The Tufts Observer

Infobox Magazine
title = Tufts Observer


image_size = 176px
image_caption = "The Tufts Observer", 9 March 2007
editor = Tim Noetzel
editor_title = Editor-in-Chief
frequency = Weekly
circulation = 1,500
category = Newsmagazine
company = Tufts University
publisher =
firstdate = 1895
country = USA
language = English
website = [http://www.tuftsobserver.org/ www.tuftsobserver.org]
issn =

The "Tufts Observer", founded as the "Tufts Weekly", is an undergraduate student newsmagazine published at Tufts University. First published in 1895 as Tufts' first student newspaper, it advertises itself as the oldest student organization on campus.

Format

The publication is a biweekly, 36-page magazine with a color, glossy cover and 4-page centerfold.

Recurring sections include News, Opinions, On the Town, Arts, Fiction, Editorial, and Campus.

History

The "Tufts Weekly" was founded in 1895 and would later bill itself as Tufts's "newspaper of record." Early issues prominently featured sports scores as well as campus news. The first issue was dated Tuesday, October 8, 1895, and was eight pages long. The first editor in chief was Orren H. Smith (class of 1896), and the first managing editor was W.H. Belcher (class of 1896). The subscription price was $1.50 per year.

The first issue contained an editorial titled "The New Departure": "With this number we begin the work of Tufts' first WEEKLY. We realize the uncertainty of our position, the importance of the work, and the many difficulties attending it; but, believing that such a sheet is needed in our college, we step forth boldly, asking the attention and consideration of all connected with Tufts College in any capacity whatever."

In the late 1960s, under the management of editor-in-chief Phil Primack, the "Weekly" scaled up its production to sometimes four issues a week because of major news events on campus. The intensified production schedule conflicted with the name of the publication, and Primack's staff officially changed the name of the newspaper to "The Observer".

The paper achieved a golden age of sorts during the mid-1990s under the editorial leadership of Michael Bosi, Ray Graves, Eric Fleisch, Suzanne Schaefer, Eric Froman, and Joshua J Friedman. Irusha Peiris served as distribution manager from 1996-1997, launching the Observer's campuswide reputation to unprecedented heights.

Over time, however, the production schedule was again relaxed to one or two issues per week. In 2001, the editorial board of the "Observer" voted to adopt the newsmagazine format that the publication exists in today.

The Editor-in-Chief for the Fall 2007 semester is Tim Noetzel.

External links

* [http://tuftsobserver.org/ Tufts Observer] (official site)