The Fine Print, a progressive magazine designed for UF students, was deemed Best New Publication of the Year by Campus Progress Wednesday at a conference in Washington, D.C.
Speakers included former president Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, "The Daily Show" writer and correspondent John Oliver and White House green jobs adviser Van Jones.
"This award is just complete validation for what we've been doing," said Jessica Newman, co-editor of the magazine and UF journalism senior. "It's quite a shock. It's been really inspirational."
Along with co-editor Lydia Fiser, Newman decided to start The Fine Print to use as a sounding board for students to express their thoughts and "build a unified force," she said.
The magazine covers politics, art, music and topics relevant to UF and the Gainesville community, Newman said.
"They always struggled to connect the two spheres," she said, referring to the magazines goals to connect the Gainesville and UF communities. "Gainesville has so much to offer."
Newman and the staff received a $3,000 grant from Campus Progress to start the magazine and have applied for another grant this year, she said.
But even with the $3,000, The Fine Print relies on advertising, donations and their own pockets to produce the magazine, Newman said, which costs about $1,000 a month to produce.
The Fine Print also sponsors "The Lighter Notes," a radio show on WGOT-LP 94.7, Fiser said.
Newman and Fiser learned much of their magazine business skills by trial and error, said Newman.
They began working on the magazine last summer, and the first issue came out in September, she said.
"It's getting easier," Newman said. "But we really built something out of nothing."
She said the hardest part of running the monthly magazine, which has a circulation of about 7,000 issues, was after the first issue came out.
Newman and her staff spent the summer of 2008 planning the first issue, including editing each story three or four times, looking for advertisers and planning fundraisers, she said.
"(We turned around) and realized the next issue had to be out in three weeks," she said. "We didn't realize it was such a short time. It's a lot of work."
The editors and staff are all UF student volunteers, Newman added.
"It's hard when you've got finals and things to study for," she said.
Fiser and Newman spend between 10 and 15 hours a week working on the magazine in addition to part-time jobs and classes, Fiser said.
Newman said the magazine, which only runs in the fall and spring semesters, will try to focus more on the Gainesville community over the next year, and they will also look for new people to join the staff.
Both Fiser and Newman will be graduating in May, and they said they hope to find someone to fill their places when they leave.
"(This award) makes us see this is something we should keep doing," Newman said.
Newman said her positive attitude came from advice she received when interviewing Democray Now! host Amy Goodman for The Fine Print.
"She said, 'Just do it,'" Newman said. "No excuses, just do it."
The Fine Print was one of about 10 other new publications started in the United States with the help of Campus Progress, a branch of the Center for American Progress.
Campus Progress Publications Associate David Spett, who chose The Fine Print for the award, said he considers them one of the best publications overall.
"Given they just started in the fall, it's very impressive," Spett said. "They know something about work."
