By Taryana Odayar, Executive Editor.
And we are off!
Welcome to yet another year at the LSE! What with Corbyn being recently re-elected leader of the Labour Party, Cruz’s Texan turnaround in endorsing Trump’s presidential candidacy, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressing his thoughts on Brad and Angelina’s split on British morning television, this already promises to be an interesting year for student journalism.
Since taking up this position in January, my main mission for the paper has revolved around innovation and integrity. Thomas Edison famously challenged his staff with a phrase that would soon become known as ‘Edison’s motto’, which was, “There’s a way to do it better – find it.” I could not agree more with Edison, nor can I stress enough the importance of innovation, as without it, any endeavour inevitably comes to a standstill. It is therefore a chief concern for us, the Editorial board, to ensure that under our stewardship the newspaper makes measurable progress in increasing our accessibility, readership and relevance.
With this in mind, we published ‘The Beaver LSE’ App for iPhones over the Summer holidays, with the intention of making it easier and more enjoyable for LSE students to skim through the multitude of articles and features on our website. With the Beaver app, now you only have to reach into your pocket to get up to speed on all of the latest breaking news on campus, submit pictures and text, and have direct access to our live Facebook and Twitter feeds. We are also in the process of upgrading our web platform to display our content in a more dynamic and engaging way, and hope to give you a snazzy and ultra-modern looking website later this year.
With regard to the print edition, we recently introduced a dedicated ‘Interviews’ section, which features thought-provoking discussions with academics and high-profile public figures, such as the President of Kiribati HE Anote Tong, the Vice President of Panama Isabel Saint Malo, Amartya Sen, Yanis Varoufakis, amongst others. For the first time ever at The Beaver, we also started filming these weekly interviews in collaboration with LooSE TV and publishing them on social media, and are looking at ways in which we can extend this video coverage to important events on campus.
However, whilst innovation is important, protecting the integrity of the newspaper is of the utmost necessity. As your student newspaper, we have been entrusted by the LSE SU with the responsibility of creating and sourcing content that adheres to the highest possible degree of accuracy, as well as upholding the hard-earned trust of our readers within the LSE community; many of whom we look forward to working with as writers and contributors.
Whether you’re a fresher, returning undergraduate or postgraduate, The Beaver is bound to have something that interests and intrigues you. So if you’d like to get involved as a writer, cartoonist, or photographer, then refer to the column on the left to contact the relevant section Editor. If, on the other hand, you would like to take on the bigger challenge of editing the paper, you will be pleased to know that we are on the lookout for Editors and a Collective Chair to fill out our team – refer to the column on page 4 to learn more.
Either way, do come along to our ‘Give It A Go’ session on the 7th of October at the Venue in the Saw Swee Hock centre. The GIAG is a fantastic opportunity to meet all of us on the Editorial board in an informal setting and learn more about how the paper works, and we look forward to seeing you there.
As for all the quintessentially LSE Freshers who asked me at Freshers Fair if writing for The Beaver would look good on their CVs, here is my answer to you. As Executive Editor, I feel obligated to tell you that one should not write for The Beaver as a means of plumping up one’s CV, but for the love of writing. But as a fellow LSE student, I can assure you that the Beaver has a rich history as the oldest student newspaper in the UK, with our first issue on 5th May 1949 being christened by LSE founder George Bernard Shaw. Today, we have a print circulation of 1,500 copies each week, a strong online presence, and a long-standing reputation for distinctive and authentic reporting. So congratulations on earning a place at the LSE, and congratulations in advance on your outstanding CV!
