I first realized The Daily Princetonian was more than just a fun extracurricular when I got a phone call from an Italian art dealer accused of illegally supplying hundreds of antiquities to Princeton’s art museum and other galleries across America.
I picked up the story of Edoardo Almagià ’73 when the ‘Prince’ broke the news that prosecutors had seized a dozen artifacts from Princeton linked to the alumnus. The night that article was published, I attempted to get in touch with Almagià to give him a chance to respond. My calls to his cell phone went unanswered, and I assumed that the story was a dead end.
I was wrong.
Almagià called me back and kept me on the phone for over an hour with colorful tales of his exploits: Princeton’s museum staff were “idiots” for allowing the seizure of his artifacts, many of which he claimed had been in his family for years or had been found “in the countryside.” That interaction led to months of follow-up reporting, where I cataloged Almagià-linked objects that remained in Princeton’s collections alongside the University’s efforts to update its acquisition practices.
This is the promise of The Daily Princetonian: to find something that interests you, and to inspire you to dig into it, relentlessly.
More commonly known as the ‘Prince,’ we serve as Princeton University’s only independent newspaper of record, the ultimate source of campus news, and the pulse of the student body for nearly 150 years and counting. Unlike many student groups, we’re independent of the University; we run like a business, on advertisements and subscriptions, and our coverage is directed by students like you, not faculty or administrators.
I’m writing this column in our Opinion section, the training ground for thinkers like Elena Kagan ’81. I grew up, however, in our reporting sections — where you might find yourself flying cross-country to cover March Madness, reviewing coffee on the ‘Prince’ food budget, standing on Prospect Avenue with a microphone to record a podcast about why a building crossed the road, or, like me, spending hours on the phone with Almagià in between p-sets.
There’s also plenty to do on the ‘Prince’ that doesn’t involve harassing strangers with questions. You might have clicked on this letter from an Instagram post, or from one of our newsletters. You’re probably reading it on our website or our app — which you should download here — maintained by our developers and software engineers. This column was polished by one team of editors and fact-checked by another.
Each piece you read might only have one or two or three bylines, but is the product of dozens of people who make things better and have a lot of fun while doing it. Joining the ‘Prince’ means joining a community of people who are fascinated by campus life, dedicated to getting the facts right, and obsessed with the art of writing well.
All we require is curiosity about the what, how, and why of what happens around you. It might take you years to become a famous tenured professor or a University administrator or an influential alum, but the ‘Prince’ — and the craft of reporting — can get you in the room with them, armed with sharp and insightful questions, within just months of arriving on campus.
Campus-focused journalism is also a form of service. On a campus where most goods can seem relentlessly abundant — have you ever seen that much free food in your life? — good information isn’t always easy to come by. Want to understand how mental health care at Princeton really works? Or get behind the scenes of the secret bakery underneath RoMa? Or see why Princeton might not actually have to pay the new federal endowment tax? That’s what the ‘Prince’ is for.
Our work at the ‘Prince’ is also important on a national level. Higher education is under extraordinary scrutiny from the Trump administration, and the national media is writing about Princeton more than ever. That means they rely on our leading coverage of grant suspensions, budget cuts, and visa revocations. This is a difficult moment for campus speech, especially for international students, but the reporting we provide is all the more important for the bravery it takes.
We are still local journalists, and our campus still relies on us for the coverage that only other Princetonians will care to dig up. Anyone on this paper can learn something interesting or make an impact, even if they would prefer not to write about the state of America’s political affairs. You might single out why some instructors aren’t eligible for teaching awards, dig into the woes of our men’s basketball team, or finally decode Princeton’s feeder schools once and for all. The ‘Prince’ has something for everyone.
The craft — and the pleasure — of finding things out is applicable to anyone, anywhere. So come join us at our open houses on Thursday, Sept. 4 and Tuesday, Sept. 9, 8–10 p.m. at 48 University Place.
Miriam Waldvogel is the 149th Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Princetonian and a senior studying mathematics. Say hi to her at eic[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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