About us
The Vanderbilt Hustler is a student organization and a news source for Vanderbilt University. The Hustler’s content is divided into eight sections, each run by student editors and staffed by Vanderbilt students. The Hustler also maintains an active social media presence. All Hustler content relates in some way to Vanderbilt and its community.
Sections
News
The News section reports on information about university changes, announcements, initiatives and on-campus events, focusing on their effects on the Vanderbilt community. The News staff also covers local, state and national happenings in relation to the Vanderbilt community. The News staff maintains close connections with campus leaders, including administration, student government and other faculty and staff members.
Life
The Life section provides readers with updates on campus and local entertainment, music, fashion, food and culture. The Life section offers an inclusive look at student life, granting readers unique insight into exploring Vanderbilt’s campus and Nashville.
Sports
The Sports section provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of Vanderbilt varsity sports teams and administration and tells the stories of Vanderbilt student-athletes. Hosted weekly by Sports editors, Live From West End is a podcast that runs on exclusive interviews with coaches, administrators, student-athletes and alumni. The Sports section also records ‘Dores Unlocked, a weekly debate show.
Opinion
The Opinion section is a platform for students to express their views, reactions and suggestions. Opinion articles take stances on issues affecting the Vanderbilt community and college students more broadly. The Opinion staff analyzes campus, local and national affairs and offers their input in a concise, constructive manner. The Opinion section provides a student forum for political, social and individual commentary.
Photography
The Photography staff seeks to report on Vanderbilt happenings through visually compelling mediums. Staffers utilize photography to cover events and tell stories. The Photography section maintains close relations with Vanderbilt Athletics and local music and performing venues to do so. The section also works closely with the Life and News sections to cover concerts and events within the greater Nashville and campus community. Contact [email protected] for photography-related inquiries.
Podcasts
The Hustler produces a series of podcasts online and via Spotify. The mission of the Podcasts section is to share the stories of the Vanderbilt community in a relatable, unfiltered and genuine way. Every week, our podcasters share insightful tidbits about their lives, ranging from academic advice to research projects, through conversations with their peers and mentors. Our podcasts span a variety of styles ranging from NPR-style investigative journalism to roundtable discussions to one-on-one interviews.
Data
The Data section works to produce data-intensive, investigative stories that don’t necessarily fall under the realm of the other sections. It also produces biannual surveys on the Vanderbilt student population. Working with Graphics staffers, the Data section additionally creates data visualizations for Hustler content.
Graphics
The Graphics section creates graphic art, illustrations, infographics and data visualizations to enhance stories. Graphics staffers work closely with reporters to bring stories to life.
Our history
The Hustler began as a weekly campus newspaper in 1888 and is the oldest newspaper in Tennessee. “Published without faculty approval or review, the newspaper was sharp, critical, deliberately controversial,” Paul Conkin said of the paper in his 1985 book “Gone With the Ivy: A Biography of Vanderbilt University.” “It aired issues on all sides, freely criticized faculty and the board, entered enthusiastically the debate over McTyeire’s successor, and was a sounding board for student complaints.”
In 1967, the paper came under the control of Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC), an organization independent of Vanderbilt University but housed on campus. In 1998, The Hustler became financially independent from Vanderbilt University by declining activities fee subsidies. The publication currently remains a division of VSC.
As a way to ensure that Vanderbilt stayed on top of the shift to online media and news and remained a leader in the student media industry, VSC decided in 2006 to move Vanderbilt’s student media toward a digital delivery model. The result was InsideVandy.com, an online campus news source. At the time, The Hustler solely published print editions.
In 2014, leaders of The Hustler and InsideVandy decided to merge in favor of the best interest of Vanderbilt Student Communications. The VSC Board approved the proposal, and InsideVandy.com became vanderbilthustler.com in Fall 2015.
Following the 2015-16 school year, the VSC Board, with support from the Hustler staff, voted to move The Hustler solely online. The decision sought to allow for a greater focus on content production and technological advancement while following in the direction that journalism was headed.
The Hustler’s first header graphic was designed by Jessica Mo. In the summer of 2022, The Hustler underwent a brand change. The current Hustler logo and brand was designed by Alexa White, Rachael Perrotta and Katherine Oung.
In Fall 2021, The Hustler began exploring new areas of multimedia journalism and welcomed its first podcast. A Podcasts section was then created in 2022, along with a Data section.
The Hustler staff works alongside other student media leaders in the Sarratt Student Center.
Hustler archives from September 1891-April 2016 can be found here. If you do not see the archive for which you are looking, please contact Vanderbilt Special Collections and University Archives at 615-322-2807 or [email protected].
Email communications
The Vanderbilt Hustler Digest is emailed to subscribers each Monday morning during the academic year and periodically during academic breaks. Each Digest includes a collection of stories published each week from different sections of The Hustler, as well as six “Photos of the Week.” These stories are also highlighted on our social media on Monday mornings. To subscribe to our Digest, click here.
The Sports Report is emailed to subscribers each Friday morning during the academic year and periodically during academic breaks. Each Sports Report includes a collection of stories published each week by the Sports section of The Hustler, as well as six sports “Photos of the Week.” These stories are also highlighted on our social media on Friday mornings. To subscribe to our Sports Report, click here.
Staff editorials
The Hustler periodically composes staff editorials to represent the views of the entire Editorial Board. As such, a majority of the Editorial Board approves the final version of staff editorials before it is published. Staff editorial topics are often proposed by the Editorial Director but also may be suggested by staff writers or other editors. Staff editorials cover a range of topics, from Vanderbilt news to culture to politics.
