The Tufts Observer

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

1 Format
2 History
3 Staff
4 External links

[edit] Format

The current format of the publication is a biweekly 24- or 32-page magazine, with a glossy cover and a solid red back cover.

Recurring sections include News, Opinions, On the Town, Arts, Editor's Corner, Poet's Corner, Sports, Editorials, and Comics.

[edit] 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. Perhaps most importantly, Irusha David Peiris served as distribution manager from 1996-1997, launching the Observer's campuswide reputation to unprecedented heights. However, in mid 1997, Peiris stepped down to pursue his interests in glaucoma research.

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.