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Columbia Daily Spectator
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner Independent
Founded 1877
Headquarters New York, New York
Website: www.columbiaspectator.com

Columbia Daily Spectator is the daily newspaper, written by Columbia University undergraduates, servicing the university community and the neighborhood of Morningside Heights. It is published in the Spectator Building at 112th and Broadway in New York, New York. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continually operating college news daily in the nation after The Harvard Crimson, and has been financially independent of the university since 1962. It is printed weekdays during the academic term. In addition to serving as a campus newspaper, the Spec, as it is commonly known, also reports the latest news of the surrounding Morningside Heights community. The paper is delivered each day to over 150 locations throughout the Morningside Heights neighborhood and counts a readership of over 10,000.

Contents

Organization

Spectator's writing departments, each headed by an editor, include campus news, city news, sports, arts and entertainment, and opinion. The other non-writing departments, also headed by their own respective editors, include photography, new media, production, copy, and business. The business department, which oversees the newspaper's advertising and finances, is headed by the publisher.

Spec is currently run by the 132nd managing board. 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. At some point, 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 the writer feels that they 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.

Recent spinoffs

In 2005, 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.

The next year, in February 2006, the paper launched a series of blogs, SpecBlogs. They were the third Ivy League paper to do this, after the Harvard Crimson 's Sports Blog (December 2005) and The Daily Pennsylvanian 's TheBuzz (January 2006). SpecBlogs, however, soon became defunct. Another blogging effort, launched in October 2006 to cover the 2006 midterm elections, proved more successful. The organization has now launched a new blogging domain, with sharp new design and a more focused vision. The Sports and News departments focus their blogging around specific issues, like an athletic team's season or the recent visit of Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] to campus.1

In September 2006, Spectator staff launched The Eye, a weekly magazine featuring investigative pieces and commentary on Columbia and New York City. 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. The magazine is appropriately subtitled "Columbia on the Street".

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: Rebecca Evans
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 Slade Godeski Merton
Sales: Michael Topol
Alumni: Julia Feldberg
Online Editor: Lara Chelak

Recent Editors in Chief

2008, 132nd MB - Tom Faure
2007, 131st MB - John Davisson
2006, 130th MB - Steve Moncada
2005, 129th MB - Megan Greenwell
2004, 128th MB - Nick Summers
2003, 127th MB - Telis Demos
2002, 126th MB - Alice Boone
2001, 125th MB - Michael Mirer
2000, 124th MB - Dan Laidman
1999, 123rd MB - Nathan Hale
1998, 122nd MB - Eli Sanders
1997, 121st MB - Kim Van Duzer
1996, 120th MB - Hans Chen
1995, 119th MB - Peter Freeman
1994, 118th MB - Ruth Halikman
1993, 117th MB - Elizabeth Berke
1992, 116th MB - Kristina Nye
1991, 115th MB - Kirsten Danis
1990, 114th MB - Julie Zuckerman
1989, 113th MB - Josh Gillette
1988, 112th MB - Tracy Connor
1987, 111th MB - Sara Just
1986, 110th MB - Jacqueline Shea Murphy

Recent Publishers

2008, 132nd MB - Manal Alam
2007, 131st MB - John Mascari
2006, 130th MB - John Mascari
2006, 130th MB - Jacob Olson
2005, 129th MB - Chase Behringer
2004, 128th MB - Tanner Zucker
2003, 127th MB - Amit Melwani

Notable Spec Alumni

See also

External links
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