BULL (student magazine)

Last updated

BULL
BULL Magazine front cover Edition 1 2014.jpg
Front cover of Edition 1, 2014
Type Student magazine
FormatMagazine
Owner(s) University of Sydney Union
Founded2006 (as a monthly publication)
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication2016
Headquarters University of Sydney
Camperdown, NSW
Circulation 9000
Website bullmag.com.au

BULL was the student magazine of the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and was published by the University of Sydney Union. Established as The Bulletin, then The Bull, BULL was the union's only high-gloss magazine and was published monthly by an editorially independent student team. [1]

Contents

Written by students, for students, editorial leadership changed annually and as a result, editions changed tone and style over the years. In 2013 BULL was awarded at the ACUMA Awards for Excellence in Campus Service, receiving Best Publication. [2] [3] [4] BULL had a strong focus on feature articles, culture and arts and involved fellow student reporters, contributors and photographers enriching the magazine. In 2015 the readership of the magazine dropped dramatically which eventually led to the closure of BULL that year.

In early 2016, it was officially reported that BULL would be discontinued with print versions and the website shutting down, and a new online platform, later titled Pulp, would take its place, edited by student journalists Whitney Duan and Aparna Balakumar.

History

Originally published daily as The Bulletin, then The Bull, the Union Recorder was the main monthly student publication at the University of Sydney prior to BULL. However, due to rationalisation in the face of voluntary student unionism, it was announced that in 2006, BULL would be the primary repository of student content and feature student editors.

Since 2006, BULL has been wholly staffed and operated by University of Sydney students, with eight editions published a year.

In 2013 BULL was awarded at the ACUMA Awards for Excellence in Campus Service, receiving Best Publication, among other awards given to the University of Sydney Union at the ceremony.

In March 2014, Honi Soit reported that a proposal was made to the University of Sydney Union student-appointed board of directors to take BULL exclusively online. While the decision was unanimous among the editors, the current Board, who have power over the Union's operations, struck down the proposal, leaving the publication in print. BULL faced a review as a result. [5] Rather the editors of this year pursued with establishing a BULL online platform and radio program that was later discontinued.

2015 saw the magazine readership decline severely and lead to a reduction in circulation.

Content

Content of BULL was all written by students of any degree and contributors were encouraged to write throughout the year. In 2014, BULL began a collective of reporters from applicants to be regular writers for the publication, which continued through to 2015. The topics explored in BULL varied year to year in line with the priorities and beliefs of the editors. Each edition contained an editorial, feature articles, interviews, travel and cultural articles and reviews. Student photography and comics were often printed by the magazine, but did not appear in every issue. BULL had no political alignment and is distanced from the agenda of student representatives, though many editors later went on to run for election as editors of Honi Soit as part of the Students' Representative Council.

Features

As a cultural magazine, BULL had explored current and cutting edge topics over the years. Some feature articles concepts had included dying on social media, disabled sex, being gay in Canberra, the art of "picking up", slash fiction, eating competitions, Asian blepharoplasty, over-the-counter medicine addiction, the Pink Panthers, sex over 60, firestarters, Shakespeare and Company, cat obsessions, stuttering and the rise of King Hits in Australia.

The front cover of Issue 5 in 2013 was particularly controversial for depicting a cartoon penis dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, for the accompanying article "Getting Racy", by Flora Grant and Lawrence Muskitta, on sexual racism.

Interviews

BULL had interviewed a number of notable Australian and international people. This has included Anna Funder, Jasper Knight and Andrew Hansen.

Closure

In early 2016, it was announced that BULL would be discontinued and replaced with a new online platform.

In February, it was announced that this platform would be titled Pulp and would have two editors paying student contributors for their articles on the website, rather than unpaid contributions as had occurred in the past and occurs with newspaper Honi Soit. Likewise students were to be paid salaries in the place of bursaries that had become commonplace in student positions across the university campus.

The new editors for Pulp in 2016 were announced as Whitney Duan and Aparna Balakumar, with the latter later replaced with Swetha Das.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Australian</i> Daily newspaper in Australia

The Australian, with its Saturday edition The Weekend Australian, is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership as of September 2019 of both print and online editions was 2,394,000. Its editorial line has been self-described over time as centre-right.

Schwartz Publishing is an Australian publishing house, digital media and news media organisation based in Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria established by Australian property developer Morry Schwartz in the 1980s. Since the late 1990s many of its publications have appeared under the Black Inc imprint. Schwartz Publishing has its complementary brand Schwartz Media, which all sit under the wider group of 'Schwartz' companies specialising in newspapers, books, essays, magazines, journals, podcasts and online news media.

Rowan Cahill is an Australian radical historian and journalist, with a background as a teacher and farmhand, who variously worked for the trade union movement as a rank and file activist, delegate and publicist.

<i>UCL Pi Media</i> Student journalism society

UCL Pi Media is the oldest and largest student journalism society at University College London Union. Initially launched as a newspaper in 1946 and named after former Provost David Pye, it now publishes on three platforms: Pi Online, Pi Magazine and PiTV.

On Dit is a student newspaper funded by the Adelaide University Union and advertising revenue which is published fortnightly during semester time. Founded in 1932, it is the third oldest student newspaper in Australia along with Semper Floreat. The paper replaced its precursor the Varsity Ragge which ran from 1928 to 1931 when it ended because of what On Dit described in its first edition as 'student apathy'. The Varsity Ragge returned in 1934 for a single edition as a rival to On Dit.

<i>Honi Soit</i> Student newspaper of the University of Sydney

Honi Soit is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbreviation of the Anglo-Norman phrase "Honi soit qui mal y pense", meaning “shamed be who thinks evil of it".

The University of Sydney Union (USU), established in 1874, is the student-run services and amenities provider at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. The USU's key services include the provision of food and beverages, retail outlets, live music and other entertainment, clubs & societies, festivals and events including the biggest Orientation Week (OWeek) in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Sydney Students' Representative Council</span>

The University of Sydney Students' Representative Council (SRC) is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. In addition to a student-elected council and student advocacy portfolios, the SRC coordinates a free Legal Service and Caseworker service for all undergraduate students at the University of Sydney. These services provide legal, academic appeal, migration, tenancy and study advice to students. The SRC has a reputation as Australia's most radical student union, and has been instrumental in leading student activism on a range of issues including education, feminist justice, environmentalism, First Nations justice and queer rights. The longest-running weekly student newspaper in Australia, Honi Soit, is funded by the SRC.

<i>Farrago</i> (magazine)

Farrago is the student publication for the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia published by the University of Melbourne Student Union. It is the oldest student publication in Australia. It was first published on 3 April 1925.

<i>Cleo</i> (magazine)

Cleo is an Australian monthly women's magazine. The magazine was founded in 1972 in Australia; the Australia and New Zealand editions were discontinued in February 2016. Aimed at an older audience than the teenage-focused Australian magazine Dolly, Cleo was published by Bauer Media Group in Sydney and was known for its Cleo Bachelor of the Year award. In June 2020, Cleo was acquired by the Sydney investment firm Mercury Capital.

The University of Sydney plays host to a wide variety of comedy revues each year, each typically tied to a faculty or identity group. Each revue features comedy sketches, songs and videos written and performed by students, usually commenting satirically on current affairs, the supporting faculty and general student life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney University Liberal Club</span>

The Sydney University Liberal Club (SULC) is a student association operating under the auspices of the University of Sydney Union (USU). The club hosts policy debates, annual dinners, student election campaigns, and guest speaker events with members of parliament. It is an affiliate of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation.

<i>The Courier</i> (Newcastle University newspaper)

The Courier is the free student weekly newspaper of Newcastle University's Students' Union. It is entirely written and edited by student volunteers, except for the chief editor, which is a paid sabbatical officer position in the students union. Articles which are included in the 40-page print edition are also published online. The newspaper is divided into sections, including news, comment, sport, puzzles, lifestyle, music, film, TV, beauty, fashion, travel, arts, gaming and science.

<i>Arna</i> (publication)

Arna, commonly styled as ARNA, is an annual literary journal published by the University of Sydney Arts Students Society. Originally named The Arts Journal of the University of Sydney, it was published regularly between 1918 and 1974 under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts and in 1938 the journal was renamed The ARNA: The Journal of the Arts Society. Publishing of the journal ceased unexpectedly in 1974.

Hermes is the annual literary journal published by the University of Sydney Union. It is the oldest such journal in Australasia.

The Digger was an alternative magazine published in Australia between August 1972 and December 1975. It was established by Phillip Frazer, Bruce Hanford, and Jon Hawkes. Notable contributors included Ron Cobb, Ian McCausland, Bob Daly, Patrick Cook, Beatrice Faust, Ponch Hawkes, Helen Garner, Michael Leunig, Anne Summers, Neil McLean, and Phil Pinder. The headquarters was in Carlton, Victoria.

<i>The Mancunion</i>

The Mancunion is the University of Manchester Students' Union's student newspaper. It is the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom and is distributed throughout Greater Manchester. The name is a portmanteau of Mancunian, the demonym for residents of Manchester, and union, given its role as the newspaper of the Students' Union. Past writers include film critics Mark Kermode.

Pulp Media is the online student publication of the University of Sydney Union and was established in 2016. As a replacement for student magazine BULL that was discontinued, Pulp is now the second student-run publication at the University of Sydney alongside student newspaper Honi Soit.

Avani Dias is a Sri Lankan Australian journalist and radio presenter. She is currently posted as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)'s international foreign correspondent for South East Asia, based in New Delhi. Dias is perhaps best known for being the presenter of current affairs program Hack on youth radio station Triple J from 2020 to 2021, after succeeding Tom Tilley at the end of 2019.

References

  1. University of Sydney Union's BULL Magazine Archived 22 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  2. ACUMA Awards 2013 "ACUMA Awards | acuma.org.au". Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014., Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  3. ISSUU – BULL Magazine , Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  4. BULL 2014 Archived 5 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  5. Honi Soit: The Manning Files , Retrieved 21 March 2013.