A Few Words on the Future of Palatinate
FOR OVER SIXTY years now, Palatinate has held the distinction of representing Durham’s student newspaper of record; a newspaper produced entirely by the students of Durham, for the students of Durham.
It is not without a certain amount of pride that Palatinate’s editorial board produces forty pages of entirely student-led content every fortnight, even if this content isn’t always to everyone’s taste.
While the paper’s affiliation with Durham Students’ Union is self-evident, it is worth remembering that at no stage throughout the production process of any given edition of the publication does a paid member of staff have any creative input whatsoever, irrespective of various misconceptions to the contrary.
Naturally, this situation has both advantages and disadvantages.
Without paid involvement, the paper is, theoretically at least, free to publish whatever it sees fit, provided that this is not illegal. In this fashion, the paper is able to represent the views of Durham students free from alien influences.
Of course, the flip-side to this coin is that Palatinate will never attain a truly professional standard; how could it? Its editors, writers, sub-editors, photographers – everyone involved with the paper – are students, just like everyone else.
From the start of the next academic year, this situation could be about to irrevocably change, for better or worse. For there presently exists a proposal, currently working its way through DSU, to appoint a paid editor to take charge of Palatinate on a full-time basis.
Palatinate wants to know what you think: add your thoughts and comments below.
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Will the paid editor be a student or drawn from the student body? Will he or she be appointed by the same mechanism as the current editor? What is the problem with the current system tthat has brought about this proposal?
This development worries me considerably. Palatinate is a STUDENT publication which should remain in the hands of the students. What powers will people have to overrule this new paid editor? What happens if the paid editor decides to try give the paper a “new direction” which fails miserably? Are the people putting forward these proposals actually qualified to mitigate against such circumstances? How are we actually going to be able to afford a QUALITY editor? Has a cost-benefit analysis of such measures been undertaken?
The whole thing strikes me as very dangerous and wholly unnecessary. Palatinate does very well as a student newspaper without needing to pretend to be something it is not. Palatinate is NOT a national newspaper, it is not a publication which people pay for, it is not a professional publication; it is a student publication. That is part of its charm and that is why so many students pick it up every time it is published.
Where exactly is the money going to come from for this paid editor? If the answer is from DSU’s pocket then the idea is ludicrous. There are far better things the Union could be spending its money on.
i’m afraid i don’t have time to elaborate (off to an exam in a couple of hours) but just thought i would put across my opinion that i agree with tom and douglas.
I agree also. What is the point in this new editor. Sure, Palatinate has the occasional spelling mistakes, and yes, the crossword is always broken, but the system seems fine.
The only argument I can think of for this change is that the workload for the editor is huge during their term, but surely this could be sorted out with a restructuring.
This motion makes me glad to be a rep at DSU, since I really want to know why this is a good idea. Will it be coming up at next council or at AGM?
Tbh, I think I’m inclined to oppose this idea considerably. Even if the editor is a Sabb, it still seems like a waste of money to me – DSU is struggling for cash. It also brings in to question the independence of Palatinate from DSU, since enough people have issues with this already and how DSU can censor Palatinate for fear of libel etc. Furthermore I think Tom raises a substantial point when saying that Palatinate’s charm is its amateur quality, and it’s a testament to the STUDENT editors and contributors who put so much work into it that it appears so professional and well done almost every issue.
I very much agree with the comments on this, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything to worry about in current plans. Somehow, whether by a communication error or the DSU folks changing their mind, this editorial turns out to be misleading about the nature of the proposal. What might happen is something like a media intern who would work under the marketing manager and help out with Palatinate, but certainly not be the overall editor.
Both Palatinate and Purple Radio would benefit from an ‘advisory board’ comprising ex-Durham students willing to contribute their professional knowledge and experience back into the university’s media organisations, while leaving the day-to-day running and decision-making to the student Editor or Station Manager.
I for one would be happy to help. As anyone who has worked for Palatinate/Purple knows, it’s a passion that never quite leaves you.
I think it’s closed-minded to say that Palatinate will never attain a truly professional standard because it is run by students – the level of professionalism is determined by the staff of Palatinate regardless of age or whether they are students or not. There are plenty of publications produced entirely by ‘adults’ which have far worse standards than Palatinate.
A ‘media intern’ could be very helpful if Palatinate feels unsure-slash-insecure about the professionalism of its publication, although I do not sit reading the Palatinate nit-picking: I actually just appreciate that we have a student newspaper with student opinions, produced by students. The only person who would benefit from a paid, full-time editor would be the paid, full-time editor.
Professionalism comes from experience, not age or status as a student.
Anyway I have several questions on the media intern subject: Is the idea to source a local for the position? A 6th form student, for example?
And is Palatinate–a student publication–an attractive enough prospect for a non-university person to want to commit to? I’d imagine such a person wouldn’t be paid and they would be doing it for the benefit of their CV. In this case said person is more likely to apply for a local paper.
Finally, managing an intern is almost a full-time job in itself. Would the Editorial team have the needed time to manage this person given that they’d be learning on the job?
These are just questions… happy to see if someone has answers