In the mid 60's, the University of Puget Sound press office was scrambling on several fronts. The office seeked to differentiate the school from local community colleges and keep up with the neighbors at Pacific Lutheran University, tasks that were essential to the education product the University was attempting to sell. The press office was also scrambling to adjust its approach to a changing news environment. Recent changes at the Tacoma News Tribune had made it difficult to publish soft news—banal announcements of new hires or stories on happy students—so the press turned its focus to hard news.

A memorandum from August, 1965 describes the University press office’s response to the changing news environment [A&SC 16].

In order to get published, news stories had to mention problems or contain an element of conflict. Despite the grittier issues at the heart of these hard news stories, they could be exploited, however, to shed positive light on the University by emphasizing “how we (heroes) are solving them.” The Now Mr. Lincoln project certainly fits into this mold [A&SC 16].

Perhaps the Now Mr. Lincoln project grew out of a desire to differentiate the school from its competitors by scoring newsprint through dramatic, problem-centered rhetoric that casts the University of Puget Sound as a progressive, savior force.