The Commonwealth Times, or The CT, was founded in September 1969. In the last five-plus decades, the student-run newspaper has changed sizes, printing frequencies, departments on campus and physical locations, but its mission has remained the same — to provide coverage of the VCU campus and Richmond to students, faculty, staff, alumni and citizens of greater RVA, all from a student viewpoint. The CT has earned numerous accolades over the years, including 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 national Newspaper Pacemaker Awards. Alumni from The CT have gone on to intern and work in all facets of local media in
Richmond and nationally in places like NPR, CNN, Axios and the Associated Press. The CT is a full-color newspaper, printed every week on Wednesdays, distributed on and around campus and updated regularly online at commonwealthtimes.org.
RECENT ACCOLADES
“As confrontations between demonstrators and Richmond police continue, the Commonwealth Times — Virginia Commonwealth University’s student-led newspaper — has become one of the most trusted media outlets in the city.” - Virginia Public Media
Virginia Press Association • First place awards for news, sports and opinion writing, page design and photography Associated Collegiate Press • First place, Sports photography Society of Professional Journalists • National winner for sports column writing Green Eyeshade Reporting Awards • First place, Breaking news photography
Wednesday, March. 25, 2026 @commonwealthtimes @theCT1
VOL. 72, NO. 9 MARCH 25, 2026
VCU MAKES HISTORY THE INDEPENDENT PRESS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
SPORTS
MEN’S BASKETBALL SETS UP FOR SUCCESS AFTER MARCH MADNESS DREW THOMPSON Sports Editor VCU men’s basketball positioned itself firmly in the national spotlight last week, upsetting No. 6 University of North Carolina 82-78 after being down 19 in the second half to complete the largest first round comeback in NCAA tournament history. Though the Rams would later lose
COMMONWEALTHTIMES.ORG
2025 ACP NEWSPAPER PACEMAKER WINNER
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The Commonwealth Times Circulation Print issues weekly 1,500 print copies Daily online content
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If you are interested in purchasing ad space, or something we are not currently offering, please contact AdvertiseSMC@vcu.edu.
Advertising Sizing and Pricing VCU Departments 50% Off VCU Student Orgs. 75% Off
Full-Page; $900/$450/$225 Full-Page (back); $1,200/$600/300
Half-Page; $495/$248/$124
Quarter-Page Vertical; $247/$124/$62
10” x 16”
10” x 7.9”
4.9” x 7.9” Puzzle Page 15% discount for $247/$124/$62 four puzzle pages.
Double-Truck; $1,500/$750/$375
S BELVIDERE ST
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY James Branch Cabell Library
University Student Commons
Text RAMS to 313131 and enter to win a 13” MacBook Pro!
Walk or bike to class at Virgina Commonwealth University Fully furnished apartments Amenities for a fit and healthy lifestyle
Academically oriented environment All utilities included Individual liability leases Roommate matching available
Learn more at AmericanCampus.com/Richmond
Deadline is 7/31/20. Amenities, utilities included and prize are subject to change. Electricity included up to a monthly allowance. See office for details.
21” x 16”
Puzzles appear on the back page (or inside back page depending on current ads) of The CT in every issue.
CLICK ... CLICK ... CLICK Advertise online with The Commonwealth Times! Website Advertising commonwealthtimes.org Weekly Homepage Banner
1500 x 185px
7,000 average unique vistors per week Off-campus advertisers
$259/week
VCU advertisers
$100/week
15% discount for 4+ weeks
Email Newsletter Banner 2000 x 500 px Mondays and Wednesdays Subscribers: 2,500 Off-Campus advertisers
$259/week
VCU advertisers
$100/week
15% discount for 4+ weeks
TERMS AND CONDITIONS INVOICING AND PAYMENT
Payment is appreciated and accepted in advance, and advertising invoices will be sent within a week of booking. Payment is due 30 days from the date publication and can be paid via credit card online. You will receive a secure payment link with your invoice. Alternative payment methods are available upon request.
FORMAT FOR ADS
Please provide an at-size 300dpi file in CMYK format, preferably as a PDF. Ad sizes are exact and provided in this media kit. For print products, incorrectly sized artwork will be shrunk to fit the dimensions and floated in the center of the space purchased. For online advertising please refer to the rate sheet for dimensions. Ads should be .jpg, .png or animated .gif format. Please include a clickthrough link with your art. Please send files to advertisesmc@vcu.edu.
EDITORIAL CANCELLATION OR REFUSAL
are illegal in the State of Virginia or City of Richmond will also be rejected. Student editors alone reserve the right to cancel or decline any advertising. If an advertisement is declined or canceled, any material and payment will be returned to the client.
PLACEMENTS
Unless agreed upon signing, advertising placements will be determined by page designers based on space available. Certain placements are sold at premium rates. Other premium placements will be determined per publication demands and pricing will be published with rates for those publications. Other guaranteed inside page placements may be negotiated. Advertisers with premium placements in those publications may have the opportunity for first rightof-refusal for their previous spaces at the discretion of the student editors and within certain time limits announced in the release of those rates.
The VCU Student Media Center will not accept unethical, misleading or offensive advertising, or advertising that discriminates on the basis of sex, age, gender, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation or physical disability. Advertisements for products, services or promotions that
PENALTIES AND FEES
The Student Media Center serves the VCU community — students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni — with news, information and entertainment. With eight student-led media organizations, and more than 1,900 student volunteers a year, SMC publications earn national recognition for quality and provide unique, hands-on learning experiences in print, on air and online.
SMC Professional Staff
A 10% late fee may be added if payment is not received within 60 days of publication. If payment is still not received after 90 days, the account may be sent to collections and may incur an additional 30% administrative fee.
Jessica Clary; Director of Student Media Mark Jeffries; Assistant Director for Creative Media Contact P.O. Box 842010 Richmond, VA 23284 (804) 828-1058 Website: studentmedia.vcu.edu Advertising: AdvertiseSMC@vcu.edu Instagram: @vcustudentmedia