Griffiti magazine
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| Griffiti | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Editor | Celia Zwahlen |
| Categories | Student |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First Issue | Oct 2004 |
| Company | GCD Students' Union |
| Country | {{{country}}} |
| Language | English |
| Website | Official site |
| ISSN | unknown |
Griffiti is a monthly student magazine distributed throughout the campus of Griffith College Dublin. It was launched by the GCD Students Union in October 2004 as means of communicating student news to the college population, however its early editions took a very satirical slant on the news, a trait that was later rewarded with a gong by the Oxygen Student Media Awards for best colour writing. It is generally regarded as Griffiths's most popular student publication, however it's editorial style and physical look have changed greatly with each passing year resulting in inconsistent opinions among the student body. It currently holds the 2007 award for Best Small College Publication in Ireland.
As of March 2007 the magazine has won 2 National Student Media Awards.
Contents |
[edit] History
Griffiti launched in a newspaper form in 2004 under its first editor Nicola Reddy, but turned into a glossy magazine in 2005 under the editorship of John McSweeney. The publication was launched by the colleges student union who subsequently admitted that they had no idea what shape or editorial stance it was going to take. The pilot issue seemed to suggest that a serious features based publication was going to emerge, however Reddy's quick exit from Griffiti after just one issue left everything in turmoil. Cian Hallinan was quickly appointed to get the newspaper off the ground. Hallinan's approach to Griffiti proved to be quite different, as he went about turning it into a satire based publication. This change in editorial originally proved to be a hit with the students, with the most popular section often cited as being the purely satirical sectionThe Genuine Article. However Hallinan's style soon began to draw critisim from student body. Though many pupils complained that Griffiti was not worthy of serious writers and was to cliquey, staff on the magazine were quick to point out that the magazine was open to all to contribute but submissions were not forthcoming. The paper also published several hard hitting cover articles commenting on the problems facing Griffiths more disadvantaged students who were literally left out in the cold by the Union of Students in Ireland. Though critised for its poor layout and design (with many students describing it as 'child-like' in appearance) much of the design problems can be attributed to bad printing, particulary in the early issues. When presenting Griffiti with its only award of 2005 for Best Colour Writing, Judge Joe O'Shea (of Seoige and O'Shea) made special mention of Haliinans work on the paper.
[edit] Revamp
Upon the appointment of John McSweeney, the magazine underwent a massive face-life resulting in how it is presented today. The newspaper format was dropped in favour of a glossy magazine look. The size was significantly reduced and the layout and design was overhauled to give it a more professional look. The editorial stance was also radically altered, with the magazine being broken upon into clearly defined sections such as News, Sport, Entertainment and Satire. Griffiti's length was also increased from 16 to 24 pages. The Genuine Article was one of the few charactistics to be retained from the previous year. The new-look magazine proved an instant hit with staff and students alike. Provocative covers and the glossy look increased the magazines uptake to such an extent that the entire distribution was frequently gone within 2-3 days. John McSweeney later stated that the new look of the magazine (particulary the covers) was largely based on the movie magazine 'Empire', citing it's use of colours and imagery as a key 'selling point' for Griffiti.
[edit] Editorial Staff
The editorial policy of Griffiti dictates that the editor be changed every year. However prior to 2006, the editor was the only member of staff of the magazine. In May 2006 two chief writers were appointed to assist the editor in the running of the magazine during the following year.
| Roll call of Griffiti editors and staff | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | |||||||
| Editors | Nicola Reddy / Cian Hallinan | John McSweeney | Celia Zwahlen | ||||||
| Chief Writer(s) | (No such position) | Katie Roche / Bryan Cahill | |||||||
The current editor of the magazine is Celia Zwahlen.
[edit] Awards
2005 Oxygen Student Media Awards
Nominations (2):
Small College Publication of the year
Best Colour Writing - Winner (Michelle Burke and Caomhan Keane)
2006 Oxygen Student Media Awards (5)
Nominations (5):
Magazine of the Year
Small College Publication of the Year
Best Layout & Design
Best Colour Writing
The Peoples' Choice Award
2007 Oxygen Student Media Awards
Nominations (3):
Best Layout & Design
The Peoples' Choice Award
Small College Publication of the Year - Winner
Griffiti failed to pick up any awards in 2006, despite having the highest number of nominations in any year since it began. It was praised in the category of Magazine of the year, with judge Mr Colman Byrne stating: "The standard was very mixed overall, but the short listed entries were all compelling. The second strongest was undoubtedly Griffiti of Griffith College, which blended quality design and production with humour and collegiate topics brilliantly. It was literally pipped at the post by DIT’s entry which was tough competition."
