Concept
The Chart is the student newspaper of Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. The paper was founded in 1939 by Kenneth McCaleb, a student at what was then Joplin Junior College. The newspaper is printed weekly during the fall and spring semesters, for a total of 24 issues a year, and is written, edited and graphically designed by Missouri Southern students. The newspaper falls under the university's department of communications and offers credit hours, along with hands-on experience, to students on its staff. Though owned by and receiving partial operations funding from Missouri Southern, The Chart's editorial content is selected, written and edited entirely by student staff. A majority of the students who serve on The Chart staff are communications majors, though the staff is open to students of all majors if they fulfill a set of prerequisites as prescribed by the newspaper's adviser. Students majoring in English, history, art, business and various other fields have all served in various capacities on The Chart. The positions a student might have the opportunity to hold on the staff include editor, staff writer, copyeditor, graphic designer, cartoonist, advertising staff and photographer. Editors, writers and photographers write and produce the 12- to 14-page broadsheet newspaper. The newsroom contains some of the area’s most up-to-date hardware and software to help prepare students for the professional arena. Students can advance quickly through the ranks of The Chart. Editors qualify for performing aid awards (scholarships) and student help funding as well as other scholarships designed to encourage students to pursue careers in print journalism. The Chart primarily focuses on campus news, sports, events, people and issues, but coverage also branches out to community, state, national and international stories. Until 2011, The Chart stationed a student editor at the Missouri State Capitol each spring during the General Assembly.