The Chronicle’s Annual Impact Report

July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024

Message from Board Chair Nina Gordon:

Friends of The Chronicle,

During The Chronicle’s 120th anniversary celebration on campus this past spring, we premiered Ink and Pixels, a short documentary about our history. Older than Duke University itself, The Chronicle has been home to trailblazers, truth-tellers, sports fanatics and fact checkers. While watching this documentary, I was reminded of my small part in this storied media outlet’s history. I think you, too, will see that we each have a part in a much larger and broader tradition. Technology may have changed, but our work has not. The Chronicle’s role as light-seeker and training ground is unwavering.

The Chronicle’s ability to do this work is predicated on our financial independence from Duke University. We could not do this work without your ongoing participation and generosity. Last year was again a record-breaking year for support from our donors. Thank you!

Nina Gordon
Chair, Duke Student Publishing Company Board of Directors

Impact by the Numbers

28,000

Daily Rundown email newsletter readers

155,000

Twitter/X followers @DukeBasketball

300,000

dukechronicle.com monthly users

16

engaged board members helping us navigate big changes in our industry

8

print editions for special content

4 of last 5 years

winner of the Online Pacemaker Award, for one of the best student news websites in the country

2

NEW video/audio studios to increase our digital storytelling skills and grow Pitch, our ad agency

4th year of the
Karen Blumenthal Internship

650+

alumni and friends who made a donation, attended an event or mentored our staff

3

alumni gatherings in NYC, DC and Durham

155+

students working on editorial staff: editors, reporters, photographers

20+

students on business staff
sales/agency/fundraising

competitive Chronicle funded internship experience @ Dallas Morning News in business journalism

Chronicle Impact Stories

  • Our student-powered ad agency, Pitch, created a video to celebrate The Chronicle's role in Duke's history and future. It includes interviews from Ann Pelham, Craig Whitlock, Seyward Darby, Scott McCartney and Matthew Griffin reliving pivotal events that shaped their Chronicle careers.

    We previewed the video at our 120 celebration on campus in April and wanted to make sure the rest of the alumni community had a chance to relive some important Chron moments. We plan to add more video clips over the remainder of this year. 

  • Like many non-profit media companies, The Chronicle relies on philanthropy as a critical part of our revenue model. We are incredibly grateful for another record-breaking year of generosity from all of you. Our financial independence from Duke is vital and you make it possible. Thank you. 

    While we lost to The Daily Tar Heel (DTH) in the 6th Annual Rivalry Challenge (after winning the three previous years!), The Chronicle saw a 49% increase in Rivalry donors this year and almost $15,000 more in actual support during the Challenge -- amazing! So while the loss was disappointing, we had record breaking donations totaling $128,000 for both organizations ($63,810 for us and $64,277 for the DTH). 

    “This remains the one thing we truly all do as a team – student staff, alumni, DSPC board of directors, full-time staff – and it is the most gratifying, beneficial project we can all rally behind,” said Chrissy Murray, CEO of The Chronicle.

    Philanthropic gifts powered a lot of our work this year, including

    • Specialized training in search engine optimization and audience engagement.

    • Full coverage of all the Duke basketball (men's and women's) and football games because we sent reporters and photographers to all away games, including tournaments.

    • Investigative stories like this one analyzing Duke's financial ties to Israel.

    • Placement of our 4th Karen Blumenthal intern at The Dallas Morning News -- recent sports editor, Andrew Long.

  • Welcome to Pitch Story Lab, Duke’s student-run ad agency where creativity meets ambition! Partnering with us means you don’t just get cutting-edge advertising solutions; you also invest in the future of the industry. 

    Don’t believe us? Let’s take a closer look at one of our projects to show you just how much we put into delivering the best for our clients.

    The Blue Book

    Pitch Story Lab recently undertook the significant task of revamping Duke University's Blue Book. This comprehensive guide is essential for new first-year students, covering everything from class registration and student organizations to dining options and life in Durham, ensuring they are well-prepared before arriving on campus.

    For the Blue Book, Pitch produced 30 videos in close collaboration with Duke University Marketing and Communications and Student Affairs' New Student and Family Programs. This project provided our team with extensive hands-on experience, fostering the growth and development of our new recruits into skilled and confident filmmakers.

    One recruit mentioned how proud she was to be part of a project that would “impact every incoming student.” Ben Adams, Director of New Student and Family Programs, shared the sentiment, praising the meaningful collaboration between students and staff. He emphasized the “meaningful” nature of the Blue Book project and its overwhelmingly positive reception by their staff. Julie Schoonmaker, Assistant Director of Multimedia in the Office of Communications and Marketing, also commended Pitch for their dedication and the quality of their work, acknowledging the significant “time and thoughtfulness” put into each video by our student workers.

    Overall, the Blue Book video series was not only our largest project of the year but also one of the most rewarding. It provided invaluable experience for our team and made a lasting impact on Duke's incoming students and the university community.


    Why it Matters to Our Clients

    At Pitch Story Lab, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional advertising solutions tailored to meet our client's unique needs. By choosing to work with us, our clients gain access to a wealth of fresh, creative perspectives, innovative techniques, and a team of passionate individuals committed to their success. For instance, let’s take a look at what we brought to the Blue Book project:

    1. Fresh Perspectives and Innovative Ideas: Our students bring fresh, innovative ideas to the table. Unconstrained by traditional industry norms, they think outside the box, delivering unique and effective advertising strategies that resonate with modern audiences.

    2. Cutting-Edge Techniques: As students, we are constantly learning and staying updated with the latest trends and technologies in advertising. This means your campaigns will utilize the most current and effective techniques available.

    3. Passion and Dedication: Our students are passionate about advertising and dedicated to their craft. This translates into high levels of enthusiasm and commitment to every project, ensuring our client's campaigns are creative and effective.

    4. Collaborative Environment:

      We foster a collaborative environment where students work together to brainstorm and develop the best possible solutions for our client's business. This team-based approach ensures a diverse range of ideas and perspectives are considered.

    Why it Matters to Us

    Partnering with Pitch Story Lab did more than benefit the Blue Book; it also profoundly impacted our students. Working with clients and tackling real-world challenges provided invaluable experiences that shaped our future careers. Here’s how collaborating with the Blue Book helped our talented students grow and thrive:

    1. Practical Experience: Working with real clients provided our students with hands-on experience that goes beyond the classroom. They tackled real-world challenges, and learned how to adapt and apply their skills in a professional setting.

    2. Skill Development: Our students honed their skills in various aspects of advertising, from market research and strategy development to creative design and campaign execution.

    3. Portfolio Building: Students built impressive portfolios showcasing their work with actual clients. These portfolios are crucial when seeking employment post-graduation, demonstrating their ability to produce tangible results.

    Pitch Story Lab: Empowering Students. Elevating Brands.

  • Rajan Jindal took a moment to reflect on his upcoming year as sports editor.

    Sports/sports coverage:

    Q: Women’s sports seem to be having a huge moment lately, like Duke’s softball team. Have you seen more interest in non-revenue sports lately, especially on the women’s side?

    Ranjan: The growth of women’s sports is a phenomenon across the country, and Duke is a perfect representation of its popularity. In basketball, some of my favorite coverage experiences were for Coach Kara Lawson’s squad, and I think her team is finally getting the recognition that they deserve. Duke athletics always has success in multiple sports across the board, and I have truly enjoyed seeing different teams — including softball last season — grow in interest. Duke has some special coaches and athletes, and The Chronicle is the premier source for covering all Blue Devil athletics with our steadily growing team of eager sports reporters.

    Q: How do you think The Chronicle impacts the Duke community, especially related to sports coverage?

    Ranjan: Part of what makes The Chronicle special is our coverage of all 27 sports teams at Duke. We are sometimes the only media members at a lot of the sporting events, but we take pride in our depth and breadth of coverage. I really believe the teams appreciate that we are present at every game, not just the “high-profile” ones. Additionally, we focus on covering student-athletes as a whole, with in-depth features on their lives outside of athletics. The Chronicle helps shed light on important issues facing Duke and collegiate sports, and gives accessible coverage to everyone in the Duke community. We are one of the only papers in the area with a free website to everyone. With coverage from the latest in NIL legislation to keeping track of former Duke athletes, The Chronicle’s sports coverage is top-notch and steadily improving.

    Q: What would you say to potential donors about the impact their contributions have on student journalism at Duke?

    Ranjan: The sports staff has expanded every year I have been a student, and our department is extremely grateful for any help we can get. With our growing staff, donations are that much more crucial because we now have the bandwidth to increase our coverage and live presence at Duke sporting events. I truly believe in this group and have big aspirations for Volume 120; I think it will be our best year yet. We are constantly expanding what we do by diversifying content into multimedia and digging for the stories that go unnoticed by the national media. This newspaper is an integral part of the college experience for so many aspiring journalists, with an extremely positive and welcoming culture. We don’t require previous experience, but rather train writers to find their voice and develop crucial public speaking, reporting and writing skills that will help in any profession. Donors are essential to maintaining our unique access to the Duke community, and I am so thankful for every contribution we receive.

    Q: What drew you to the position of sports editor at The Chronicle?

    Ranjan: I wanted to be sports editor to help make a positive impact on The Chronicle, which has provided me with an amazing community of like-minded journalists and best friends. I love working with writers and passing on everything I have learned from previous editors, whether it be finding their passion in writing or developing confidence in reporting. Our staff has so many important skills outside of just writing, and I think by utilizing everyone’s unique abilities effectively, we can put out some really engaging content.

    I’ve consumed a lot of print and TV journalism over the years, and I have also loved watching and playing sports my entire life. I have a lot of ideas about how we can make our paper the best it can be, and I absolutely love covering Duke sporting events. I am really grateful to have this opportunity, and I am so excited to get the school year started.

    Q: What has been your favorite sports event to cover at Duke, and why?

    Ranjan: There are so many to choose from, so I can’t pick just one. I was able to go to Dallas for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight with sports managing editor Dom Fenoglio, and that was an extremely fun trip. We covered two high-profile games and had a great time with some of our other Duke friends. I also went to Alabama to cover the Birmingham Bowl with fellow football beat reporter Caleb Dudley. The team had a whirlwind of a month with a coaching departure, but they came together — even those who had entered the transfer portal — for one last game. I think it truly built a foundation for this upcoming year and showed the resiliency of Duke football. Finally, the women's basketball team played a preseason exhibition against Team USA that I covered with our Blue Zone editor Martin Heintzelman. Cameron Indoor Stadium was filled with jerseys of Duke, Team USA and different WNBA teams, which was a beautiful encapsulation of women’s basketball’s growing popularity.

    Q: How has working at The Chronicle shaped your career aspirations or future goals?

    Ranjan: Prior to Duke, I was unsure of my career path. The Chronicle has given me direction and a sense of what skills I enjoy. I know I love writing, researching and reporting, and want to pursue a career relating to these skills. I am still pretty politically oriented, so if I do follow a career in journalism, it could be within sports or politics. I also am interested in the political communication and sports administration fields.

    This summer, I interned in Washington D.C. at PolitiFact, a fact-checking organization. If not for my Chronicle experience, I likely would have not explored this steadily growing part of journalism. Searching for the truth is essential in today’s atmosphere, and journalists play an increasingly important role in providing clear information to everyone. I loved the combination of policy research and reporting at PolitiFact, and I will take everything I learned from this extremely rewarding internship to my tenure as sports editor.

  • Scott McCartney was awarded The Chronicle Leadership Award at our April board meeting in recognition of his passion for and service to The Chronicle and the Duke Student Publishing Company.

    DSPC Chair Nina Gordon sums up our sentiments: Scott found his calling at The Chronicle after starting Duke intending to be pre-med. He has been a passionate supporter of The Chronicle and a generous mentor to students seeking careers in journalism. As a result of Scott’s leadership, The Chronicle is well-positioned to continue its mission of supporting journalism at Duke.

    Two other board members also finished their board service at year-end; thank you and much gratitude to Dan Carp and Bre Bradham for their hard work on The Chronicle's behalf. A current list of board members can be found here. 

Seven-Year Financial Trends

Our overall revenue and expenses have stabilized over the last seven years (after seven previous years of steady revenue declines), primarily due to the growth of donor revenue and strong sales efforts. We also developed agency services and wrote, published and sold Coach K: The King of Cameron to help support the bottom line. We’ve held expenses in line with revenue every year since 2009 enabling us to continue break-even operations.

In the coming years, we hope to steady our two primary revenue sources and make plans for whatever is coming next. The Chronicle is completely financially dependent upon our own ability to generate revenue (and control expenses) because of our full independence from Duke – for 30+ years now, we’ve been a separate nonprofit 501(c)(3) and we don’t receive any student fees or subscriptions from Duke. 

2023-2024

2020-2021

2017-2018

Donors

We would like to thank our current donors for making the work of The Chronicle possible.