Students enrolled in staff classes produce the newspaper, which is managed by working professionals who also serve as professors.

[2][3] Prior to his appointment as dean of the Journalism School, Williams worked at several newspapers in Boonville, served as president of the Missouri Press Association and was eventually offered a position as editor of the Columbia Herald.

The change was originally opposed by Dean Earl English for fear that students would abandon coursework and spend all night working on the newspaper.

The radios had a range of 30 miles (48 km) and enabled students to learn of new assignments without returning to the newsroom, and they were used heavily in field reporting.

The new headquarters was funded by approximately $5 million in gifts from former Missouri journalism student Lee Hills, who served as the first president of the Knight Ridder news service.