The Brown and White is first and foremost a student publication. While journalism majors tend to occupy most of the leadership positions, any undergraduate student is eligible to apply for the staff, which averages more than 150 members each semester.
A faculty adviser provides technical support, teaches basic newswriting skills to non-majors, and helps ensure continuity from semester to semester, but does not play a role in editorial decisions. The newspaper's articles are assigned, written and edited by students. Its editorial policy is set by a board comprised of students, without interference from faculty or administration.
The newspaper was founded in 1894, and has been published twice each week ever since then. A searchable digital archive of the print edition is available through the university's libraries. In the mid-1990s, a web-based version of the newspaper was started. As with the print edition, the web version is reported and maintained by students while the university is in session.
Two of the student newspaper's writers have gone on to win Pulitzer Prizes: Joe Morganstern, '53, film critic with the Wall Street Journal, and Marty Baron, '76, editor (ret.) of the Washington Post.