Spyglass

THE SPYGLASS SEES ALL, HEARS ALL, KNOWS ALL—AND PRINTS IT!

While this former slogan no longer adorns the paper’s masthead, its spirit has infused the Westridge student newspaper Spyglass across its more than 75 years of chronicling life on and off campus with a decidedly (and delightfully) student voice.

SPYGLASS: THROUGH THE YEARS

As Spyglass approaches 80 years of publishing, we dove into our archives for a look at its evolution. The paper of record at Westridge provides a fascinating look back at the times, both on and off campus.

1943

The 8th grade published The Spy Glass, a quarterly paper that included writings from students in 5th through 8th grade. “The student body hopes that this innovation will continue to be a Westridge activity,” a prescient Inlook yearbook description reads.

1940s

1946

Newspaper turned over to the Upper School at the behest of a teacher with Priscilla Dunn Flynn ’47 (pictured at left and on the cover!) as editor and Nancy Lou Grandin ’47 as business manager.

pyglass has had many iterations in the decades since its origins as an 8th grade newspaper in 1943. Gone are the days of furiously typing articles via typewriter to make a printer's deadline—Spyglass is now an entirely digital newspaper. Advertisements are also a thing of the past. For decades, the newspaper would sell ads from local businesses, including Pasadena staple Vroman’s Bookstore and the now-defunct Jurgensen’s Grocery Store, to help fund the issues—the paper boasted a team of business staff and an advertising committee to deal with ads and circulation.

The newspaper went from four issues a year to a six-issue run by the ’50s. In the two decades following, alumnae created their own version of Spyglass in addition to running stories in the student version.

Fast forward to the Spyglass of today: Helmed by Editor-in-Chief Ilena M. ’24 and Managing Editor Eliza W. ’24, the publication boasts a nearly 50-student staff of editors, writers, and designers. Upper School students lead the publication (they have the option of taking as an elective course or participating as an extracurricular activity), and both Middle

1964

and Lower School students contribute to the publication as well. The recent move to digital allows the newspaper to save on printing—a previously costly endeavor; plus, it allows people beyond the Westridge community to interact with the articles (in fact, a Spyglass article was recently linked in a Slate article).

In its current form, Spyglass is “dedicated to ethical reporting that amplifies the school’s unique voices to inform, entertain, and forge connection in the Westridge community and beyond.”

Faculty Advisor Masami Hansen’s primary goal is to help students develop their critical thinking skills through the reporting and writing process. Both Hansen and Ilena stress the importance of civic engagement and having the Westridge community interact with the newspaper by writing letters to the editor, allowing an interview, or simply reading the articles.

Despite great change over the decades, the values Spyglass students hold dear, such as thoughtfully considering the world around them and the importance of respecting different points of view, remain constant after seven decades of keeping the Westridge community informed and thinking about life on campus and beyond.

From an article titled, “Diverse Opinions Sought by Spyglass”: The primary function of a newspaper is, obviously, to report news, whatever it may be … The Spyglass, however, faces a peculiar situation, since it only comes forth (erratically) once a month … [It is then] not so much a chronicle of past events as it is a means of expressing the current ideas and opinions held by students… We hope to develop in you, Spyglass’s reporters and readers, a certain tolerant respect for the opinions of other people.

1960s 1970s 1990s

Circulation extended to family homes with financial support from the Parents’ Association. By this time The Alumnae Association sent copies to all active members and copies were also being shared with schools on both coasts as well as England, France, and Switzerland.

Genevieve Ko ’96, Deputy Editor and Columnist for the Food section and NYT Cooking at The New York Times

Genevieve develops recipes for NYT Cooking and is the deputy editor and columnist for the Times' Food section. She previously worked at the Los Angeles Times, where she was a cooking editor. Genevieve is also the author of "Better Baking" and has contributed to over 20 cookbooks as well as other food magazines and media companies.

Sarah Bruning ’02, Special Projects and Surveys Editor at Travel + Leisure

Sarah has been with Travel + Leisure since January 2018. Over the past 17 years, she has held staff positions at leading publications including Women's Health, Food Network Magazine, and Time Out New York. As a freelance writer, she has also contributed to such outlets as CNTraveler.com, Cosmopolitan, Domino, and InStyle

KiMi Robinson ’12, Entertainment News Reporter at The Arizona Republic

KiMi's reporting in the USA Today network covers TV, celebrity news and profiles, influencers, and pop culture fandoms at The Arizona Republic newspaper. She previously reported for the LA bureau of the Japanese international news agency Kyodo News, NBC Los Angeles, and The Hollywood Reporter.

pyglassS

2007 Online blog introduced to supplement print issues. Still accessible at spyglass.typepad.com/spyglass, the blog ran through 2011.

Carly Oscar ’14, Assistant to Lorne Michaels at Saturday Night Live

Editor’s note: Though not a journalist, the impact of Carly's Spyglass experience on her career is noteworthy.

Carly supports SNL producer Lorne Michaels on the sketch show, as well as on other projects at Michaels’ company Broadway Video. Previously, Carly worked in production and wrote for Sesame Street. Her first-post grad short film, Pocha, has screened at festivals across the U.S. Carly's experience as the Spyglass humor editor encouraged her to pursue writing satire and sketch comedy at NYU, which informed her career trajectory.

Lucy Grindon ’15, Reporter at North County Public Radio

Lucy reports on issues affecting lowincome families for this NPR member station in rural northern New York. Her stories have aired nationally on All Things Considered, Weekend Edition Sunday, and Here & Now! She is part of the Report for America corps, a group of hundreds of early-career journalists working in local newsrooms nationwide. She first fell in love with reporting and editing on the staff of Spyglass!

Siena Giljum ’18, Intern at Los Angeles Times

As a 2021 lifestyles & features intern at the Los Angeles Times, Siena had 12 bylines in this hometown national paper. She currently works at her college alma mater, Boston University, as a writing & editing intern and hopes to one day build a team to tell stories about the intersection of food and race. Siena was a three-year member of Spyglass including serving as senior feature & copy editor.