Sometimes it seems as though MTV doesn't realize that there are smart, driven teenagers in the world. Shows like The Hills and The Real World, while entertaining in a train-wreck kind of way, give the impression that in order to be successful, one needs to be spoiled, superficial and display an arrogant sense of entitlement.

With its new reality show, The Paper, MTV is finally acknowledging how the other half lives. Following the teenage staff of the Cypress Bay Circuit, a Florida high school newspaper, the series shows that it's OK to be smart and truly passionate about something even if you're not going to get rich or famous from it.

Central to The Paper's success is the Circuit's controversial editor-in-chief, Amanda Lorber. She's a polarizing figure – she's clever and meticulous but can also seem awkward and condescending. The show makes it clear that there is a divide between Lorber and the other editors: the first episode features juxtaposing scenes of other students spending their Friday night partying while Lorber painstakingly completes her application to be editor-in-chief. The editing also paints Lorber as an oddball character, frequently showing her talking at length to her dog, something Lorber herself confesses was simply a story-telling device.

"It was a way for me to express my thoughts without it looking like I was just talking to myself," she explains. "They thought that simply doing confessionals would make the show boring. Both of my parents work, so I couldn't always just talk to them, so we decided that I would talk to my dog instead."

Lorber repeatedly insists she is more normal than The Paper suggests, indicating that the 17-year-old is at least a little disappointed with the show's final product. She also expresses frustration that much of the students' journalism work was left on the cutting room floor, especially since the Cypress Bay Circuit received several honours this year, including one for best overall newspaper at the Sun-Sentinel Journalism Awards.

"The show focuses a lot on the interpersonal conflicts and I wish they would have shown more of the actual work we do," she says. "When the show started, I was working on a feature about autism that I was very proud of but it didn’t make it into the show. I think we were all expecting more of our newspaper work to make it on the air."

A significant chunk of each episode focuses on the decaying friendship between Lorber and the managing editor, Alex Angert. Although they both admit to being good friends in the past, Angert is unable to get over his disappointment at not being chosen as editor-in-chief – or, rather, he refuses to get over it, especially since his feelings of animosity towards Lorber help him fit in with the "cool kids." It's not all black and white, of course; one can see how Lorber's mannerisms might rub people the wrong way.

But the fact that this is the kind of feud that almost everyone experienced at some point during adolescence is what makes The Paper fascinating to watch, especially if you have a bit of distance from your teenage years. We see that Lorber doesn't understand why Angert can't put his personal feelings aside for the sake of the newspaper, but it's also apparent that Angert doesn't understand why Lorber can put her feelings aside so easily. Both sides display a familiar stubbornness that we know will remain until they're both ready to let it go.

Filming of The Paper wrapped months ago, and Lorber admits that her relationship with her managing editor has still not improved.

"Alex and I aren't friends anymore. It wasn't my decision, but it's just one of those things that happen sometimes. It would have happened whether the cameras had been there or not," she insists. "When it comes to putting the paper together, though, we are professional and focus on making a great issue."

At the very least, it's clear that appearing on The Paper has helped to give Lorber some insight into what makes a good journalist.

"If I could do anything differently, I probably wouldn't have let so many things slide when the school year started. I would have focused more on what was good for the paper rather than if my decisions would make people like me," she offers. "I've learned that not everyone is going to like me all the time but what matters is that I do the best job I can."

Still, Lorber says she doesn't regret doing the show because it exposed younger viewers to print journalism and showed them that even high school students can help create change.

"Like I said on the show, I think journalists are the most important people in the world. We help inform people about what's going on in the world and help them form their own opinions about current events," she says. "We wanted to do the show because we're all very passionate about journalism and our newspaper and we wanted inspire other students to become interested in journalism. And I think we did that."


The Paper airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, 9 p.m. MT on MTV Canada.

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