Yale Daily News

Updated: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 8:38pm

About yaledailynews.com

History

The nation's oldest college daily first began publishing on the Web in February 1995. Since then, yaledailynews.com has undergone numerous changes, with a complete site overhaul taking place almost every year. While the constant change going on at yaledailynews.com can be a source of frustration for editors, managers and programmers alike, that's part of what makes it fun.

The current incarnation of the site was written almost completely by Robert Baskin and Henry Corrigan-Gibbs, with additional work done by Joseph "Max" Cutler and Michael "Mike" Boyce.

The Yale Daily News Online was begun by Sascha Segan '96, managing editor of the Board of 1996, in February, 1995. Chris Grosso '97 and Duncan Levin '97, managing editor and executive editor of the Board of 1997, maintained the site during the 1995-'96 school year. During the tenure of the Managing Board of 1998, the site was maintained and expanded by the first online editors of the Yale Daily News, Shawn Bayern '99 and Akiko Fujikawa '99. Guy Penini '00 and Jackie Eisler '01, online editors on the Board of 2000, and Eric Kennedy '02, the online editor of the Board of 2001, redesigned the site and adapted it from static files to database-driven content. They also established the now-defunct New Haven City Guide.

Leadership

Robert Baskin, online director

Since he was elected Online Development Manager in September 2006, Robert has transformed yaledailynews.com from an aging, externally developed Web site to the world-class student-run operation that it is today. Robert oversees the day-to-day management of yaledailynews.com and is responsible for the implementation of all business, editorial, and technical projects online. Robert has recently focused on enhancing the site's performance and improving its architecture and infrastructure.

Some of Robert's Features

Favorite Feature

  • Headline News - it keeps going and going, even in Internet Explorer!

Henry Corrigan-Gibbs, director of online initiatives

As one of the "founding fathers" of the redesigned yaledailynews.com, Henry Corrigan-Gibbs has been a member of the yaledailynews.com Web team since September 2006. The launch of the redesigned yaledailynews.com was made possible largely by Henry's efforts, and he continues to play a pivotal role in the development of yaledailynews.com.

Some of Henry's Features

Favorite Feature

  • Tag links in articles. Clicking on keywords within article bodies takes to you a page with all content related to that keyword.

Steven Siegel, online editor

Steven Siegel manages the editorial content published on yaledailynews.com. He has worked tirelessly keep the site up to date with current audio and video content. Steven is also responsible for editing all article comments submitted online.

Some of Steven's Features

  • News at Nine: Audio Feature Previews
  • Video Content

Favorite Feature

  • The article tagging system.

Michael Boyce, Web Committee staff

As one of the two freshman Web Committee members, Michael Boyce is just beginning his career with the Yale Daily News. He has focused on database-heavy pages that leverage pre-existing content to generate novel statistical data and new ways to look at content.

Some of Mike's Features

Joseph "Max" Cutler, Web Committee staff

Even in his first month at the Yale Daily News, Max Cutler has had a significant impact on yaledailynews.com. He has done lots of backend PHP work, and is completely responsible for our article commenting system.

Some of Max's Features

  • Article Comments

Technical

The current version of yaledailynews.com was completely redone by Robert Baskin and Henry Corrigan-Gibbs in the fall of 2006. The site is written in PHP using the CakePHP framework. It runs on an Apache Web server, and connects to a MySQL database.

We strive to support all A-Grade browsers (as determined by Yahoo), including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. Our site is CSS-based, and whenever possible, we use semantic HTML and unobtrusive Javascript to allow for the best user experience.

Yaledailynews.com runs on a proprietary content management system written by and for the Yale Daily News, which allows our editors flexibility when inputting content. It is the most stable CMS ever to grace the Internets.

Current and Former Managers of yaledailynews.com

We thank you for your vision and leadership, we just wish you had documented your code better.

  • 1995-1996: Sascha Segan, managing editor
  • 1996-1997: Chris Grosso, managing editor; Duncan Levin, executive editor
  • 1997-1998: Shawn Bayern and Akiko Fujikawa, online editors
  • 1998-1999: Guy Penini and Jackie Eisler, online editors
  • 1999-2000: Eric Kennedy, online editor
  • 2000-2001: David Thompson, director of online business; Rebecca Carlin, online editor
  • 2001-2002: Francis Browne, director of online business
  • 2002-2003: Reshma Champaneria, director of online business
  • 2003-2004: Shelly Lin, director of online business; Michael Wong, technical director
  • 2004-2005: Ajay Kishore
  • 2005-2006: Ajay Kishore; Scott Peachman
  • 2006-2007: Robert Baskin, online development manager; Henry Corrigan-Gibbs, online staff
  • 2007-2008: Robert Baskin, online director; Steven Siegel, online editor; Henry Corrigan-Gibbs, director of online initiatives

Want To Learn More?

Check out our online blog, with updates and technical details about many of our features!

The Yale Daily News Homepage Through the Ages

1999

2000

2003

2006

2007