Columbia Spectator: Online Connection

The 2008 Blue Pencil Dinner was a rousing success, with a record number on hand to witness the http://www.washingtonpost.com’s executive editor, Len Downie, speak about accountability journalism in the Internet age. Downie spoke at length about industry trends and his own philosophy, then took questions—questions which, our alumni can be proud, were skeptical, hard-hitting. One recent alum called into question Downie’s optimistic speech given the Post’s then-imminent job cuts.

It made for a nice dinner, a thought-provoking speech, a fun reunion, and the ideal moment for Spectator to announce the launch of the Work-Study Initiative. The Initiative will require hard work, persistence, and help from charitable donors to reach the financial level necessary for Spectator to begin the aid program. We’ve had great success at the outset, about a quarter-way there. I have great faith in the future of this program, as it is a great cause that will benefit the newspaper and fulfill the organization’s dual mission of putting out compelling journalism and nurturing young students interested in the profession. I also believe Spectator is moving in the right direction, financially and editorially.

In many ways, Spectator has been rejuvenated by the creation of an independent Web site, one that is aesthetically pleasing, very manageable, and lays the groundwork for future innovation and expansion. The site has already created a forum for Spectator to produce classy multimedia features that have been lauded as the gold standard of the Ivy League college news outlets. Such features, like this one or this one, are being generated at a rate of about one per two days and are helping to draw more readers and advertisers to our site. The site also benefits from a growing collection of blogs, with the two permanent blogs, a seasonal Sports blog, and the popular, occasional, issue-based news blogs.

The Web site is the key to Spectator’s future, but only with the caveat that we stay true to our dual mission of putting out a daily print paper and nurturing young students interested in journalism. I am most pleased, reflecting now nearly a semester into my time as editor, that we have succeeded in incorporating the online paradigm into our humble and ambitious organization—this while still remaining a fun place to work when—um—not in class or studying. While more and more staffers are finding in blogs a new place to express themselves, the paper itself has grown and experimented across all sections, polished its broadsheet design, put out strong reporting and writing, and broken a few big stories on the way. Our staffers have worked very hard. One small (though, all things considered, somewhat historic) reward we were able to provide them was touching up the office. After over twenty years of noted service, the newsroom couch was replaced. Oh yes! The office also now accommodates the still-nascent but quickly growing Online staff, and a few key technological investments will speed up our work flow system and ease—slightly—our staffers’ levels of stress and exuberant sleep deprivation.

But these are such small tokens. There is much more to be done with the organization, and more to be done for our staffers—here again I am thinking of the Work-Study Initiative. Only through the help of alumni can we hope to implement this ambitious plan. Please see our Alumni page if you are interested in making a donation, or feel free to e-mail me with questions or ideas in furthering this great project. I am very proud of the Spectator staff right now, but that pales in comparison to the great hope and sense of honor I feel when I think of the future bright Speccies who will take up an editorship, a blog, or simply a pad and pencil, and will begin writing their own stories.

Tom Faure
Editor in Chief, Columbia Daily Spectator

Also! Mark your calendars!

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On April 25th, we are holding an informal gathering in the Spec office to commemorate the 40 year anniversary of 1968. Come to the Spec office to hear alumni who reported the events of ‘68 speak about their experiences, to mingle with your peers and alumni, and to enjoy free food! To recap:

WHO: YOU and 1968 alumni (bring your friends, too!)
WHAT: 1968 commemoration, featuring alumni speakers: Jerry Avorn, Rob Stulberg, and Michael Stern
WHEN: April 25th, 2008, 6-8pm
WHERE: Spec office
Also serving hors d’oeuvres!

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We are pleased to announce this year’s speaker for the Blue Pencil Dinner, Leonard Downie Jr., the executive editor of The Washington Post. Mr. Downie will be speaking about diversity in the newsroom and how to cover a more diverse community and country. He will also share his thoughts on the Iraq war, the 2008 presidential campaign, and climate change.

Mr. Downie has been executive editor of The Post since 1991. He began his career at The Post in 1964 as a summer intern and became a successful local investigative reporter in Washington, winning two Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guilt Front Page awards, the American Bar Association Gavel Award for legal reporting, and the John Hancock Award for excellent business and financial writing. Mr. Downie served as a reporter and editor on the Metropolitan staff, acting as Assistant Managing Editor for Metropolitan news from 1974 to 1979. In 1979, he was named London correspondent and he returned back to Washington in 1982 to serve as National Editor. He was named Managing Editor in 1984.

Mr. Downie grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his BA and MA degrees in journalism and political science from Ohio State University. In 1993, he received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Ohio State. He has written four books, one of which, The News About the News, won the Goldsmith Award from the Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2003. He now lives in Washington with his wife, Janice, and has four children, Sarah, Joshua, David, and Scott.

(See http://www.washpost.com/news_ed/news/edit_bio.shtml for more information)

As of July 2007, the Columbia Spectator has been approved by the Federal Work-Study
(FWS) Program to grant financial aid to eligible students. However, in order to meet the required
40% institutional contribution, we are asking for your help!

Traditionally, it has been difficult for the Spectator to retain students who require
financial support while enrolled at Columbia, hampering our ability to recruit a diverse staff that
accurately reflects the student body. To address this concern, the Spectator has established the
Columbia Spectator Work Study Initiative (CSWSI). The initiative aims to provide eligible
managing board editors with a $1,000 stipend per semester and eligible associate and deputy
board editors with a $500 stipend per semester. Attaining this goal will allow the Spectator to
better meet the needs of potential and current staffers through the compensation provided for by
the proposed stipend. The addition of students previously unable to join the Spectator due to
financial constraints would add both value and diversity to the publication and help us better
serve the Columbia community.

• Our campaign goal is a $400,000 financial aid endowment in order to
  maintain a fund that provides for our current need of $8,200 per semester
  and future need as we increase diversity on staff.
• At present, 36 members of the 90 person senior staff are eligible for work
  study, which includes 5 of the 18 members of the managing board;
• 60% of the proposed stipend will be covered by the federal government’s
  work study program;
• The Spectator must raise the other 40%.

Over the next few months, the Columbia Spectator Work Study Initiative will establish
further channels through which alumni, current students, faculty and staff can become involved.
In the interim, those who wish to donate should do so through the Spectator alumni website at
alumni.columbiaspectator.com, specifying the CSWSI as the donation’s recipient. The CSWSI
will continue to update the extended Columbia community with announcements and information
regarding further developments, so please keep an eye out for the CSWSI as we move forward
with this pressing issue.

Give today:

Thank you,
The 131st Managing Board

Each month, the Columbia Daily Spectator brings in speakers initiate discussion of news and media in the twenty-first century. Speakers range from important people in the journalism industry as well as professionals of all interests. If you would like to participate as a speaker, please contact alumni@columbiaspectator.com.

Check back for updates on future speakers!