this publication possible for the last 57 years, as The Maneater is the result of the hard work and dedication of its staff, the paper’s relationship with the MU community, and the loyalty of our readership. As always, we encourage you to contribute to the newspaper in your own way, whether that is through joining our staff by sending an email to maneater@themaneater.com or by sending a letter to the editor to forum@themaneater.com to help make our next 57 years even better than the last.
“If you want to keep us out, better bar the door,” Gold wrote. “And don’t try getting rough or screaming ‘libel’ when a reporter crashes your meetings. When The Maneater gets mad, all hell is going to break loose.”
You’ve been warned.