Manifesto for candidacy of:
Jonathan Breen: Editor
Harriet Hill-Payne: Deputy Editor
Jonathan – I think I would be a strong candidate for Editor of the student newspaper because I have extensive experience working on newspapers, and over this year have become intimately involved with the Mancunion, building on my previous work as a contributor to become a news editor this year.
As a committed member of the news team I have learnt a lot about producing content for the paper each week, as well as about how the paper comes together as a whole. Also, I have a close relationship with the current editor, through which I have developed a stronger understanding of what it takes to be an editor, more so I think than other members of the paper staff.
Harriet – As became evident in the second term of this year, having a separate magazine editor has had a really positive effect on the magazine section, and it is a proven model, which we would like to continue into next year. Having someone to specifically support the magazine section, and who has a background in writing for that section of the paper, has been invaluable, and the weekly meetings in which plans, ideas and concerns can be discussed has made the section feel more connected and, as a result, the paper as a whole more successful.
Having edited the Arts & Culture section of the paper for the past year, I feel I am a strong candidate for Deputy Editor. I have a good knowledge of Manchester’s cultural scene, which would be relevant to overseeing Music/Arts/Theatre, but also I have, from my own section and from the magazine section as a whole, a good sense of areas that have been successful and which we need to work on, and would, with the section editor team, use this opportunity to build on the strengths, and address where I think there are weaknesses.
Next year – We want to build on the impressive work done this year to enhance our online presence, making sure social media and WordPress/InDesign are covered extensively in the training sessions. We want to create better links with other student media, both in developing links with Fuse Radio/TV to potentially provide video and audio content for our website, but also trying to connect to some of the other student-led publications in Manchester, to access a wider readership and to bring in new content and new ideas.
We want to ensure the Section Editor training days deliver relevant information – potentially splitting the newspaper/magazine category to better think about the potential within each section, and to encourage editors to take ownership of their pages. For the paper, we want to see each section producing top quality student-related content, the news section and related sections continuing to tackle tough stories like they have this year, and more pages for sports to allow for wider university sport coverage. In the magazine section, we want to look at ways to build on the confidence our readership already has in us, hoping to introduce some regular columnists and features to give a sense of continuity and development week-on-week. We will look at ideas for weekly feature column/diary columns that are appropriate to each section, looking to ‘Craving and Saving,’ ‘Retro Corner’ or ‘Surviving Supper’ as examples of features which all anchor the page, encouraging readers to return to regular contributors/features, but allowing for flexibility in content each week.
