The Bowdoin Orient
Encyclopedia
The Bowdoin Orient is the student newspaper
of Bowdoin College
in Brunswick, Maine
. Established in 1871, the Orient is the oldest continuously-published college weekly in the United States
.
Since sometime in the late 1990s, the Orient's content has been available free of charge on the World Wide Web
. The website underwent major redesigns in 2001, 2004 and 2009.
In the beginning, the Orient was laid out in a smaller magazine format and included literary material such as poems and fiction alongside its news. In 1897, the literary society formed its own publication, The Quill
, and the Orient has since primarily focused on reporting news. In 1921, the Orient abandoned the magazine format and moved to a larger broadsheet
layout to keep up with the trend of the times. Since then, it has variously moved between broadsheet and tabloid sizes and has seen major format updates every decade or two.
In 1912, The Bowdoin Publishing Company was established as the formal publisher of the Orient, and remained independent of the College for many years, while using college facilities and working with faculty-member advisers. The Bowdoin Publishing Company was a legal, non-profit corporation in the State of Maine for many years, at least from 1968 to 1989, though it was most likely an independent corporation since its inception. In 2002, the college forced the Orient to close the Bowdoin Publishing Company's off-campus checking account, which represented the final step in the company's dissolution.
The Orient building has its own archives, with issues dating back to 1873, but it is missing several periods of time. The Hawthorne-Longfellow Library at Bowdoin College has a nearly complete archive of past Orient issues, both in print and on microform. Virtually all print issues are available from 1871 to the present in the library's George J. Mitchell
Department of Special Collections & Archives. Bound copies from 1871 to 1921 can be found in the periodicals section of the library. The Orient is available on microfilm for issues from 1921 to the present.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
of Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
in Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
. Established in 1871, the Orient is the oldest continuously-published college weekly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Circulation and Distribution
The Orient currently has an on-campus print distribution of approximately 2,000 and sends the paper to hundreds of alumni, parents, and other friends of the College. The paper is published each Friday while classes are in session and is distributed to the dining halls, the library, the student union, and various other College buildings, as well as in a number of businesses and restaurants in downtown Brunswick.Since sometime in the late 1990s, the Orient's content has been available free of charge on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. The website underwent major redesigns in 2001, 2004 and 2009.
Mission statement
"The Bowdoin Orient is a student-run weekly publication dedicated to providing news and information relevant to the College community. Editorially independent of the College and its administrators, the Orient pursues such content freely and thoroughly, following professional journalistic standards in writing and reporting. The Orient is committed to serving as an open forum for thoughtful and diverse discussion and debate on issues of interest to the College community."History
The Bowdoin Orient was established in 1871 as Bowdoin College's newspaper and literary magazine. Originally issued bi-weekly, it has been a weekly since April 1899. It is considered to be the oldest continuously-published college weekly in the U.S., which means that it has been in publication every academic year that Bowdoin has been in session since it began publishing weekly. (Other college weeklies stopped printing during certain war years.)In the beginning, the Orient was laid out in a smaller magazine format and included literary material such as poems and fiction alongside its news. In 1897, the literary society formed its own publication, The Quill
The Quill (Bowdoin)
The Quill is Bowdoin College's oldest and only literary magazine. It is the second oldest continuously functioning club on the Bowdoin campus, second only to the Bowdoin Orient.-History:...
, and the Orient has since primarily focused on reporting news. In 1921, the Orient abandoned the magazine format and moved to a larger broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
layout to keep up with the trend of the times. Since then, it has variously moved between broadsheet and tabloid sizes and has seen major format updates every decade or two.
In 1912, The Bowdoin Publishing Company was established as the formal publisher of the Orient, and remained independent of the College for many years, while using college facilities and working with faculty-member advisers. The Bowdoin Publishing Company was a legal, non-profit corporation in the State of Maine for many years, at least from 1968 to 1989, though it was most likely an independent corporation since its inception. In 2002, the college forced the Orient to close the Bowdoin Publishing Company's off-campus checking account, which represented the final step in the company's dissolution.
The Orient building has its own archives, with issues dating back to 1873, but it is missing several periods of time. The Hawthorne-Longfellow Library at Bowdoin College has a nearly complete archive of past Orient issues, both in print and on microform. Virtually all print issues are available from 1871 to the present in the library's George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
Department of Special Collections & Archives. Bound copies from 1871 to 1921 can be found in the periodicals section of the library. The Orient is available on microfilm for issues from 1921 to the present.
Orient Express
In 2010, the editors created an accompanying website for the Orient, titled the Orient Express, affectionately known as the OE. The Orient Express delivers breaking news, multimedia and more features daily--capabilities that are beyond the function of the weekly paper.Credits
Sections of this page have been adapted from a history of the Orient written by Belinda Lovett, member of the Bowdoin College class of 2002 and a former editor-in-chief of the paper.External links
- The Bowdoin Orient
- Bowdoin College