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Cambridge student newspapers

I'm thinking about volunteering for a student newspaper. Firstly, how many newspapers are there? I've seen The Tab on the freshers page and they have vacancies http://cambridgetab.co.uk/uncategorized/join-the-tab-team, but are the other ones aswell? Secondly, is it normal for first years to apply? I'm thinking about doing journalism after PPS, i'm more into sciences/ social sciences than political journalism (for after cambridge).

Reply 1

gethsemane342

Original post by iammichealjackson

There's The Tab, The Cambridge Student and Varsity. The Tab is sort of like the tabloid one, TCS is the mainstream one and I think Varsity is meant to be the step-up but I haven't quite figured it out yet.
I think first years do get involved - i know a few who reviewed for TCS. You can write articles quite easily as well: I've written one because I happened to mention being part of a new society to an editor who said I should write an article about our cause. I'd just ask :smile:

Reply 2

iammichealjackson

Original post by gethsemane342

Cheers for the list, I'll check them out :rolleyes:

Reply 3

nuodai

There are three main newspapers: The Cambridge Student (TCS), Varsity and The Tab.

TCS is alright. It's owned by CUSU, publishes regular editions which are fairly substantial, has articles on all sorts, reviews, cartoons and suchlike. The bad points are that sometimes articles are a bit poorly-written, and it's hard to find an episode which isn't ridden with typos.

Varsity used to be by far the best in my opinion, but some time last year they had some financial problems and started publishing smaller papers, less frequently, with the rest published online only. The online version is still really good, but it's nice to have something to read in the JCR sometimes. It's an independent paper and is usually quite well-balanced on things that come up.

The Tab is the university's equivalent of News of the World (with a hint of The Sun and suchlike in there too). It's often very fun to read, but it can sometimes take things too far, taking gossip and blowing it up into a scandal. "Tab spies", as they're often called, are sometimes accused of using dirty tricks to get news, and the truth is often twisted even more than what you'd expect from a newspaper. It's also independent, and is online-only except for a few special paper editions. The benefit of The Tab is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, unlike the other two (especially Varsity) which do.

If you're interested in more factual writing about sciencey or social sciencey stuff, your best bet is to look at TCS or perhaps Varsity.

Some colleges have a newspaper too, some of which are largely ignored and some of which are quite popular. [My college has one, which fluctuates in popularity.]

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

qgujxj39

Nuodai's post was pretty accurate.

There's a guy at my college who wrote a lot for the Tab in his first year.

Reply 5

iammichealjackson

Original post by nuodai

Cheers.

I'm getting a feel of each paper at the moment. I've wrote a lot for our school newsletter and newspaper, as well as national essay competitions and the like. I only really want to do general news, or reviews... I only mean after university i'm thinking about doing something more science/psychology related.

I think The Tab is more up my street :smile:

They have vacancies as editors and such, I'll take it most people just write the odd article though?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 6

Craghyrax

Even when Varsity was wealthier, TCS was better.
Still, the silly polls they came up with were comedy value :biggrin:

Reply 7

charlottesometimes

Original post by iammichealjackson

They have vacancies as editors and such, I'll take it most people just write the odd article though?

I'm writing a column for the Tab next term (I've just finished my first year). I know lots of people who've written quite a lot for the Tab and Varsity - it's relatively straightforward to get onto the reviewing/news teams, I think, as long as you're persistent and deliver the goods when you do get an assignment. The Tab also have a fresher who writes a series of columns about their experiences at Cambridge, which is always worth trying to get involved with - I'm afraid I'm not really sure how, but I guess just apply and see what happens.

I go to the Tab for my gossip and Varsity for my proper news - personally speaking, I think Varsity takes itself a bit too seriously, which is why I didn't apply. If you're really interested in writing for a student newspaper, I'd spend a while reading through columns and articles from both papers to get an idea of the general house style/standard.

Reply 8

aeroplaneovathesea

As a fresher, I presume this is something you wait and sign up for at the Fresher's fair, or is it worth volunteering for it via email or something before we even go?

Reply 9

Craghyrax

Original post by aeroplaneovathesea

As a fresher, I presume this is something you wait and sign up for at the Fresher's fair, or is it worth volunteering for it via email or something before we even go?

Don't do anything before arriving!
It will all be super easy and obvious to get involved once you arrive, but right now the students who run these things are on holiday.

Reply 10

ZuluOscarAlphaHotel

Hi, I'm Zoah and I edit TCS. I also wrote a couple of articles for The Tab in my first year.

You don't actually need to apply for a 'vacancy' to write for any of the Cambridge papers. Those vacancies are for editorial positions. If you just want to write, just get in touch and pitch some ideas!

TCS is holding a competition at the moment to find a fresher columnist, so if you think you've got what it takes, email a 500 word sample piece to [email protected]. We're looking for someone who can write a funny, tongue-in-cheek column about Cambridge life as a fresher, so show us what you've got!

My advice for getting involved with journalism at Cambridge is: don't be shy! I had Freshers' Flu, so I missed the squashes (socials for freshers) with the papers. Because of this, I didn't go to any of the open meetings that all of the papers have each week, thinking that they would think 'who the hell are you?'

Well, I was an idiot. You literally can just show up and get involved. You don't need to choose one paper and stick to it, either - I wrote for The Tab and TCS at the same time until I got an editorial position on TCS. You can try them all and see which one suits you. All the papers will start recruiting for editorial positions at the end of Michaelmas term, so in the meantime just go to meetings, pitch articles and have fun.

At TCS we pride ourselves on being welcoming to freshers and newcomers. I am a good example of this. I had never written any news for TCS (just a tiny music review), but when they heard that I wa sinterested in journalism, they offered me an interview for a deputy news position and I got the job. The next term I applied for Editor-in-Chief, and got that too. In one term, I went from having done hardly anything with the paper, to running it. You could too!

If you're looking for a career in journalism, I am very keen on helping people on the paper get good work experience. At the moment my International Editor is with the Independent on Sunday (if you have yesterday's copy lying around the house, her stuff is on page 11 and the bottom of page 52). In the last year, we have sent people to the Times, the Observer, NME and The Economist. Obviously, I am RATHER biased, but TCS is a good paper to choose, in my opinion!

If anyone has any questions about the paper, feel free to PM me or email at [email protected]

(edited 12 years ago)