Columbia Daily Spectator
The Columbia Daily Spectator is the daily newspaper of the university community and Morningside Heights. It is written by undergraduate students, who operate out of the Spectator Building at 112th Street and Broadway. The paper is simply referred to as "the Spec." The paper is printed in broadsheet format every weekday during the academic term. It is delivered to over 150 locations throughout Morningside Heights and is read by over 10,000 people.
Contents
History
Spec was founded in 1877 and is the second-oldest continually operating college news daily in the nation, after The Harvard Crimson. It has been financially independent of the university since 1962.
Turn to broadsheet
Previously printed in tabloid format, in September 2004 the Spec started printing in broadsheet form. The editors at the time somehow thought they deserved to "move up" in the newspaper world, taking their place next to slightly more distinguished papers like the New York Times. This move was distinctly against the grain; a large and increasing number of newspapers around the world are moving or have already moved to tabloid format, which is more popular especially with readers in cities.
Some students at Columbia agree that broadsheet newspapers are inconvenient and would like to see Spec return to tabloid format. Other students believe that broadsheet format adds a dab of prestige to the Spec brand and allows it to stand up to its Ivy League peers.
Recent spinoffs
La Página
In 2005, the Spec started printing La Página, a weekly flyer in Spanish with translations of some of the week's English content most relevant to neighborhood readers.
Blogs
In February 2006, the paper launched a series of blogs, aptly named SpecBlogs. These blogs soon became defunct. Another blogging effort, launched in October 2006 to cover the 2006 midterm elections, proved more successful. In December of 2007, they launched yet another blog, this time specific to the Opinion page, called "The Steps".
Spec's blogs have frequently been mocked by The Bwog as the "Splogs".
The Eye
In September 2006, Spectator staff launched The Eye, a weekly magazine featuring investigative pieces and commentary on Columbia and NYC. The goal of starting The Eye was to provide a platform much of the feature writing that Speccies did for The Blue and White in addition to topics that had no previous coverage. The name of The Eye relates both to the fact that one "spectates" with it and urban theorist Jane Jacobs' notion that "eyes on the street" help keep neighborhoods safe.
Organization
The Spec is currently run by the 132nd managing board.
Writing and non-writing departments are each headed by an editor, and are overseen by the editor-in-chief. Writing departments include campus news, city news, sports, arts and entertainment, and opinion. Non-writing departments include photography, new media, production, copy, and business. The business department is headed by the publisher, and it has several sub-departments, each headed by a director.
First-time writers at Columbia begin their time at the paper with a 1- to 2-month trial period, during which they learn the basics of writing an article and publish their first articles. When their department editor sees fit, they become staff writers. Each November and December, students run for positions at the paper, a grueling process that takes nearly a month. They begin by "shadowing," or sitting with the current editors or associate editors and learning the editing process. Next they write proposals for their desired position. The students then take an editing test made up by their department editor that tests them on the fundamentals of editing. Finally, they go through the "Turkey Shoot," an interview in which the current managing board grills the applicant on why he feels he would be a good fit for the position. The results of the application process, including the new managing board are announced in mid-December, the weekend before finals.
Current Management
Editor in Chief: Tom Faure
Publisher: Manal Alam
Managing Editor: Amanda Sebba
Eye EIC: Alexandria Symonds
Eye Managing Editor Features: Hayley Negrin
Eye Managing Editor A&E: Alison Bumke
Opinion: Miriam Krule
Campus News: Jacob Schneider
City News: Melissa Repko
Sports: Kavitha Davidson and Matt Velazquez
Arts & Entertainment: Elizabeth Simins
Copy Editor: Jordan Fraade
Photo Editor: Linda Carrion
Production Editors: Haley Vecchiarelli and Madeleine Lopeman
Finance: Darrow Merton
Sales: Michael Topol
Alumni: Julia Feldberg
Online Editor: Lara Chelak
See also
External links
- Columbia Spectator website
- The Eye weekly magazine
