Canadian University Press

Canadian University Press is a non-profit co-operative and newswire service owned by more than 50 student newspapers at post-secondary schools in Canada. Founded in 1938, CUP is the oldest student newswire service in the world and the oldest national student organization in North America. Many successful Canadian journalists got their starts in CUP and its member papers. CUP began as a syndication services that facilitated transnational story-sharing. This newswire continued as a private function until 2010 when it was turned into a competitive source for campus news in the form of an online public wire at cupwire.ca.
CUP's head office is in Toronto. Prior to April 1995, the head office was located in Ottawa. In Ottawa, CUP ran a printing company, called Common Printing Group, which was owned jointly with the National Union of Students, which was located in the same building as CUP for several years.
A national conference, which doubles as an annual general meeting, is held once a year in a different city. Each member paper exercises one vote at conferences. The president and national bureau chief are elected at the national conference, or NASH, while the regional CUPboard members are either elected via online referendum, or at regional conferences held in the spring. Each region has an annual event subsidy which can be used to host events within the region, or jointly with other regions. This usually takes the form of regional conferences held in the spring and in the fall. January 2011 will mark CUP's first fully bilingual national conference, in Montreal, hosted in part by the McGill Daily and Le Delit.
The current structure for CUP, of a permanent newswire offered to Canadian University newspapers including the full-time president, was established at CUP 22 in Quebec City in 1959. Prior to this date the service was looser and more oriented towards an exchange of clippings between the papers. One of the delegates at CUP 22 was future Canadian Prime Minister, Joe Clark, representing the University of Alberta paper, The Gateway.
CUP is divided into six regions: WRCUP, PNCUP, ORCUP, CUPbeq, ARCUP, and PUC. Other acronyms for regions include CUPberta, and CCUP. It also has four special issues caucuses to promote diversity, address the under-representation of marginalized groups and encourage discussion of social issues: Colour Caucus; Disabilities Caucus; Queer, Trans and Allies Caucus; and Women's Caucus.
Member papers contribute articles to the CUP wire, which also runs stories authored by CUP staff. There are news, features, opinions, arts, sports, and graphics wires. After stories are edited by the national bureau chief, they are made available on the wire for publication in CUP member papers.
CUP formerly owned a multi-market ad placement agency, Canadian University Press Media Services Limited, which operates as Campus Plus, offering advertisers one-stop access to student newspapers. Campus Plus declared bankruptcy in 2013. Until 2007, CUP was the sole member of the John H. McDonald Journalism Foundation, a charity named after CUP's first president. Though the charity has been folded, it lives on through the yearly John H. McDonald Student Journalism Awards.
In 2005, CUP declared the last full week of every January, Sunday to Saturday, would be observed as National Student Press Week to celebrate the achievements, diversity and freedom of the student press.

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National and regional staff

Now and in recent years, the national bureau chief has also served as CUP's vice-president. In some previous years, the national executive was made up of three or four staff and also included a national features editor or national affairs writer. These staffers held their positions at the conference listed and were elected at the previous conference. In CUP's early days, the titles of president and secretary were awarded at a conference to a newspaper, which would then fill those roles from among staff members.
Currently, the national office staff consists of a single national executive, Jane Lytvynenko, who combines the functions of president and national bureau chief. Until the spring of 2014, the national office staff consisted of the president, who oversaw CUP's finances and administration, and the national bureau chief, who managed its part-time editorial staff and curated the CUP wire service.
Part-time editorial staff consists of six regional bureau chiefs and at least four section editors. CUP also employs a communications manager, translator, two special issues coordinators. In order to organize the national conference each year, CUP hires two conference coordinators and one awards coordinator.

Board of directors

Until the early 2000s, CUP was administered and controlled between national conferences by only the president and other national office staff. While the staff was required to execute the will of members are agreed upon at plenary, many major decisions could be made by the national office on its own. After the Agent Magazine problems, a movement spearheaded by staffers at the Ontarion drafted and approved a motion calling for the creation of a CUP Board of Directors. Approved at NASH 63, the board guarantees every region at least one director. Any region with 20 or more member papers receives an additional director. All directors are elected at the plenary of their spring regional conference.
At NASH 69 in Vancouver, CUP membership voted to add the position of a continuity representative to the board of directors as a voting member. Subsequently, at NASH 70 in Ottawa, this position was made into an ex-officio member of the board of directors. A staff member from the previous year fills the position. It was created as an attempt to stabilize CUP's leadership since it goes through an almost yearly changeover.
Currently, the board of directors consists of six regional directors, along with a national Francophone director, an industry advisor, and the continuity representative.
Subsequent changes have changed the governance landscape on the CUP board of directors. As of NASH78, the board of directors structure has been adjusted to a 12-member board, consisting of the following positions;

Executive Positions	Non-Executive Positions
President & Chair	Atlantic Regional Representative
Vice President	Ontario Regional Representative
HR Officer	Quebec Regional Representative
Communications Officer	Prairie North Regional Representative
Secretary	Western Regional Representative
Treasurer	Continuity Representative

Additional changes voted in by the membership included removing all industry advisors from the board, and removing the president as a paid staff member, instead confirming the president as chair of the board. Relevant bylaw changes are being prepared by the board of directors for NASH79.

Conferences

Every year since its inception, CUP has held a national conference, also known as NASH. The conference moves around the country and serves as the annual general meeting of the organization. It also features a number of training seminars and high-profile keynote speakers. The New Year's Eve parties were sometimes raucous events, as the new year was rung in five times to mark each of the nation's time zones. The extinguishing of a motel fire put a damper on the party at North Bay, Ontario, on the last day of 1983.
NASH has also served as the platform for the John H. McDonald Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism, also known as the Johnnies, since 2003. Inspired by the National Newspaper Awards, the vision of the awards is to "celebrate and reward the excellence that can be found in so many publications at universities and colleges across the country." Any student whose work has been published in a student publication may be nominated for an award. There are currently 21 award categories, which cover different types of reporting, art and photography, design, and a new category for Most Promising Student Journalist.
NASH78 was organized by CUP staff and held in Toronto, Ontario. At that conference, the Brunswickan successfully bid to host the next conference, NASH78, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. NASH79 is scheduled for 4–8 January 2017 with the theme "START UP".
CUP also encourages member papers to host smaller regional conferences each year for the Western, Ontario, Prairie & Northern, Quebec, and Atlantic regions. Regional conferences have recently been held in the Ontario and Atlantic regions as of 2016.
In 2022, The Concordian hosted, online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme for NASH84 was "Evolve," and featured many multimedia and independent journalists to discuss the evolving modern landscape of journalism. The 2022 conference featured over 70 prominent journalists from across North America including Brian Stelter of CNN, Jesse Brown of CANADALAND, Anita Li of The Green Line, Jason Chiu of The New York Times, and many others.

Partnerships

In April 2013, CUP signed a three-year agreement with a new national advertising partner called FREE Media. The marketing group was co-founded as a division of the independent national advertising agency FREE by two CUP alumni, former Gateway business staffers Ashleigh Brown and Vikram Seth.
CUP's previous national advertising representative was Campus Plus which was formed in 1980 and closed in June 2013 after declaring bankruptcy. Campus Plus' bankruptcy trustee MNP took charge of collections in the months that followed and issued payouts to member papers.
CUP is partnered with CWA Canada, a division of Communications Workers of America, a union which "advances the economic interests of its members, improves their standard of living, and strives to guarantee equal job opportunities and human rights." CUP members may join CWA Canada as an associate member in order to join its mentorship program with professional journalists, attend training and networking courses and events, and seek opportunities for internships and freelance work. The CWA representative for CUP also helps members coordinate training opportunities at their publication.
CUP also has partnerships with Journalists for Human Rights, Marketwired, and ScribbleLive.

Financial crisis of 2014

In March 2014, CUP launched a 42-day fundraising campaign on the platform Indiegogo in an attempt to raise $50,000 toward its operating budget after finding itself in a financial crisis. Beginning 1 March, all 12 of CUP's part-time staff members were laid off, and the president and national bureau chief received cuts to their salaries and benefits.
After an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency, CUP was forced to pay $9,000 for incorrect taxes. It was then discovered that the organization was projecting its third deficit in a row, this time for $7,000. With all of its savings now spent, CUP stated that "with no reserves to draw on, it's imperative for the existence of CUP to take action now."
The crisis comes not long after 10 members of CUP left in September 2013, resulting in a 15 per cent drop in total membership, due to complaints over high membership costs. CUP may also see further trouble as a number of those member publications have now formed a service called the National University Wire similar to and rivaling the CUP wire. The most recent CUP national conference in Edmonton, Alta. also attracted fewer than the expected number of delegates and therefore did not generate as much revenue as expected. Additionally, the demise of Campus Plus left CUP with fewer dividends to generate income. With all this having taken place in a relatively short period of time, CUP lost more than $70,000 in three years and ended up in financial and existential crisis with just more than $1,500 in the bank before the fundraising campaign.

CUP Presidents

CUP 86 Andrew Mrozowski
CUP 85 Mélina Nantel
CUP 84 Jacob Dubé
CUP 75 Erin Hudson
CUP 74 Sam Brooks
CUP 73 Erin Cauchi
CUP 72 Rob Fishbook
CUP 71 Rob Fishbook
CUP 70 Amanda McCuaig
CUP 69 Erin Millar
CUP 68 Sean Patrick Sullivan
CUP 67 Chris Dinn
CUP 66 Craig Battle
CUP 65 Anya Spethmann
CUP 64 Don Iveson
CUP 63 Jeremy Nelson
CUP 62 Tariq Hassan-Gordon
CUP 61 Tariq Hassan-Gordon
CUP 60 Jen Horsey
CUP 59 Judy Reid
CUP 58 Joanna Shepherd
CUP 57 David Matthews
CUP 56 Alayne Armstrong
CUP 55 Dawn Mitchell
CUP 54 John Montesano
CUP 53 Francesca Lodico
CUP 52 Deanne Fisher
CUP 51 Lynn Marchildon
CUP 50 Gilbert Dong
CUP 49 Diane Dyson / Donna Mayer
CUP 48 Martha Muzychka
CUP 47 Andre Picard
CUP 46 Gerry Porter
CUP 45 Julie Wheelwright
CUP 44 John Parsons
CUP 43 Michael Balagus
CUP 42 Maureen McEvoy
CUP 41 John Wilson
CUP 40 Susan Johnson
CUP 39 Tom Benjamin
CUP 37 Francis Fuca
CUP 36 Bob Beal
CUP 35 Dorothy Wigmore
CUP 34 Liz Willick
CUP 32 Stewart Saxe
CUP 31 Kevin Peterson
CUP 30 Lib Spry
CUP 29 Don Sellar
CUP 28 James Laxer
CUP 27 John MacFarlane
CUP 26 Sidney Y. Black
CUP 25 Roger McAfee
CUP 24 E.R. Johnson
CUP 23 Doug Parkinson
CUP 22 Doug Parkinson
CUP 21 John Gray
CUP 12 Murray Smith
CUP 9 Jack Ferry
CUP 8 Charles Wasserman
CUP 7 H.A. Richter
CUP 1 John H. McDonald

CUP National Bureau Chiefs and other National Office staff

The national bureau chief also served as CUP's vice-president. In some previous years, the national executive was made up of three or four staff and also included a national features editor or national affairs writer. These staffers held their positions at the conference listed and were elected at the previous conference. In CUP's early days, the titles of president and secretary were awarded at a conference to a newspaper, which would then fill those roles from among staff members.
The NBC position ended in 2014.

CUP 75 Brendan Kergin
CUP 74 Arshy Mann
CUP 73 Danielle Webb
CUP 72 Josh O'Kane
CUP 71 Sheena Goodyear
CUP 70 William Wolfe-Wylie
CUP 69 Bryna Hallam
CUP 68 Dave Weatherall
CUP 67 Stephen Hui
CUP 66 Chris Wilson-Smith
CUP 65 Shawn Jeffords ; Ira Dubinsky and Kelly Nestruck
CUP 64 Dave Leibl
CUP 63 Patti Edgar
CUP 62 Alex Bustos
CUP 61 Craig Saunders ; Idella Sturino
CUP 60 David Alan Barry ; Tracy Frauzel
CUP 59 Stu Clark
CUP 58 Stu Clark
CUP 57 Eugenia Xenos
CUP 56 Doug Saunders ; Miranda Gray
CUP 55 Monique Beaudin
CUP 54 Karen Hill ; Jeff Harrington
CUP 53 Andy Riga ; John Montesano
CUP 52 Chris Lawson
CUP 51 Tu Thanh Ha
CUP 50 Michelle Lalonde
CUP 49 John Gushue, Melinda Wittstock
CUP 48 Peter Kuitenbrouwer, Samantha Brennan
CUP 47 Muriel Draaisma, Danielle Comeau
CUP 46 Glen Sanford, Cathy MacDonald
CUP 45 Jim McElgunn, Rick Janson
CUP 44 Rosemary Oliver
CUP 43 Cathy Smith, Michael McEvoy
CUP 42 Bill Tieleman, Phil Hurcomb
CUP 41 Victor Salus, Alayne McGregor
CUP 40 Larry Black, Sue Vohanka, Ann Silversides, Dave Colburn
CUP 39 Kris Klaasen, Tom Benjamin Dan Keeton, Joan Shields, Pat Daley
CUP 32 George Russell, Ronald Thompson
CUP 31 Elly Alboim, Allen Garr, Bob Parkins
CUP 30 John Lynn, John Dufour
CUP 29 Barry Rust
CUP 27 James Laxer
CUP 25 Denis de Belleval, Frank Mazari
CUP 9 Bob Mungall

CUP Board of Directors

CUP 72 Board

Chair Justin Bell, the Prairies and Northern Region Director
Vice Chair Kerri Breen, the Atlantic Region Director
Treasurer Brendan Kergin, the Western Region Director
Human Resources Rep Frank Appleyard, an Ontario Regional Director
Meghan Lawson, an Ontario Region Director
Ben Ngai, the Quebec Regional Director
Camila Juarez, National Francophone Director
Sheena Goodyear, the Continuity Representative

CUP 71 Board

Chair Ricardo Bortolon, Ricardo Bortolon, the Western Region Director
Vice Chair Matt Skube, the Atlantic Region Director
Treasurer Jared Book, the Quebec Region Director
Human Resources Rep Justin Bell, the Prairies and Northern Region Director
Campus Plus Board Rep Matt Skube, the Atlantic Region Director
Erin Cauchi, an Ontario Region Director
Frank Appleyard, an Ontario Regional Director
Rachelle McDuff, National Francophone Director
Amanda McCuaig, the Continuity Representative Director

CUP 70 Board

Chair Tessa Vanderhart, the Prairies and Northern Region Director
Vice Chair Ricardo Bortolon, the Western Region Director
Treasurer Erin Millar, the Continuity Representative Director
Human Resources Rep Vanessa Larkey, an Ontario Region Director
Campus Plus Board Rep Jason Chiu, an Ontario Region Director
Angie Barrington, the Atlantic Region Director
Tracey Lindeman Jarvis, the Quebec Region Director

CUP 69 Board

Chair Ross Prusakowski the Prairies and Northern Region Director
Vice Chair Tracey Lindeman-Jarvis the Quebec Region Director
Treasurer Fraser McCracken an Ontario Region Director
Human Resources Rep Mark Cluett the Atlantic Region Director
Meaghan McBride the Western Region Director
Vanessa Larkey an Ontario Region Director

CUP 68 Board

Chair Mike Barker an Ontario Region Director,
Vice Chair Ashley Martin the Prairies and Northern Region Director,
Treasurer Erin Millar the Western Region Director,
Human Resources Rep Johnathan Fleming the Atlantic Region Director,
Misha Warbanski the Quebec Region Director and
Adrian Ma an Ontario Region Director.

CUP 67 Board

Chair Anna Sarkissian the Quebec Region Director,
Vice Chair Jen White the Atlantic Region Director,
Treasurer Andrew Krupowicz an Ontario Region Director,
Human Resources Rep Zoe Bake-Paterson the Western Region Director,
Michelle Kuly the Prairies Region Director and
Emma Sadowski an Ontario Region Director.

CUP 66 Board

Chair Dave Shipley the Atlantic Region Director,
Vice Chair Steve Faguy the Quebec Region Director,
Treasurer Tara Lynn Price an Ontario Region Director,
Human Resources Rep Kevin Groves the Western Region Director,
Anya Spethmann an Ontario Region Director and
Joel Trenaman the Prairies Region Director.

CUP 65 Board

Chair Laura Blue the Western Region Director,
Vice Chair Dave "Skip" Zeibin the Prairies Region Director,
Treasurer Tanya Mustachi an Ontario Region Director,
Human Resources Rep Kathe Lemon an Ontario Region Director,
Ben Conoley the Atlantic Region Director and
Sean Currie the Quebec Region Director.

CUP 64 Board

Chair Dan Lazin the Prairies Region Director,
Treasurer Laura Blue the Western Region Director,
Human Resources Rep Dave Darling an Ontario Region Director,
Andrey Caric an Ontario Region Director
Jonathan "Kip" Keen the Atlantic Region Director and
Joshua Cuppage the Quebec Region Director.