Spectrum (newspaper)

Spectrum was founded in 1993 by two University of Toledo students, Michael Miller and Will Nicholes. Both had previously served as editors at the student newspaper, The Collegian.[1][2]

Spectrum contributors included future Toledo Free Press cartoonist Jeff Payden (creator of GoComics comic Biff & Riley)[3] and Edward Shimborske III. Shimborske served as Spectrum's music editor from April 1993 until January 1994, when he left to start his own publication, The Glass Eye.[4]

The first issue of Spectrum was published March 31, 1993, with the tagline "Weekly guide to arts and leisure."[5] The first issue featured a preview of the UT production of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, interviews with student leaders, and restaurant and music reviews.[5] In October of that year, the paper was first to publish a report that the UT student government was investigating The Collegian for inflating its circulation numbers by discarding large numbers of newly-printed Collegians immediately after printing them.[6] The Collegian responded the next day with an editorial denouncing the investigation as a "smear campaign" and criticizing Spectrum for publishing the report.[7]

In November 1993, the Toledo Blade published an editorial commenting on the reactions of the Spectrum and Collegian editorial teams to the news that Bruce Douglas, the then-chairman of the UT Board of Trustees, had given UT President Frank Horton cash gifts.[8] The Blade noted the "delightful irreverance [sic]" of the papers' columns, contrasting The Collegian's "impertinent" commentary with Miller's "more light-hearted view".[8]

In January 1994, Spectrum underwent a redesign from a newspaper format to a magazine format, featuring full-cover photography.[4] Miller currently serves as Toledo Free Press Editor-in-Chief.[1]