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Christopher Newport University is the youngest comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the same time, it came into being as part of the oldest academic institution in the Commonwealth. For this reason, then, it combines the best of both long heritage and the contemporary. CNU was established and authorized by the Virginia General Assembly in its 1960 session as a two-year branch of The College of William and Mary. The University derives its name from Captain Christopher Newport, the English mariner who was among the most important men connected with the permanent settling of Virginia. It was Captain Newport who was put "in sole charge and command" of the small squadron of three ships which made the historic voyage, culminating with the landing at Jamestown in 1607. Established as a two-year college, Christopher Newport College became a four-year, baccalaureate institution in 1971 and, in July of 1977, became totally independent of The College of William and Mary. The University began offering graduate programs in July, 1991. The University first enrolled 171 students in September of 1961 at its initial home, a former public school building in downtown Newport News, provided through the generosity of the City of Newport News and its school board. The City of Newport News then purchased the site of the present campus, a 75-acre tract deeded to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1963. The first student newspaper of CNC was known as the Chris' Crier, and it was a small mimeographed pamphlet. The first Captain's Log was published November 7, 1963. The Captain's Log has been published continuously ever since, as a large tabloid style of newspaper. The Captain's Log was first printed on heavy, white paper, but that ended quickly. The Captain's Log has been printed on newsprint for at least twenty years. 
To act as a voice for the student body. To provide news coverage on subjects affecting student activities, interests and organizations on campus; and subjects dealing with the university community and its surrounding area. To act as a forum for student expression. To achieve those purposes through effective and ethical journalism practices. Student publications are one of the most valuable tools in maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussions on the campus of the university. In order to fulfill this responsibility, The Captain's Log is free of all censorship and advance approval of copy; and its editors are free to develop their own editorial and news coverage policies under federal, state and local laws. The Captain's Log is also obligated and held responsible by its readers to abide by the accepted standards of responsible journalism such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity or techniques of harassment and innuendo; and by the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission. Membership on The Captain's Log is open to all students full or part time. The Captain's Log does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religious and political beliefs or sexual orientation. Active membership will be limited to those students who can actively contribute to the accomplishments of the previously stated purpose. A Cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be maintained at all times by all staff, those who fail to do so will be forced to resign from the newspaper. All paid staff must have a 2.25 Cumulative GPA at the time of hiring, and maintain a 2.0 throughout their employment. The Editor-in-Chief shall have all final decision-making power as to all pay staff, based upon the individual's talent, ability to meet deadlines and willingness and ability to work with the Editor-in-Chief and other staff members. All enrolled students at the University shall be non-active members of The Captain's Log, and as such are entitled to make any contributions, with the Editor-in-Chief having final word as to the content of the newspaper. 
Corrections Corrections will be printed when The Captain's Log has made a significant spelling, typographical, reporting or editing error. It is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief whether to run the correction, retraction or clarification. Coverage Deaths: The Captain's Log covers all deaths of members of the university community, even when the cause of death is suicide. Letters to the Editor Acceptance: Priority is always given to letters less than 450 words. Letters must include the author's name, year and title, if appropriate. Submission: Letters to the editor can be submitted by anyone - students, faculty members, staff members, administrators, University affiliates, Newport News residents, etc. Unsigned letters are never printed. No more than two signatures will be printed, and no letter can be attributed to an organization as a whole. The Captain's Log staff members cannot submit letters to the editor. Face Checking The Captain's Log does not allow sources to visually scan or check copy before it is printed. Reporters can and should read relevant copy back to sources for verification, but under no circumstances should sources see the story in its entirety. Libelous Statements The Captain's Log will not print libelous statements: those that may cast any party involved in a false light. If the assertions made by the speaker are probably true, the article must include proof of the validity of those assertions. Quotations are to be completely verifies if they contain potentially libelous material. Articles should ALWAYS contain both sides of an issue. Promising Coverage Under no circumstances may any editor, writer or photographer promise any student, faculty or staff member coverage of any event or topic. Nor are staff members allowed to promise placement (i.e. front page) in the paper. All coverage requests must be routed through the proper editor, assigned, edited and placed according to standard procedure. ON/OFF The Record Any information a source gives while speaking on the record can be cited or used in a news story. Information gathered from sources that explicitly say all or part of an interview is off the record cannot be attributed to that source, given that the reporter complies with his/her request ahead of time. A reporter may, however, use the off-the-record information when speaking to other sources without identifying the initial source. If those other sources confirm or give the same information as the initial source while speaking on the record, that information can then be used or cited in the story. See he Freedom of Information Act for ON/OFF the record information. Controversial Matters Matters of controversy will be reported in an accurate and truthful manner. Reporters will make every attempt to get both sides of the issue at hand and incorporate each into the story. Offensive Words/Material Any article containing words that may be considered offensive will be labeled at the top with an Editor's note: The following article contains words that may be offensive to some readers. The Editor-in-Chief has final say as to what may be considered offensive. Opinions The Captain's Log welcomes a variety of opinions; however, the views expressed will not necessarily reflect those of all students, staff, faculty or administration of CNU. Names/Identification To provide stories that are fully informative, the names of suspects identified by the police or those charged with crimes are printed. Persons who have been convicted will also be named. Reporters will provide their addresses as well. To avoid further public injury, the victims of assaults are not named. Copy and Photographs All copy and photos become property of The Captain's Log after they have been printed. All photographs on file may be used for The Captain's Log at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion. The Photo and Graphics Editor will be making photographic assignments. Free-lance, unsolicited photographs will be used at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. |
 
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