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''Student'' is a weekly Scottish independent Newspaper produced by Student s at the University Of Edinburgh . Founded in 1887 by author Robert Louis Stevenson , it is the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. ''STUDENT'' TODAY The newspaper is independent of both the university and the students' association, which provides a higher degree of Editorial Independence than other student union or university-funded publications (the Edinburgh University Students' Association produces a fortnightly magazine called ''Hype'' ). Many of ''Student'''s former writers have gone on to become internationally renowned journalists and politicians. Past staff members of ''Student'' include the British Chancellor Of The Exchequer , Gordon Brown ; Lord Steel ; the late Robin Cook ; '' Pop Idol '' star Darius Danesh , and many of Fleet Street's reporters and editors. Recent graduates include Guardian staff writer and editor Helen Pidd and BBC radio reporter Chris Page. It has a physical Circulation of 8000 copies per issue and is read by some 20,000 people in Edinburgh . HISTORY 1900 ).]] Developing from Stevenson's original publication, ''Student'' quickly became a small weekly magazine, published by the Students' Representative Council. A typical, turn-of-the-century edition of ''Student'' would open with a short biography of a notable person and an editorial. The remaining content largely comprised notes from various societies, sports results, poetry and literary reviews, and profiles of newly-appointed lecturers. The magazine was supported by advertising, but cost two Pence .The Student, Volume XIV (Winter 1899-1900) By the 1970s, ''Student'' had become a weekly newspaper, roughly Berliner in format. The running of the newspaper was by this stage in the control of the Student Publications Board, a body independent of the university. It was during the first half of the 1970s that Gordon Brown was a news editor. The type of content had shifted to reflect the times: a typical copy would contain pages on news, the environment, society, features, politics and entertainment. By this point, the price had risen to five pence.The Student, November 14, 1975 The 1990s saw the introduction of computers to the newspaper; the offices were also moved from the Student Publications Board offices at 1 Buccleuch Place to their present location in the Pleasance , anecdotally held to be space reclaimed after the closure of a monkey-testing lab. Initially, the newspaper was laid out on Apple Macintosh computers. During this period, Darius Danesh worked - briefly - at the paper, as a restaurant critic. The paper, now a tabloid in format, won the Herald Student Media Award for best newspaper in 1998, and the Guardian award for 'Best Newspaper on a Shoestring' in 2001. The paper was redesigned several times in the lead-up to the millennium, eventually switching to PC s for layout, and winning the Herald Award for its design in 2004. After failing to win the same award the following year, the paper was again radically redesigned in 2006. CONTROVERSY Chris Brand University lecturer '''. ''Science''. Financial collapse In early 2002, ''Students continuous run came to an end when the newspaper faced "five-figure debts". The official explanation was that the post-. ''The Guardian''.. The newspaper was relaunched at the start of the 2002-3 academic year as a bi-weekly publication and advertising sales, which had been traditionally managed internally, began to be handled by the advertising department of the Students' Union, a system which continues today. The paper recovered quickly, returning to weekly publication with a redesign soon after the start of the next academic year. Anti-gaelic 'bigotry' The newspaper caused some controversy in 2004 when a television listing, apparently mocking the '''. ''Indymedia Scotland''. A flurry of angry, concerned and threatening letters, largely condemning all who worked at the newspaper as English Bigots , followed; that the listings in question were traditionally deliberately offensive was not taken into account, due to the out-of-context nature of the forwarded message. In fact, the author of the listing was himself a gaelic speaker, and the staff at that time was disproportionately Scottish in comparison with the rest of the university. The president of the Students' Union and the rector of the university resolutely refused to become involved in the issue, citing ''Student'''s editorial independence; the issue eventually blew itself out. 'Page Three' feature In early 2005, ''Student'' published an editorial discussing '' published a story regarding the feature, which was subsequently picked up by several national newspapers. The photograph of the female model - who was wearing underwear and a scarf covering her nipples - was reprinted alongside each of these articles. The majority of the coverage was seen by many as wildly misleading; newspapers claimed "floods of complaints" Student newspaper sparks 'Page 3' row ''' defended the publication of a page similar to its own and even offered the model a place in its paper. Again, the Students' Union and university representitives declined to comment on the feature, and the story died out. FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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