About Us
The Independent Voice of the University of Tennessee at Martin
The Pacer prints approximately three special editions a semester, except for holidays and exam periods, with all other news published on the website and social media. The typical circulation for our print issue is 1,500 to 2,000 issues every issue during the semester. 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.
The first staff as a student publication, who were known as The Checkers at the time.
The first publication as The Checkerboard, only published as a column at the beginning.
The Pacer's, what we are known as today, first issue after the last name change.
The first staff as a student publication, who were known as The Checkers at the time.
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.
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“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 Mass Media and Strategic Communication.
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