Indipendant college mag?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

I have given it some thought and I think it would be a good idea to start up our own mag. It woun't cost much to print it off in the college, about 20 - 30 euro I jave estimated. We could get some kind of funding from the college for it. I think 6 pages would be enough, as currently the blurb use most of it's space for ads.

The thing we lack is writers, there are lots of topics but which ones would best interest the students of carlow? It would have to be differant than the Blurb, written up by the students themselves and not the SU. We could start off with a freepage, a one page issue. Get some feedback and then we can take it from there. It would need quiet alot of commitment and work. We could advertise for writers and the like and try sway away from the drinking topics...

Have a sports page, soiety page, local events, cinema listings, local area development, history page... etc etc, there are loads of topics to cover and I think that it is very possible with the right people involved. I already have one person who wants to write for it.

We just need to get the ball rolling and get some input from ye... Thanks.

Redrocket

to start off with...... LEARN HOW TO SPELL: Independent

there's a lot you could do with the history page....
kinda this week 1-100 years ago, find out what happened, pick the most interesting topics, and print them up. it would make for an interesting read.

a jokes page, the blurb do it, but not very well. even if it was just to pick out amusing photographs for a week. i know ive got about 200megs of *amusing* photos at home.

i wonder if the blurb gets paid for those advertisements?
cause they are about 70% of the content.

what the president or vice president has to say in the last 4 years has never seemed to interest me. s4dd, remember dave?, what did dave used to write about years ago?

wheres me jumpa

stevenk wrote:

i wonder if the blurb gets paid for those advertisements?

yeah they do.

this is a good idea. but i really dont think that we could compete financially with the blurb. ie costs of doing this every week would be high. also to do something like this would take huge organisation. we would have to produce a consistently good mag every week. one bad publication and we lose the impression that we are better than the blurb.

an idea id like to suggest is to have a direct attack on the blurb. this could be done by producing a once off publication. ie advertise/market it as what the blurb should be and produce a once off publication packed with features/articles. this would really embarass the blurb and its "journalists" and may inspire the changes that we want.

so basically what im saying is put it all into one publication and produce a quality little mag. this is something we could definitely achieve and would all gladly help with.

im not shooting down the weekly mag, ill help either way.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

That once off mag would involve more expemce and alot more organisation...

WE checked it out, shouldn't cost musch and I am sure if we put forward a proper report to the college then there shouldn't be a problem with funding. There is also another option, an easier way. No costs... WE could ask that we take over the mag, have it seperate from the SU, The Students Voice. IT may work.

So have we got any volunteers for writing?

wheres me jumpa

have you looked into what funding you could get? where is the place to ask? id like to contribute however it would be on a short term basis as after the xmas hols im straight into exams and work placement.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Yea sure, just post me 100 quid and we will be sorted...

What would you like to write on? Lads if we got this off the ground it could be very good for us and the college.

I will ask tomorrow about the funding, I hear the preist is loaded...

Seriously though, I will ask at reception for any info on funding, I really don't know much about that kind of thing. Probably have to go to the student union... :-)

wheres me jumpa

it would be so funny if we went to the su and asked "lads how would we go about getting funding for an independant weekly mag?". i gues they woould have to help us!

The_Goose

I would definatly read that rather than
ad.....ad.....ad.....picture of some lad with knickers on his head.......ad....ad

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

They wouldn't have a choice, they would have to help us in one way or another. I think they would like someone else to sort it but the main idea of the Blurb is to generate money form the pubs and the like.

Still, lets see how how we get on here and we can take it from there. The college is full of people willing to write for mags...

Ivan

Fantastic idea, if you dont mind me saying so. I'd like to offer any help I can, in the mean time, fair dues and good luck.

blu_sonic

you could run it as a money making venture by incorporating adverts into it,

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Wouldn't be a bad idea having one or two ads in it, but it would seriously have to be limited. I think this will go ahead if we have the right people doing the job... I have spoken to people tonight and 3 have said they would write articles for it. We need alot of organisation though.

the_syco

One add per page, taking up about 1/8 of the page.

=-=

Or, you could write for the Blurb. I remember one of the people saying to me that if anyone actually bothered writing something, and submitting it, they'd proberly print it. Remember: they print sh|te because no-one else will submit decent articles. When I was there, it was mainly the same people, writing the same stuff, every week.

Have you even considered asking?

TomTom

I think if you are going to write up some stuff, write some none time related articales, e.g. for the moment write a few non current affairs related articles this will bulk up you paper without been limited for time on publishing it so you are not out of date.

Adds are not a bad thing, they provide printing revenue. nobody is going to want to fork out 30 yoyos a week to print a mag.

Kain

I've heard a few ideas about starting a new mag, but none of them really got off the ground. This one seems like it actually may work. I'd love to help by doing some writing and such. If you do some advertising then its sure to get some people interested.

TomTom

What format are ye looking at, A3 page folded?
I'm not sure what the print quality is like ont he blurb these days but i remember it being awfull. It used to be bulk photocopied and sometimes have the pages were askey and some unredable

Quality of print is something that will set you apart also
clarity of pictures. Presumably its black and white only due to cost but what alot of papers used to do was have a 99% black and white with one page with colour for certain things, like sports team photos where quality and clarity is needed.

Redrocket

as little ads as possible.
see how much content you can get without ads, compare it to the blurb
also, a new name to magazine would generate interest. everyone is used to the blurb, and how crap it can be

ShayK1

How about "The Super Cool Best Mag ITC has EVER seen" Would that generate any interest?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

TomTom wrote:

I think if you are going to write up some stuff, write some none time related articales, e.g. for the moment write a few non current affairs related articles this will bulk up you paper without been limited for time on publishing it so you are not out of date.

Adds are not a bad thing, they provide printing revenue. nobody is going to want to fork out 30 yoyos a week to print a mag.

A step ahead of ya there tommy boy.

I was talking to the president (Who is he anyway, never seen him before) and he said that it was a no-go, I don't see why not. He did say that there was litter laws or something like that. The quality of the blurb is bad It sucks man arse. Saying that they seem to be under severe pressure with it, alot of work involved with it.

He suggested we have a sub mag, We could take up as much as we like, add it to the blurb and call it something differant. I just think that he is afraid that if another mag comes along they will have serious compitition.

One colour page is good. I wouldn't like to see a load of photo's though. The blurbs photo's only come from nexus foundry and football pitches... After 3 years it's getting boaring...

What we need to get this off teh fround is dedication. I asked Brendan (Destructor), Rob (Kiith), Gary (Where's my jumper) and Dave (Daithi) so far. I only asked them because there are known to me and easy to approach. Anyway these are the names that I have for definates that will write for it. There are obviously the people who posted here too.

Kain

Maybe if this takes off you should approach s4dd again about getting another site for the paper, then you can advertise it in the paper or on the college, and you might be able to get some feedback from the students.

wheres me jumpa

Lainey Clean Collie wrote:

I asked Brendan (Destructor), Rob (Kiith), Gary (Where's my jumper) and Dave (Daithi) so far.

nnnnooooooo now my true identity has been revealed i cant write about new popular activities such as flashing, roasting and dogging!

UnrealQueen

Count me in too.

The_B_Man

ill act as an outside consultant. when u need inspiration for a story, consult the beezer for sum top notch story ideas...

blu_sonic

indie music, football manager, and Irish football (Eircom League)

all things i could write about should you need something fresh

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Excellent, you see even from boards.ie we have lots of people interested. Imagine advertising this in the college???

Kain I was going to ask Paul if he wanted to write for it, I know he would be interested. A site would be good but we have to get things rolling first.

Cheers beezer I know you will be a valuable asset in the future.

Does anyone know who to go to about these types of things? Should I mention it at reception? The priest? I have no idea who would deal with this type of thing. We have to see if what "the prez" says is true. If so should we go to them and go ahead with the sub mag in the blurb?

He wants to meet tomorrow with us. Would anyone be available to come down to the SU and help sort things. If I go on my own I may feck things up a little...

blu_sonic

you could set up a GEOCITIES web site (i'd be happy to do it) that complements te mag so if i sorted it that all the main people who imput have a user id could add to the site on a daily basis

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Not good for use in the college, Paul is our man if we want a decent site, no adds or anything... We can also shorten the site name to "news" for instance, instead of "www.weeklynews.itcarlow.it" (Just an example )

Can we leave the site for the moment and try focus on the next step. Getting permission form the college, who do we go to? The college director himself?

Redrocket

a sub mag of the blurb sounds like a load of bull to be honest

get a few people to help with the funding of the first few print offs of the magazine and the distribution, and see how well it goes.

sounds like he is very afraid that a new magazine will be 10 times better than the blrub. same ads every week, little or no jokes ever, same pictures of the same people in the same places. i cant see you could do worse than the blurb to be honest!

can i have a little bitching corner in one or two weekly editions?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

He mentioned something about litter laws... What do you think about that steve? I don't think anyone can do anything about it if it's legit and decent. I guarantee we will get the people on out side. What to do what to do...

The_B_Man

litter laws? so then if theres litter laws stoppin u from makin a mag, then how does the blurb get away wit it? sounds utter bollox to me!

TomTom

I think you should talk to the SU tomorrow about it and find out from them what is needed.
In the meantime you should start pitching ideas for content, e.g. A sports page, a social apge, a current affairs page, college news. A student notice page.

As for a title, maybe something simple like 'the subbliment' or if you don't want to be tied to the blurb, and in the event of it over taking the blurb as a college mag them maybe somthing more main stream. possible a play on words or something.

Anyway, i'm willing to help also.

Redrocket

something about littler laws? i think he's blowing smoke.....
if there is a law (college law) it cant be hard to get past, there are always people handing miscellaneous literature around the college, the blurb, the sports blurb, the previous priest was always handing out flyers, and so on....

i really wouldnd like to see all the effort from various people going under the name of the blurb. i dont even bother to pick up the blurb anymore. you might be wasting your time going in that direction. where as a new named new content mag would catch people's eye and make them pick it up.

blu_sonic

so then lets set what content we'd all like?
a feedback page: i think a page where people could right in with there views on college life etc.

a Icon page: "Irish Content" ie, general sport EL, GAA, Rugbyetc.

Music Page:up and coming gigs album of the week, a burn it guide etc.

COMP page: little tips on how to make your pc work faster/better, and maybe a q&a comp pg

Games: need i say more

Lifestyle page: a whats going on in Carlow, minority groups etc.

Socs page: little notices

i'm not saying all should be put in just somethings that i think i'd like to read about while chowing down my lunch

wheres me jumpa

there is actually a "litter law". i cant remember what i have heard this in relation to before but i know it exists. wouldnt be too hard to find out about.

as for the name, i have been reading a book about 1916 rising and it mentions several papers that were printed by the rebels. seen as this is something of a rebellion how about we go with one of them? "The Spark" was the coolest.

TomTom

It has to have a sudoko puzzle. I love that during lunch.

Redrocket

suduko cool,
hey how popular are crosswords these days?

how about an interesting facts page followed up by a joke page.
there has to be a few sites on the net that will accomodate a daily never mind weekly jokes page.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Google is your friend, with it we will never run out of stuff to write.

I was thinking of doing a history/geography page myself. We have alot of international students this year and it would be fair to let them know a bit about carlow and the surounding area.

Lads the idea's are brilliant and seem plentifull. Now all we need to do is sit down together and really talk about it. We need to meet up in the college for a bit and discuss what we are going to do.

We need to find out who will do what? Editor, publisher etc.

What do you think?

Tom are you still in the college? I thought you left... Just curious.

TomTom

I not in the college anymore so a sit down and chat is out the of question at the moment.
As for an editor, its a dangerous thing to appoint a single editor over somthing like this. It should be group edited with the majority rules idea for decisions. Articles and topics should be partialy set as features. For example a consistant sports page, local news page and the like. But things like geograph/history should be an occosional feature as you would run out of material very quickly.
Another idea is contacting the carlow nationalist and asking could you link articles from their paper with full credit going to them of course. As in you could have local news provided by the carlow nationalist and only take small exerpts from their local news section. This has the added benifit of having professional written local news articles that take minimal research and work and you also get a brand name associated with your paper. I'm sure they would not have too many issues with it if you talk it out with them. I will do the calling if ye want. My mother writes for several papers under the same group that ownes the paper so I know who to talk to.

blu_sonic

surly xavier shoul be the "CEO" seeing as he seems to be the one doing all the pushing for it?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Nah, i'm not looking for credit or anything like it. If paul (s4dd) were to get on the band wagon then I would think he would make a good editor.

Well things really have started, I think I will go to a few people tomorrow and get some info on the "litter law"

That would be great tomtom I wouldn't be that good with the speaking thingy. Plus, you seem to know exactly what is needed.

blu_sonic

can i apply for a job if i make it back next year? i'd love to write on some of the things i've mentioned in a previous post in this thread

UnrealQueen

Like the slipper?:D

i_am_dogboy

If the SU president says the completely independant mag is a no go, then it's a no go. You need to pass anything by the SU before handing it out/posting it on the messageboards-I remember all of danny's paintball posters being taken down in first year because they weren't stamped by the SU, I can also remember buzz's anti-anti war society poster, campaign during second year-speaking of buzz, is he still around? I didn't see him graduation night.

Maybe mr president suggested the sub mag because he would like to see the students take an active role in the blurb. I mean he's hardly scared of competition, he's not gonna lose a job, or many people's respect if a magazine made by a few dedicated students is more popular than the blurb. Maybe he knows the blurb is **** and wants it improved. It's not that bad an Idea to be honest, but maybe the website is the best option at this point. I'd say if you make it a web site you'll not have to worry about the litter law and the SU will probably have no problem letting you advertise it around.

Maybe someone could mention this thread, and maybe someone else could edit anything offensive relating to him or the blurb, and maybe he'd be willing to elaborate on why the independant magazine can't be done, and what's to be gained from thesub mag, and maybe he'll go and call himself lord or something similar when he posts, and maybe i'd like to say maybe again.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Insults? I think I made one comment on the first page, but I wouldn't put it in the "insults" file.

I only say what most think...

daithimac

I think we should at first keep this a web based mag. we can send it out to all the studients through pegasus with the permission of computer services of course. if we could set up a geosites web page for it where we could recieve subscriptions for it and gradually move it off of pegasus that wouls be even better. with very moderate advertising and time to hone our skills we could then start a hard copy version. also this method curcumvents the litter laws xavier mentioned already

also if you want to go ahead with the hard copy version straight away it would seem that distribution would be better of done in the town in the regular student haunts than in the college

blu_sonic

or we could get into guerrilla combat with the blurb putting the mag about off campus or via some bars or what not, just an alt to the sujestions above not my 1st or even a choice just an option

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Well we don't want to get rid of the blurb, just offer an alt to the students. For the more intillectual ones... ANyway it would be an idea to hit the pubs...

Oh I forgot to mention, I went to the director of the college and the regristrar but they were in a meeting. I will pay a visit to them to see about this "litter Law"

s4dd

well... i guess as an idea it could be interesting. Considering the blurb is super ****e atm, since all it is is adverts..

I guess my major qualm would be "would people be willing to put effort into getting it working".. Cause it is my experience that people are lazy idiots. Well, that and the big question "would people read it".

But i guess i can see myself getting involved if things shape up nicely.. could be a larf. Could i draw amusing caricatures of people that piss me off?

TomTom

just thinking about it, an online first edition ming not be a bad idea. We could structure it like a mag but on a site, hosted on netsoc, if allowed. It would give you the opertunity for a broad scale of people to have an input on what they would like on a college paper through an easy poll or survey. you could also ask about it being a printed media and get the students to decide. If hosted on netsoc it could be abailable quite easy to all students.

Just a thought and it cuts out the initial difficulty of trying to publish something. We get to see what its like as an online publication and can constructivly critisise it.

[edit] Also if it did go to paper I think an oline companion whould be a great idea as it accommodated the people who wanted to look back on something when they got home and an archive is a great tool for any publication.

s4dd

agreed... an online mag is a great idea. will people read it though? i mean, the only reason people read the blurb is that it's thrown in their face...

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

s4dd wrote:

But i guess i can see myself getting involved if things shape up nicely.. could be a larf. Could i draw amusing caricatures of people that piss me off?

I wounder who you would draw...

Sure lets get started then, we don't need anyones permission to put up posters advertising about the site... Has anyone got an example of an online mag? I wouldn't know much about it, looks wise.

So what topics would be most interesting? What would you like to see? Personnaly I would like to write on local history. I would also like to inform people of other events around the town, a "To Do" page.