History
Founded in 1928 as The Checkerboard, The Pacer is the student-run newspaper at the University of Tennessee at Martin. After beginning as The Checkerboard, the newspaper became The Volette and remained that way until October of 1971, where it became The Pacer, named after the then-nickname for UTM athletics, the Pacers. Even after UTM changed its nickname to the Skyhawks, the newspaper kept its name.
“By an overwhelming margin, the staff voted to retain the Pacer moniker for two reasons. First, The Pacer reflects an ever-evolving, pace-setting entity, and we believed the newspaper should continue to represent such on campus. Second, the staff believed that retaining the name would make it clear that the newspaper does not necessarily follow the recommendations of consultants,” said Dr. Robert Nanney, former Pacer advisor and current chair of the Department of Communications.
Publication
The Office of Student Publications at UTM publishes The Pacer every other Wednesday throughout the semester except for holidays and exam periods. The typical circulation for our print issue is 1,500 to 2,000 issues. We also publish articles daily on our website. Our newspaper is distributed free on the UTM campus and at many local advertisers’ place of business. We have 11 bins stationed around campus in high-traffic areas.
Submission Guidelines
Story ideas, news tips, or Letters to the Editor may be emailed to thepacer@ut.utm.edu or presented at our weekly staff meetings, held at 5:15 p.m. every Tuesday during the semester in Gooch Hall room 313. The Pacer welcomes comments, criticisms or ideas that its readership may have. Letters to the Editor should be a minimum of 300 words. Letters must contain the name and major or professional title of the author, as well as contact information. Submissions may be edited for grammar, spelling and brevity.
