Northumbria Student is a newspaper produced by and for members of Northumbria University; Newcastle upon Tyne , England
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The paper was established in May 2004 and is monthly. It is available in the Students' Union building at the City Campus as well as Bar One.
Northumbria Student is editorially independent of both Northumbria Students' Union and Northumbria University. However, many editions feature submissions from members of the Executive such as the Societies Officer.
Although the newspaper has ceased to publish, as of August 2011, attempts are being made by former students to build the foundations for a new student-run online newspaper called Northumbria Student.
The newspaper, still in its infancy compared to much more established University newspapers and the weekly The Courier down the road at Newcastle University, began life as 20 pages in its first issue in May 2004 - the only issue of that academic year - under founding Editor Katherine Graham. The team produced a magazine version of Northumbira Student over the Summer holidays which was sent out to all freshers starting at Northumbria that September. Katherine edited two further editions of an extended 28 page format before stepping down to join NSR fm. In the academic year 2004-2005 there were four issues, including the January issue which was the first under the joint Editorship of Sarah Bailey and Steven Martin. 2005-2006 saw the role of Editor integrated into the annual NSU elections for the first time, with Ged Howard being elected. The following academic year saw the newspaper take off due to more support from Union staff and more effective use of the Students' Union website www.mynsu.co.uk to recruit regular writers.
The position of Editor is contested in the annual Students' Union elections, however it is the only position that is deemed 'non-executive' (No mugshot by the NSU Welcome Desk!) and is unpaid and part-time, due to the newspaper being a monthly publication.
Northumbria Student ceased publication at the end of the 2008 academic year. It was replaced by a monthly current affairs magazine named 'Nu:Life'.
Northumbria Student is a mixture of light-hearted news and features, containing both regional and national news that is considered to be of interest to those studying at Northumbria. However, it has covered a number of significant stories associated with the University such as the lecturer strike of 2005.
The entertainments section is called Poly Scene - this is a light-hearted parody of the University's former life as Newcastle Polytechnic, which is often used in a derogatory fashion by students of Newcastle University who still refer to Northumbria students as Poly Kids.
The music section features interviews and gig reviews from the local area, though is not confined only to gigs at Northumbria. Past interviewees include The Go! Team, The Futureheads, Maxïmo Park (multiple times!), Bowling for Soup, The Longcut and American Hi-Fi.
The sport section is called Poly Sport and in 2005-2006 was compiled by Sports Editor Dan Warburton, who reported on a multitude of university teams in a variety of sports as well as securing many exclusive interviews which included a long chat with Newcastle Falcons' Matt Burke, Jamie Noon and Jonny Wilkinson - all of which resulted in Warburton being awarded with the Media Volunteer of the Year Award at the Volunteer Evening in May 2006.
The majority of newspaper costs - most of which is made up from printing costs - are covered by advertising, usually including a full-page advert on the back page of each issue.