The Mancunion

Last updated

The Mancunion
The Mancunion strapline.png
TypeWeekly newspaper and website
Format Tabloid
Editor-in-chiefLibby Elliott
Founded1964
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters University of Manchester Students' Union Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR
Website www.mancunion.com

The Mancunion is the University of Manchester Students' Union's student newspaper. [1] 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. [2]

Contents

History

The Mancunion has existed in a various forms since 1964. [3] It was first published in 1964 as a bulletin concerned with Union affairs, produced by the Union to compensate for perceived shortfalls in coverage in the main student newspaper, the Manchester Independent. Originally a rather amateurish publication, produced at irregular intervals, it is now a highly professional, tabloid-style newspaper, publishing news and articles on a wide range of issues and subjects. The newspaper and its journalists have won national student newspaper awards on several occasions. [3]

On 22 September 1997 Student Direct replaced The Mancunion; this was a joint venture with other student unions in Manchester to create a single company to publish their newspapers. Student newspapers had been losing an increasing amount of money, and it was felt that pooling of resources could moderate this. Student Direct became the largest student newspaper in the country, owned by the University of Manchester, University of Salford and Bolton Institute. Each produced its own edition of the paper, but with most of the editorial work being undertaken at the University of Manchester Manchester Students' Union. [3]

For the 2009/2010 academic year the Student Direct began to split into its component parts, with the Manchester edition becoming "Student Direct: Mancunion edition". By the 2010/2011 academic year they had fully transitioned to The Mancunion and The Salfordian, the student newspaper of the University of Salford Students' Union. [4] [5]

The Mancunion drew national attention in 2013 when a secret recording was made during a society meeting, at which it was suggested that the Islamist speaker supported the execution of homosexuals in Britain. [6] The controversy that arose regarded both the sensitive content of what was said, as well as the ethical questions behind such investigative reporting methods. [7] The society in question later dissolved following the scandal. [8]

In October 2014, British tabloid The Sun contacted UK student media outlets asking them to find photos of students wearing offensive costumes at Halloween. [9] The Mancunion broke this story, leading to attention from national media. [10]

In September 2016 the Mancunion once again drew national attention both within the mainstream media and on social media with their coverage of the decapitation of a Margaret Thatcher cardboard cut-out at the Freshers Fair. [11]

Structure

The Mancunion is based within the Students' Union but retains editorial independence from it. In the past it has criticised the Students' Union and university in equal measure. [12] [13] As of 2015, the role of editor-in-chief of the newspaper has been restored to a full-time salaried position after a number of years of campaigning for it to be a sabbatical position, [14] [15] though now as co-ordinator of the Manchester Media Group, as a sabbatical role within the Union. This involves co-ordinating the development of all Student Media within the Union, including Fuse TV and Fuse FM.

The editorial team of The Mancunion is structured as follows: Each section has at least one editor, who commissions articles from student contributors, writes content themselves and sets the design of their own section each week. There are also subeditors who proofread and check articles for inaccuracies, and a photography team. These editors are collectively co-ordinated by the deputy editor-in-chief and editor-in-chief.

The Mancunion covers news occurring in the area around the University of Manchester campuses, as well as things that affect the national or international student body. It covers local cultural events and even national music festivals. Its opinion pieces focus on both local news, student issues, as well as the state of society as a whole.

The Mancunion works closely with the other student media outlets in the Union, Fuse TV [16] [17] and Fuse FM. This involves collaborating on projects and promoting the other outlets' work on its website and social media accounts. The Mancunion is also affiliated with the Student Publication Association. [18]

In 2016, as part of the Manchester Media Group, Mancunion editors and student media volunteers established the Women in Media Conference. A student-led conference aiming to tackle gender bias within the media and encourage female students to pursue media careers. [19] The conference is now an established part of the year for student media at the University of Manchester and plans have already begun for their third conference in 2018.

Awards

1980s

In 1983, The Mancunion won Best Student Media and in 1987, Best College Newspaper both at the Guardian Student Media Awards.

1990s

In 1999, Merope Mills won the Feature Writer of the Year award at the Guardian Student Media Awards.

2000s

In 2001 and 2003, Student Direct won Photographer of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards. In 2003, Ravi Somaiya won Columnist of the Year.

In 2004, Stuart MacLean was runner-up for Reporter of the Year and Journalist of the Year. In the same year, Tim Hill was named runner-up for Columnist of the Year behind now-Guardian journalist Archie Bland.

In 2005, Daniel Calder was runner-up for Columnist of the Year.

In 2007, Matthew Dixon received the Sports Writer of the Year award.

In 2008, Daniel Calder was also the winner of the Diversity Writer of the Year, and in 2009 Clyde Macfarlane and Girish Gupta received winner and runner-up respectively of the Travel Writer of the Year award.

2010s

In 2010, Student Direct: The Mancunion was the runner-up for Publication of the Year, behind Kingston University's The River.

In 2017 The Mancunion won the Best Design (Newspaper) award at the Student Publication Association (SPA) National Conference Awards. They were also nominated for six Student Publication Association awards, including two 'Best News' articles, Best Student Photographer, Outstanding Contribution to Student Media (Gemma Sowerby - Head Sub Editor) and Best Publication.

In 2018, The Mancunion's News Editor Cameron Broome was Highly Commended in the Outstanding Contribution category at the SPA National Conference Awards.

2020s

In 2020, The Mancunion was awarded 'Highly Commended Best Publication' at the SPA National Conference Awards

In 2022, Ella Robinson, Managing Editor of News & Current Affairs 21/22, won 'Best Journalist in the North' and 'Highly Commended Best Reporter in the UK & Ireland'

IN 2022, The Mancunion won 'Best Publication in the UK & Ireland 2022' which is the highest achievement.

In 2024, The Mancunion won 'Best Website'.

Related Research Articles

<i>Varsity</i> (Cambridge) Student newspaper at the University of Cambridge

Varsity is the oldest of Cambridge University's main student newspapers. It has been published continuously since 1947 and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. It moved back to being a weekly publication in Michaelmas 2015, and is published every Friday during term time.

<i>Nouse</i> University of Yorks student newspaper and website

Nouse is a student newspaper and website at the University of York. It is the oldest registered society of, and funded by, the University of York Students' Union. Nouse was founded in 1964 by student Nigel Fountain, some twenty years before its rival York Vision. The newspaper is printed three times in each of the Autumn and Spring terms, and twice in the Summer term, with frequent website updates in between print runs. As of June 2022, Nouse has printed 500 editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Manchester Students' Union</span>

The University of Manchester Students' Union is the representative body of students at the University of Manchester, England, and is the UK's largest students' union with over 40,000 members. It was formed out of the merger between UMIST Students' Association (USA) and University of Manchester Union (UMU) when the parent organisations merged on 1 October 2004.

<i>The Boar</i> (newspaper) University of Warwick student newspaper

The Boar is the student newspaper of the University of Warwick. Founded in 1973, the paper is published thrice a term, and the website is continually updated. Whilst it is affiliated to the university's Students' Union, the paper is editorially independent. It consists of 16 sections, including News, Sports, and Podcasts.

<i>The Glasgow Guardian</i>

The Glasgow Guardian is the student newspaper of the University of Glasgow.

<i>Exeposé</i> Official student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter

Exeposé is the official student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter. It has a fortnightly print circulation of 1,000. Exeposé is free and published every fortnight during term time. Its sections include news, features, lifestyle, science, satire, sport, screen, music, arts and lit, tech, comment and international.

London Student is a student paper, originally the official student newspaper of the University of London Union. It began publishing in 1979 and was at one point the largest student-run newspaper in Europe. At that time it was published weekly in term-time and printed in Gloucestershire, before being distributed to around 50 London sites including non-university further and higher education establishments, such as Polytechnics, overnight. It was financed by a combination of university grant and advertising. The editor was elected annually by other student journalists who had worked on the paper as a sabbatical from studies, and there was one staff member, a business manager and advertising sales person. The paper stopped publishing in 2014 after the University of London withdrew funding, but relaunched itself online the following year under a new editorial team. It is now an independent publication with ultimate control over content and appointments vested in the editorial team as a worker co-operative.

<i>Redbrick</i> (newspaper)

Redbrick is the student newspaper of the University of Birmingham. Originally titled Guild News, the newspaper was renamed Redbrick in 1962. As with most student newspapers, Redbrick is not fully independent due to funding arrangements, but is editorially independent as is set out in its charter.

<i>Palatinate</i> (newspaper) Durham University student newspaper

Palatinate is the student newspaper of Durham University. One of Britain's oldest student publications, Palatinate is frequently ranked as one of the leading student outlets in the UK and Ireland, winning Best Publication in the Student Publication Association's 2018 and 2021 national awards. In the same year Palatinate was Highly Commended in the Best Publication category of the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme's Student Journalism Awards. Several of its editors have gone on to gain national recognition in journalism.

<i>Wessex Scene</i> Student news magazine of the University of Southampton

Wessex Scene is a student news magazine and website serving the students of the University of Southampton. Having been in print continuously since 1936, it is one of the oldest student publications in the United Kingdom.

The Journal was an independent, fortnightly, local newspaper originally produced by students at seven major higher and further education institutes in Edinburgh. It was distributed at a number of locations across the city's universities and colleges, as well as at bars and cafés throughout the Scottish capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuse FM</span> Radio station in UK - National Internet , Manchester FM

Fuse FM is a student radio station broadcasting every day during term time from Manchester Students' Union at the University of Manchester.

<i>York Vision</i>

York Vision is one of two student newspapers at the University of York. Vision is a registered society of, and is funded by the University of York Students' Union (YUSU).

<i>Roar News</i>

Roar News is the student newspaper of King's College London. It is editorially independent of both the university and the students' union.

Concrete is the University of East Anglia's student newspaper. Concrete is free and published fortnightly on a Tuesday, during term time.

<i>The Student Journals</i> Student-run publication

The Student Journals was an editorially independent online magazine for university students around the world, to give students a platform to voice their opinions. The site featured regular comment articles submitted on numerous topics, ranging from education and politics to culture and sport. They also feature interviews and cover many British events through live blogs. Since its founding, The Student Journals launched several diverging projects including the TSJ Advisors Scheme, whereby professional journalists give detailed feedback to commentators of the site, helping students to improve their writing.

The Badger is the fortnightly newspaper of the University of Sussex's Students' Union.

Ian King is a British business journalist who presents Business Live with Ian King, the eponymous daily business programme on Sky News.

The Falmouth Anchor is the online student newspaper of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter's Cornwall campuses.

<i>Forge Media</i> Radio station in Sheffield, United Kingdom

Forge Media is the student-run organization at the University of Sheffield which has overseen Forge Radio, Forge TV and Forge Press since 2008. On 4 July 2012, Forge Media was named Best Student Media at the NUS Awards. The award recognised the many hours of hard work put in by the members of the Forge Press, Forge Radio and Forge TV teams, as individual teams and as one fully converged media package, displaying a wide range of multimedia skills and including hundreds of members of the student body, and reaching large audiences.

References

  1. ↑ "Student Media @ University of Manchester Students' Union". manchesterstudentsunion.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Issue 17, 2012 (The University of Manchester)". www.studentupdate.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Search - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ "About The Mancunion". The Mancunion.
  5. ↑ "About The Salfordian". The Salfordian.
  6. ↑ "Homosexuals would be "killed" in ideal world, says speaker at society event". The Mancunion. 18 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Mancunion's publication of secret recording of homophobic comments blows into major row". 20 February 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Society in homophobia scandal shuts down after national outcry". The Mancunion. 25 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Sunbelievable!". The Mancunion.
  10. ↑ AbYoung-Powell (31 October 2014). "Students 'offered money for photos of 'Jihadi John' Halloween costumes'". The Guardian .
  11. ↑ "Margaret Thatcher decapitated at Welcome Fair | the Mancunion". Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Meh-lection frenzy sweeps Students' Union Exec - The Mancunion". The Mancunion. 2 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "University of Manchester invests almost £40 million in fossil fuels". The Mancunion. 10 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Vote YES for a paid Editor at The Mancunion – Heyevent.com". heyevent.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  15. ↑ Williams, Michael (3 March 2014). "Exec ignore voters, nix paid Mancunion editor". The Mancunion. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Affiliated Stations 2014/15" . Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Fuse TV" . Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Current Members" . Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "Women in Media 2016". www.womeninmediacon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.