Daily Tar Heel

The paper places a focus on university news and sports, but it also includes heavy coverage of Orange County and North Carolina. It is published five days a week during the school year and weekly during the university's two summer school sessions.

History
Early history
The newspaper was first published on February 23, 1893, and was originally a four-page weekly tabloid called The Tar Heel.

Funded by the campus athletic association, it placed much of its emphasis on campus sports and Greek life.
By 1920, the paper's size had increased to 6 pages, and editor Thomas Wolfe moved to a twice-a-week format. In 1923, it came out from under the auspices of the athletic association and became governed by the Student Publications Union Board, which at the time was in charge of all campus publications.

Now publication occurs Monday-Friday every day class is in session during the fall and spring academic semesters and weekly during the summer sessions. The paper publishes a special football-related supplement called DTH SportSaturday on home football game days.
During World War II, publication was scaled back to three times a week.
Post-World War II
In 1946, The Daily Tar Heel returned to daily publication with the goal of becoming, in the words of student editors, "the greatest college newspaper in the world." Page counts were increased thanks to secure campus funding, and the newspaper continued to grow as the university modernized in the 1950s and 1960s.
During the 1970s, student leaders tried to cut the DTH 's funding.

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After a lengthy court battle, the newspaper won certain concessions: (a) it would, every year, receive 16% of the student activities fee, and (b) it was allowed to form a publishing board outside the auspices of student government, provided that student leaders were granted a number of seats on that board. However, the DTH also was required to have its budget approved each year by Student Congress, which caused further tension.
Seeking to avoid continued interference from student government -- and to settle a nagging tax question with the university -- the paper incorporated in 1989 as an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

In 1993, it voluntarily stopped taking all money from student activities fee and became, for all intents and purposes, an independent publication with 100% control over all editorial and business decisions. That allowed the DTH to begin its current process of allowing a committee of staffers and community members to select the next editor.

Its estimated readership of 39,000 makes it the largest community newspaper in Orange County. Revenues from advertising are self-generated.
The paper employs seven full-time professionals, about 75 paid part-time students, and more than 100 student volunteer writers.

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The student editor has full control over the editorial content of the paper. Business matters are overseen by a full-time, professional general manager; a board of directors serves as publisher and has final say over matters such as the newspaper's budget.
The paper focuses on campus news (including all varsity sports), but it also features a city desk that covers Orange County as well as a state and national desk that deals with items of interest to the campus community.
In recent years, the DTH has developed a library of online content including videos, pictures, and message boards.

These changes have been ongoing in an effort to move towards online journalism. The Associated Collegiate Press, for example, regularly rewards it with National Pacemaker Awards for excellence in college journalism.

In 2005 the newspaper won Pacemakers for its 2004-05 print and online editions. The paper also has won numerous Mark of Excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, and its advertising and business staff is often recognized as the best in the country by College Newspaper Business and Advertising Managers, Inc.
The DTH staff also wins awards in competitions against professional newspapers in North Carolina.