The Cornell Daily Sun

What The Cornell Daily Sun does

The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent, student-run daily newspaper founded in 1880 and operated continuously by Cornell University students for over 145 years. It publishes news, opinion, sports, arts & culture, science, lifestyle, and multimedia content across a website (cornellsun.com) updated daily, a print edition issued twice weekly, native iOS and Android applications, an RSS feed, and active social media channels including Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Its technology stack centers on the SNworks publishing platform (Solutions by The State News) for content management and digital delivery, with no proprietary AI or advanced technology layer disclosed. The publication is governed by an alumni Senior Board of Directors (including Brad Edmondson '81 as President) alongside a student editorial board currently in its 144th iteration under Editor-in-Chief Sophia Dasser '28 and Managing Editor Varsha Bhargava '27, with formal Director-level positions overseeing Business & Operations, Revenue & Partnerships, Human Resources, and Marketing. Revenue is generated from three streams — advertising in print and digital editions, subscriber fees for print and digital access, and alumni donations — making it functionally a nonprofit-supported community newspaper rather than a venture-backed media business. The customer base is essentially the Cornell University community (students, faculty, staff, alumni) plus the wider Ithaca/Tompkins County readership, with no disclosed geographic expansion or enterprise customer relationships.

Name

The Cornell Daily Sun

Legal name

The Cornell Daily Sun

Website

https://cornellsun.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1880

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent, student-run daily newspaper founded in 1880 that publishes Cornell University campus news, opinion, sports, arts, and multimedia content via website, print, mobile apps, and social channels for the Cornell and Ithaca community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

College Newspaper / Student News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• College newspaper publishing
• Student journalism media
• Campus news outlet
• Independent daily press
• University news service

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Revenue generated from advertisers purchasing space in the print and digital editions of the newspaper.
2. Subscriber Fees: Revenue earned from subscriber fees for print and digital access to content.
3. Alumni Donations: The Sun relies on alumni donations to support operations and remain independent.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent, student-run daily newspaper serving the Cornell University community and broader Ithaca, NY readership. It publishes original news, opinion, sports, arts, and lifestyle content on a daily online cadence and in a twice-weekly print edition, with revenue generated from advertising sales, reader subscriptions, and alumni donations.

Product overview

The Cornell Daily Sun is a single-product independent college newspaper platform offering news content through its primary website, mobile applications (iOS and Android), and RSS feed syndication. The product portfolio consists of the core news website publishing platform and companion mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, with content syndicated via RSS feeds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Cornell Daily Sun Website
• The Cornell Daily Sun Print Edition
• iOS Mobile Application
• Android Mobile Application
• RSS Feeds
• Email Newsletters

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SNworks (Solutions by The State News)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Cornell Daily Sun uses SNworks publishing platform for its website content management and digital publishing operations. SNworks provides the technical infrastructure powering the newspaper's online presence.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Harvard Crimson: The Harvard Crimson is America's oldest continuously published college newspaper (founded 1873), serving Harvard University in print and digital. It is the closest analog to The Cornell Daily Sun in both student-run, daily-newsprint model and elite-university audience.
• The Daily Princetonian: The Daily Princetonian is a student-run daily newspaper serving Princeton University in print and digital. It competes in the same category as The Cornell Daily Sun: a daily, editorially independent Ivy League college paper.
• The Yale Daily News: The Yale Daily News is the oldest college daily newspaper in the U.S. (founded 1878) and publishes daily in print and online for the Yale community. Like The Cornell Daily Sun, it is a student-run, financially independent college paper with similar revenue model.
• The Stanford Daily: The Stanford Daily is a student-run, financially independent newspaper serving Stanford University across web, mobile and print. It mirrors The Sun's community-led GTM, multi-channel distribution, and advertising-plus-donation revenue mix.
• The Daily Pennsylvanian: The Daily Pennsylvanian is the independent, student-run daily newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania, publishing online and in print for the Penn community. Closely comparable to The Cornell Daily Sun in audience, model, and Ivy-tier positioning.
• Columbia Spectator: Columbia Spectator is a financially independent, student-run newspaper serving Columbia University, publishing online and in a weekly print magazine. Directly comparable to The Cornell Daily Sun as an Ivy League, student-led publication.
• The Brown Daily Herald: The Brown Daily Herald is the independent, student-run daily newspaper of Brown University, publishing online multiple times per day with periodic print issues. Same audience profile and operational model as The Cornell Daily Sun.
• The Michigan Daily: The Michigan Daily is a student-run, financially independent daily serving the University of Michigan community across web, mobile and print. Comparable in audience size and student-run daily newspaper model.
• The Daily Northwestern: The Daily Northwestern is the independent, student-run daily newspaper of Northwestern University, publishing online and in print. Highly comparable to The Cornell Daily Sun in editorial independence and revenue mix.
• The Daily Californian: The Daily Californian is the independent, student-run newspaper serving UC Berkeley in print and digital. Comparable to The Cornell Daily Sun as a large-research-university, student-led, editorially independent college daily.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cornellsun
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CornellSunVideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/cornellsun
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornellsun
• TikToktiktok.com/@cornellsun
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/265556

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Cornell Daily Sun