The Warwick Boar

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The Warwick Boar
Issue 13, Volume 28
Type	Weekly newspaper
Format	Compact (Tabloid)

Owner	Warwick Students' Union
Editor	Thom Poole
Founded	1973
Headquarters	Warwick Students' Union

Website: www.warwickboar.co.uk

The Warwick Boar is the student newspaper of the University of Warwick.

It has been published weekly in term time by the University of Warwick Students' Union since 1973. Whilst a society of the Union, the paper is editorially independent.

The paper is weekly and consists of news, opinion and analysis, features, lifestyle, music, arts, film, TV, technology, science, columnists, sport, travel and lifestyle.

The Boar is entire voluntary and none of the approximately 40 editorial staff are paid. Furthermore, the paper does not receive any budget from the Students' Union and therefore relies entirely on self-generated advertising revenue to keep afloat. Unusually for a weekly student paper, the Editor is not a Sabbatical Officer.

These handicaps, which stand in stark contrast to nearly every other successful student newspaper in the country, were recognised in the 2003 Guardian Student Media Awards when the judges (including Alan Rushbridger, Editor of The Guardian and Jon Snow, Presenter of Channel 4 News) commented: "A consistently high standard, like a fine regional newspaper with an outstanding magazine. The dedication of the staff to produce this newspaper on a weekly basis is incredible."

In the National Student Journalism Awards and Guardian Student Media Awards 2006, the Boar received no less than 17 nominations - an all-time record in the history of the student media. It ended up winning 7 awards – beating in one year the total achieved in the previous 33 years of the paper's history.

1 Student Media Awards
2 Editors
3 Origin of name
4 External links

[edit] Student Media Awards

The newspaper has recently been successful in various Student Media Awards.

2006
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Winner Website of the Year
  - Winner Travel Writer of the Year (Tanc Newbury)
  - Winner Sports Writer of the Year (David O'Kelly)
  - Nominated Sports Writer of the Year (Tom Morris)
  - Nominated Feature Writer of the Year (Ali Plumb)
  - Nominated Critic of the Year (Leo Robson)
  - Nominated Diversity Writer of the Year (David O'Kelly)
  - Nominated Columnist of the Year (Fred Forse)
- Press Association / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Nominated Best Newspaper
  - Nominated Best Website
  - Winner Best Student Reporter (Matt Sandy)
  - Winner Best Student Feature Writer (Ali Plumb)
  - Winner Best Student Sports Journalist (David O'Kelly)
  - Winner Best Student Photographer (Ching Sum Yuen)
  - Runner Up Best Student Travel Journalist (Laura Powell)
  - Nominated Best Student Critic (Alexandra Preston)
  - Nominated Best Student Travel Journalist (Tanc Newbury)

2005
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Runner-up Student Media Website of the Year
- Daily Mirror / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Runner-up Best Student Reporter (Matt Sandy)
  - Runner-up Best Student Media Website
  - Nominated Best Investigative Journalism (Matt Sandy)

2004
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Travel Writer of the Year (Tom Thurnell-Read)
- Daily Mirror / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Winner Best Student Reporter (Jake Morris)
  - Winner Student Media Website

2003
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Runner-up Student Newspaper of the Year
  - Nominated Sports Writer of the Year (Mark Douglas)
- Daily Mirror / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Nominated Best Student Campaign (Liberty Park)
  - Nominated Best Student Travel Journalist (Rhian Nicholson)

2002
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Sports Writer of the Year (Nicholas Morrison)
- The Independent / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Winner Best Student Photographer (Oliver Scarff)

2001
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Student Publication Design of the Year
  - Nominated Sports Writer of the Year (Mark Douglas)
  - Nominated Student Campaign of the Year (Compulsory laptops)

2000
- The Independent / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Runner-up Best Student Feature Writer (Andrew Losowsky)
  - Nominated Best Student Feature Writer (Tim Clist)
  - Nominated Best Student Arts Journalist (Andrew Losowsky)

1999
- Guardian Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Student Website of the Year
- The Independent / NUS National Student Journalism Awards
  - Winner Best Student Arts Journalist (Jonathan Stubbs)

1998
- Guardian / NUS Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Student Newspaper of the Year

1994
- Guardian / NUS Student Media Awards
  - Nominated Student Newspaper of the Year

1990
- Guardian / NUS Student Media Awards
  - Winner Impact Award (for the most improved publication)

[edit] Editors

Recent Editors of the paper include:

Dec 2006 - Present: Thom Poole
Jun 2006 - Dec 2006: Matt Chapman
Oct 2005 - Jun 2006: Matt Sandy
Feb 2005 - Oct 2005: Duncan Sinclair
Nov 2004 - Feb 2005: Kate Dunn
Feb 2004 - Nov 2004: Marli Roode
Oct 2003 - Feb 2004: Will Johnson
Feb 2003 - Jun 2003: Dominic Tobin
Oct 2002 - Feb 2003: Theo Usherwood
Feb 2002 - Jun 2002: James Mansfield
Oct 2001 - Feb 2002: Mark Douglas

[edit] Origin of name

Founding Editor Godfrey Rust provides this explanation here: "We wanted something that would convey a sense of instant history to cover up the (then) appalling newness of the place (and encourage more Americans to invest). Sitting in the Pennyfarthing Bar, [Co-founder] Kasper de Graaf and I pooled our vast knowledge of local heraldry. Coventry, we thought, had an elephant as its symbol, and Warwick had a bear. Or perhaps it was the other way around.

Anyway, neither of these had the required cachet. After experiments with other possible fauna we stumbled on the idea of a boar. Exactly whose the idea was I no longer remember, but I am certain that draught bitter was only 13p a pint. The pun was dreadful, but it was my round and there seemed to be no-one to stop us."