It is Carolina-Duke week in the Triangle, as the Tar Heel and Blue Devil men’s basketball programs are gearing up for their first matchup of the 2023-24 season on Saturday night. While the teams’ fanbases prepare for the game, they are also being asked by the two universities’ student newspapers to help add to another friendly rivalry.
The Daily Tar Heel and Duke Chronicle have returned with another year of their Rivalry Challenge: a fundraising effort where the two papers compete to earn more money than the other. The Daily Tar Heel’s Sports Editor Shelby Swanson and head of the Duke Chronicle’s sports desk Andrew Long joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to share details about the challenge and the importance of the fundraiser to their organizations.
Below is a transcript of that conversation, which aired on Tuesday, January 30 and has been lightly edited for clarity. The full interview can be listened to here.
Shelby Swanson (center) and Andrew Long (right) stopped by 97.9 The Hill to speak with Aaron Keck.
Keck: For folks who don’t know, lay it out for us. What is the Rivalry Challenge, what does it entail?
Swanson: The Rivalry Challenge really is how we keep both papers alive and keep our student journalists on the sidelines. Um, it’s important to note that both the Daily Tarheel and the Duke Chronicle are not affiliated with their respective universities. Both are independent, which is really great for, um, you know, the news coverage and having more autonomy over that. And not to worry about censorship, but it’s not great in terms of the funding. We really, um, rely a lot on donations. So, um, this kicked off a few years ago and we thought why not? Um, you know, harness the power of pate. Our motto is Hate Great Together. It’s a fun competition, that’s the way that we like to frame that. Friendly rivalry, friendly competition and we’re trying to raise more money than the other university’s student paper.
Long: It really just like, provides a great… I don’t wanna say “excuse” because that feels like a negative word, but everybody loves Duke-UNC, right?
Swanson: Well, I just said “harness the power of hate.” So, yeah. [laughs]
Long: Everybody loves to hate, but it’s one of those games that people care about, even if you don’t have a dog in the fight. You could be a random fan in Chicago or L.A. or Seattle or wherever, and chances are you’re still going watch it. And so it gives a really good reason for people locally involved with the game — who have talked to players, talked to coaches, talked to fans — to hate great together. There’s some additional components we’ve added [within our staffs], like we play each other in basketball every year. The fundraising… I don’t wanna make it a competition, but it technically is and we wanna win. The link to donate to the DTH is startthepresses.org. For us, just go to our website, dukechronicle.com. There’ll be this big banner on the top of the page that you can click and it’ll take you where you need to go.
Keck: Do you know who’s got the edge in past years? Like, who has won and how much money have you raised together?
Long: I don’t know the exact number, but The Chronicle is currently on a three year win streak, I believe. So, hoping to make that four.
Swanson: I will say, though, DTH does tend to have the more grassroots effort in terms of [having] more donors. That’s something that we are super grateful for, but of course we are trying to come back and win this year. I will note that the really great thing about this challenge is the side that loses still wins because you’re still drumming up a lot of excitement. And the donations still count even if you don’t end up winning. Our goal this year is to raise $100,000 and we do want to win. So if you’re listening and you want to support the DTH in our comeback efforts, please consider making that donation to our side.
Keck: How important is this fundraiser just for the operations of the papers year-round?
Long: Super important. I don’t know what it’s like on the DTH side, but we have the privilege where we send writers to travel to men’s basketball games, to football games, to most women’s basketball games as well. Those are pretty special opportunities for aspiring sports journalists who want to get their feet wet in the industry [and] meet other people. I know I’ve gotten to go some really cool places. Shelby, I know you’ve gotten to go some really cool places as well. It’s the fundraising and the funding that lets us continue to do that and really just start to provide that foundation for those people, like myself, who maybe went into college and didn’t have any journalistic inclinations at all, and then were given the opportunity to find them.
Swanson: I think it’s also important to note that while this does keep student journalists on the sidelines, it also does just generally support both papers’ reporting. That investigative reporting holding either university in check? That is also funded by this rivalry challenge. So, it’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for both papers and it supports the entire newsroom. Not only does it provide us with opportunities to, for example, go to New Orleans two years ago and see that historic Final Four matchup. Remind me who won that one?
Long: Again, we both know who won that one…
Swanson: But more importantly, it goes toward funding that reporting on the campus community for us [and] the Orange County community that you really can’t get anywhere else.
Long: Yeah. Same deal in Durham, right? This is not a donation that goes specifically to the sports desk. It goes to the paper.
UNC’s Caleb Love shoots over Duke’s Mark Williams for a clutch three-pointer during the 2022 NCAA Men’s Semi-final, which UNC won 81-77. (Photo via Todd Melet/WCHL & Chapelboro.)
Keck: And we’ve got to talk about the importance of the papers — not just on campus, but beyond campus. The DTH is amazing in terms of its news coverage of what’s happening on campus and in the broader community. And the same is true of the Duke Chronicle in Durham. You are just vital in terms of the local news ecosystem. That’s important to say too!
Swanson: I appreciate it — and, obviously, there’s been a lot that’s gone down on both campuses. We can specifically think… you know, not to bring the mood down a little bit, but some of the things that took place at the beginning of last semester at UNC. Tragedy on campus. We were able to dedicate a lot of time and resources to the reporting on that. And also making sure that [for] the student journalists when they’re pulling these all-nighters trying to figure out what’s going on on campus, [they] are getting fed, getting the appropriate bonuses for putting in that overtime work.
Long: Same deal at Duke as well. I think it’s also interesting because Duke’s a private university, [there are] a lot of the things that it might not want people to know, it’s kind of hard to get at sometimes. Supporting that independent reporting and that independent journalism is super crucial. Duke’s kind of in this state of flux right now. There have been a lot of changes to the housing structure. There have been some disputes in legal cases surrounding its admissions. There’s a program it instituted — I want to say either this year or last year — where it gives full ride [scholarships] to kids from North and South Carolina under a certain income bracket. There’s just a lot going on in and around Duke, and that obviously involves Durham and that history as well. That journalism is super important, especially when there’s not really a pronounced local paper presence like there used to be.
Keck: Speaking with Andrew Long at the Duke Chronicle, Shelby Swanson also here with the Daily Tar Heel, and we’re talking about the Rivalry Challenge, which is going on right now leading up to the Carolina-Duke game this Saturday. And you are going to be putting out a rivalry paper as well, right?
Swanson: Yes, that is important to mention! It’s a 32-page effort between both papers and that will be hitting the news stands on UNC’s campus and on Duke’s campus this Friday. So, [we’re] putting in a ton of effort to that right now. It looks pretty nice! We had a Zoom recently just to look at some of our designs and I’m really excited about that. The reporting and the stories that are going in there… it’s just a really fun, collaborative effort. And it’s fun to pick each other’s brains, kind of learn how both sports desks operate and come together to create something really beautiful before our respective men’s basketball teams tear each other apart on the court.
Long: It’s a really fun edition. It really is kind of an art project in newspaper form. The Duke Chronicle side will be on one, and then the DTH side will be on the other… They’re kind of upside down and they meet in the middle, and you can kind of flip it around and read the rest of it. A lot of work goes into it. I know our staff is super excited about all the stuff we’re putting together. I know the DTH staff is super excited about all the stuff they’re putting together. So, those will be out on both campuses Friday… just pick one up! You don’t need to put a coin in a slot [to pay] or anything.
Swanson: And, you know, if you want to be the smartest one out of your friends at the watch party, then I really recommend picking one up. We’ve got so much analysis and then really fun features on both sides, just to learn a little bit more about the players and who they are off the court.
Long: Exactly. I won’t be at the Dean Dome, but we will be sending writers to the Dean Dome. Make sure to keep track with all of the actual content on game day itself. First matchup [of the season], I think this is the first time in a while both teams have been ranked going into the matchup. I mean… these games always give fireworks, but it feels like this year more than other ones might produce.
Keck: Anything else that folks ought to know about the rivalry challenge, how people can get involved, anything like that?
Swanson: I think just, again, if you want to donate: go to either respective website, the Daily Tar Heel or the Duke Chronicle… both websites should have big banners as soon as you hop on there. Not only can you go ahead and donate, but [we] really are encouraging people to share within their network of friends. I know everybody has their little basketball-talk group chats where they like to catch up with their friends who are also UNC or Duke fans. Share it in there! And also, you can stay tuned because we’re going to have some bars [on our websites] to keep track of the funds coming in so you can check and see who’s ahead at the time.
Long: And look, if the layoffs at the LA Times [or] other things that have been happening in the media industry are any indication… it’s an industry that’s struggling right now. Preserving that student journalism is really important — not only to the universities, but also to the communities they serve. So, yeah, any help is much appreciated.
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