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Outlet profile

The Daily Tar Heel

U.S. student press, left-leaning editorial page

Owned byDTH Media Corp., an independent nonprofit (501(c)(3)) legally separate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; run by UNC students
FundingAdvertising revenue, an in-house student marketing agency (1893 Brand Studio), and donations from alumni and readers — it took no student fees or university money after 1993
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Founded in 1893, the DTH is one of the oldest and largest student newspapers in the country, staffed by more than 300 UNC students. It incorporated as a nonprofit separate from the university in 1989 and stopped accepting student fees in 1993, making it fiscally and editorially independent of UNC administration. It relies on advertising and an in-house student ad agency, supplemented by alumni and reader donations, rather than tuition or state funds. Its editorial board has endorsed candidates and positions described as reflecting an 'unyielding progressive vision,' and editorials became notably more political during the contentious Fall 2025 semester. In April 2026, the paper faced sharp campus backlash and issued a public apology after an April Fool's satire edition ran jokes about ICE on campus and other sensitive topics that were widely seen as offensive. As a student outlet, its coverage of national politics, including the Trump administration, is secondary to campus and state news, but tends to frame federal higher-education and immigration policy critically.

Sources

  1. The Daily Tar Heel — Wikipedia
  2. About The Daily Tar Heel
  3. The Daily Tar Heel, a home for any student
  4. Statement from the editor on The Daily Tar Heel's satire edition
  5. A statement of apology and our plan for the newsroom following last week's satire edition
  6. Student newspaper Daily Tar Heel under fire after satirical articles spark controversy
  7. The Editorial Board's endorsements for the 2024 North Carolina general election

Profile compiled 2026-09-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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