Tone often speaks louder than words. Tone shapes storytelling, it shapes reporting, and it is a huge part of creating a narrative. There seems to be a fine line when crafting the right message in student journalism. It is the foundation of every article and story. It is the very quality of a piece of writing.
For 60 years, The Mancunion, through its many forms and names, has been a solid platform for student journalism and creative expression. The ever-evolving campus culture has been recorded and captured by the voices of Manchester undergraduates for six decades. But what is at the core of student storytelling? How has the style of writing morphed over time? It is the art of tone that shapes the art of narrative, and the art of reporting.
When searching through archival print issues, the tips of my fingers progressively blackening with ink, it was the ever-present comedic voice and style that intrigued me the most. When scouring the late 1990s and early noughties editions of the then StudentDirect, the voices of the writers had a breezy, spirited quality. Tongue in cheek, raunchy, and very witty, The Mancunion of 20 years ago had a slight air of laissez-faire about it. These writers were craftspeople of risqué expression, blatant honesty, and crude sarcasm, constructing a minefield of a newspaper. From sex advice columns to brutal reviews, saucy Blind Date interviews and generally provocative, bold statements, the student expression of the millennium made for entertaining reading.
It caused me to contemplate the art of tone and its importance, both in visual presentation and in writing. The Mancunion is, and always has been, an incredibly illustrative paper, and there are things to be said also about the optical tone and its development as the paper has progressed. Without further ado, here are some fun, interesting articles that used the art of tone to their advantage, to create witty, cheeky pieces of student journalism.
StudentDirect September 17 2001 – Issue 1
The immortal student has always loved to smoke. Lung disease, cancer, and death cannot touch the immortal student. This 2001 snippet provides the smoking student with a top guide on where to purchase the best smoking paraphernalia so that they look like the most expert smoker ever. Since the year 2000, smoking rates among students have dropped by almost a half. Around 32.9% of the average uni undergrad smoked when this article came out, which has now dropped to around 13%. From gimmicky ash trays to the best lighters, the article is a huge advocate for smoking, although it does clarify that the paper does “not advocate such behaviour”.
StudentDirect October 14 2002 – Issue 4
My personal favourite find from the older issues were the very American Pie-esque Blind Date and sex columns. As can be seen in this excerpt from an early 2002 issue, these masterpieces of student journalism were often in print side by side. Blind Date was a great, rather long running series of post-date interviews in which the couples were given a free meal at Kro Bar for their turmoil. Having to rate their date on looks, sex appeal, dress sense, conversation, humour, and compatibility, the interviews could be a brutal read. “Come on girls, we know you want to be rescued”, read the advert for applications in this particular issue. Outdated, completely. However, the premise makes for great student content, and perhaps we should bring back these fun elements to print. If we are talking fun, the sex column – entitled ‘S&M’ for this particular issue – had plenty. From oral sex to whips and chains, this column cleared up a lot of sexual myths whilst giving advice and guidance. Of course, we have all this information (and much more) at our fingertips now due to the omnipresent internet, but I think there is something to be said for a humorous yet informative column on all things sex, written specially for students.
StudentDirect November 29 2004 – Issue 10
In this issue (a whole two decades ago, pretty much to the day), students submitted their campus crushes in a bid to get their feelings reciprocated. The frank, forward, and perhaps slightly creepy column was a regular in the paper during the early noughties, as it attempted to introduce students to the people they fancied in places like the library or beer garden. The tone of these pieces were fun and flirty, and the section was a true sign of the times as, before the launch of social media platforms such as Facebook, stalking was only something one could do in person…
The Mancunion of the yesteryear was a definitive sign of the times. With no social media, no Hinge, and nowhere to embarrass friends or yourself, the paper was used as a platform for adverts, advice, dating, and shopping – as well as your news, of course. As we have separate places to post drunk photographs, stalk our library crushes and check if our sex lives are normal, The Mancunion of today has less of the ironic and unserious student tone that was so prevalent in the issues of the millennium. Reading the old papers was like a time capsule to a student bubble where the writers often wrote with a more personal tone. The student voice has changed, is changing, and will continue to change as journalism develops and as culture progresses. The tone will continue to shift and adapt with the times, but I believe that the immortal student will always be the same.
