| Type | Tabloid newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Online and Print |
| Owner | The Tab Publications Ltd |
| Editor | Kieran Corcoran |
| Founded | June 2009 |
| Political alignment | Populist |
| Circulation | 130,000 hits per week (estimate), 60,000 unique visitors per month |
| Official website | www.cambridgetab.co.uk |
The Tab is a student newspaper based at the University of Cambridge, England.
Contents |
The Tab was launched in 2009 by Cambridge students Jack Rivlin, George Marangos-Gilks, and Taymoor Atighetchi.[1]
The website was marketed as "Cambridge University's Online Tabloid" promising to "provide fast news and entertainment direct to your rooms".[1] Since then The Tab has, in the majority of cases, managed to report stories faster than its print rivals. This fact was remarked upon by Kelvin MacKenzie, ex-editor of The Sun in a feature outlining the operation of the website for The Times newspaper supplement, T2 magazine.[2] While conducting his research, MacKenzie appeared in a Tab feature/interview.
The Tab was initially funded entirely by its three founders, although it now funds itself through advertising. By April 2010, the website had received over 2 million hits.
At its inception, 'Tab Totty', a page-3-esque feature, featured photographs of scantily clad Cambridge University students (male and female) in provocative poses. The feature was picked up by several mainstream British newspapers, and made international headlines as far afield as India.[3][4][5][6]
In 2009, the site's readers voted BNP leader Nick Griffin "The worst person ever to attend Cambridge University"[7] with 44% of the vote.[8]. In early 2010, The Tab ran an April Fool's hoax claiming Griffin had been stripped of his degree. This was subsequently reported by The Sun who believed the claims to be genuine.[9]
In its first year of existence, The Tab made more than 20 appearances in the national media.[10]
In November 2010, The Tab released documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act detailing recent disciplinary procedures enacted across the University.[11][12] Details from the documents released were then reported by national newspapers The Telegraph[13] and the Daily Mail[14], focusing on an incident at Churchill College in 2007.
In June 2011 The Tab published a pilot print edition of 5,000 copies in May Week and continues its expansion into print in the 2011 academic year.
The Tab is published by The Tab Publications Ltd, a company set up by The Tab's founders to ensure its continued existence.
Income accrued through advertising, along with low running costs, allows the newspaper full independence, and the ability to operate without funding from the University or CUSU, unlike rival publications.
Editors have included[1]: