Gustavus is home to a myriad of organizations that allow and encourage students to pursue personal and professional interests. A fairly recent addition to the community includes the online satirical news publication, the Fourth Crown.

Co-founded by Gustie alums Sam Panzer, Nate Long, and Justin Feit in 2014, the Fourth Crown was officially welcomed to campus the following year.

“We’re basically a local version of the Onion that pokes fun at things on campus, while trying to promote conversation and critical thinking within our community. We also will just write some stupid stuff that we find funny for no reason,” Senior Evan Jones said.

“We’re basically a local version of the Onion that pokes fun at things on campus, while trying to promote conversation and critical thinking within our community. We also will just write some stupid stuff that we find funny for no reason.” – Evan Jones ‘17

The Fourth Crown balances sarcasm with social awareness, providing students with a challenging, but humorous outlook on different campus and national issues.

“I think in many regards we do an excellent job of offering a social critique or critical analysis of events on campus. The fact that we can layer this analysis in humor makes for powerful arguments or assertions,” Junior Megan Johnson said.

It is the publication’s hope that students, faculty, and staff alike are able to gain insight and entertainment through a common news source.

“I like to think that the Fourth Crown serves as a rational voice on campus, despite communicating in an irrational manner. Satire is such a great form of criticism because people our age really understand and enjoy it. Beyond that, a lot of faculty get it too. It serves as a nice middle ground for the majority of individuals on campus. If not that, then it at least serves as entertainment for people in between classes,” Jones said.

“You learn from reading and watching the other writers, which I think is both intimidating and beneficial.” – Megan Johnson ‘18

Entirely student run, members create headlines, write articles, peer edit, and publish all stories to the publication’s website in addition to balancing classwork and other responsibilities.

“The Fourth Crown provides an interesting take on campus happenings, and gives tangibility to some of the goofy campus jokes,” Junior Ian McKeag said.

Readers often inquire about the writing process and how articles are created. Headlines range in topic, length, and seriousness and are chosen based on relevance and timing.

“The Fourth Crown provides an interesting take on campus happenings, and gives tangibility to some of the goofy campus jokes.” – Ian McKeag ‘17

In any given week, students can expect to see anything from political happenings to the campus cat’s recent nefarious activities.

Many readers often question the writers themselves. Writers are selected based on their formal application, wit, and just a bit of cynicism. Although there is no formal training process, new writers learn from their peers’ strengths and writing styles.

“You learn from reading and watching the other writers, which I think is both intimidating and beneficial,” Johnson said.

The Fourth Crown is also known for its article anonymity and a question on many readers’ minds has been the reason behind the lack of bylines.

“The no byline deal removes a lot of the ego from publishing articles for the whole campus, but more importantly it creates an atmosphere of solidarity,” Jones said.

The Fourth Crown attracts potential writers a multitude reasons, including the allowance of an innovative channel.

“The bragging rights are limitless. Yet, on a more serious note – I think everyone needs a creative outlet. For some people, that outlet is dance or music. As I am rhythm impaired and apparently not great at dancing, the Fourth Crown seemed like a necessary compliment to my already existing life. There are few places on campus where one can create stories to truly test the limit of satire,” Johnson said.

Fame aside, the Fourth Crown also serves to build community.

“Outside of the great friends that I have made during my time with the Fourth Crown, I love that it serves as mouth piece for our writers and that people on campus usually react positively to our work,” Jones said.

Satire aims to prick people’s consciences and challenge the powerful. With it’s quick wit and light criticism, the Fourth Crown does this and more.

#MakeYourNewsCount