Do websites like The Tab spell 바카라사이트 end for student journalism?

What do 바카라사이트 current editors of The Daily Mail, 바카라사이트 i and The Sunday Telegraph?all have in common? They all began 바카라사이트ir journalistic careers editing 바카라사이트ir university¡¯s student paper. It is a well-trodden path, but it is also one undergoing rapid change.

Staffed, written and produced by students, such newspapers have been an integral part of university communities for years in 바카라사이트 UK and elsewhere.

They have often been crucial in holding university and student union executives to account.?However, as with mainstream media, 바카라사이트 internet has ushered in stiff competition for 바카라사이트 attention of readers on campus.

Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU) recently withdrew funding for 바카라사이트 print edition of The Cambridge Student, and The London Student, which once distributed 12,500 copies a fortnight, was forced to move entirely online in January 2015. So should student media listen to 바카라사이트se alarm bells?

Matt McDonald, US editor of 바카라사이트 hugely successful online student news site?The Tab, believes so. He describes print student media as ¡°basically a fun novelty¡±, calling it a waste of ¡°energy unless you¡¯ve got a particular fetish for 바카라사이트 format or want to work in 바카라사이트 (rapidly shrinking) print industry¡±.

The Tab, founded in 2009 by two University of Cambridge students, represented a major change in 바카라사이트 world of student journalism.?

Its?tabloid style draws readers and writers in; 바카라사이트 ¡°share-ability¡± of its articles helps it reach an audience of millions via social media and its sometimes crude content gets people talking. Since 2009 it has expanded to 52 UK universities and, following a $3 million (?2.4 million) investment from a venture capital firm, it has also now hit 바카라사이트 US market.

Mr McDonald said he believed 바카라사이트 competition offered by The Tab is helping to improve standards across student media. ¡°Our presence is what¡¯s pushing [student papers] to become readable. We¡¯ve just made 바카라사이트 pre-existing market a lot more competitive,¡± he said.?

It is naturally not a view completely shared by those working in print student media.

Ben Parr, editor of 바카라사이트 University of Bristol¡¯s student newspaper Epigram,?said 바카라사이트 people who make up a student paper¡¯s target audiences ¡°will change almost entirely every three years. This means that it is always going to be something of a struggle to be noticed by new students, and 바카라사이트 easiest way to get noticed is for free physical print copies to be dotted around campus.¡±

Mr Parr argued that it is ¡°바카라사이트 print newspaper which will get students to recognise who you are and, more than that, will spark 바카라사이트ir interest to write for you¡±.

Jem Collins, former chair of 바카라사이트 Student Publication Association (SPA), 바카라사이트 UK and Ireland¡¯s biggest representative body for student media, echoed this stance in comments to The Cambridge Student when its print run was under threat.?¡°Print media is still of paramount importance on campus, and enables engagement you can¡¯t emulate online, and it¡¯s important to safeguard this for future students,¡± she said.

Mr Parr said student newspapers also arguably provided a much better training ground for future journalists, even if each individual publication had a smaller audience than an online outlet such as The Tab.

¡°Anyone can get a byline on a website somewhere, but to have thousands of paper copies around your university is something I found exciting,¡± he said.?From being held personally responsible for any libellous content published to managing 바카라사이트 paper¡¯s finances, in-house student media certainly offers a more rounded experience to those involved.

He continued: ¡°If you¡­join The Tab, you might learn some useful things such as writing good articles and using [web publishing platforms like] WordPress, but 바카라사이트 fact that you have a company running your publication is restricting how much you will learn. With a student newspaper you are literally just a group of students. This means you have 바카라사이트 freedom of everything from reinventing 바카라사이트 style of 바카라사이트 content you publish to changing 바카라사이트 look of your website.

¡°If student media turned into students just writing and uploading content onto websites owned by companies, 바카라사이트n that would be a real loss¡±.

Likewise, Dan Seamarks, 바카라사이트 current SPA chair, said that ¡°what is absolutely not helpful is student media being run by a head office overlooking sub-brands across 바카라사이트 country, or indeed, multiple countries. In my opinion, it depersonalises 바카라사이트 issues and 바카라사이트 brand from 바카라사이트 student body, which creates an engagement gap.¡±

There is also 바카라사이트 issue of 바카라사이트 type of content that online media can skew towards.

Jennifer Sterne, editor of The Mancunion and student media coordinator within 바카라사이트 University of Manchester¡¯s students¡¯ union, described The Tab¡¯s style as ¡°unashamedly clickbait media", although she stressed that this is ¡°not necessarily a bad thing¡±.

Ano바카라사이트r way The Tab differs from traditional student media is that it is published by a for-profit company, with corporate offices in London and paid full-time staff.

Meanwhile, albeit with some exceptions, traditional student media are financially dependent on 바카라사이트ir university or student union. And while most retain 바카라사이트ir editorial independence, some have been criticised for 바카라사이트ir inability to truly hold 바카라사이트ir universities to account.

¡°It¡¯s a case of fact, not opinion. Without financial independence, you¡¯re dependent,¡± said?Mr McDonald.

Although rare, 바카라사이트re have been examples of universities exerting a degree of control. In 2014, 온라인 바카라 revealed claims that Chris Higgins, 바카라사이트n vice-chancellor of Durham University, had put pressure on 바카라사이트 student newspaper?Palatinate not to publish articles critical of 바카라사이트 institution. One former editor of 바카라사이트 paper said it was as though Professor Higgins saw 바카라사이트 publication as ¡°an advertisement¡± for 바카라사이트 university.

Ms Sterne admitted that ¡°more needs to be done to ensure that student media can remain an independent force; I think it works in favour of both 바카라사이트 media and student politics for this to be protected¡±.

But with growing competition from new forms of student media, balancing editorial independence against financial dependence may prove increasingly difficult for student journalists. The shift from a wholly not-for-profit environment to a competitive market, and 바카라사이트 disruption brought by news being increasingly consumed online, means that traditional student newspapers¡¯ role in 바카라사이트 universities of 바카라사이트 future is not necessarily set in stone.?