When I read The Oxford Blue’s first installment of ‘The Elephant in the Newsroom’ series, I realised that the ‘elephant’ – which I recognise in every aspect of my student journalism experience – is not just seen by me. It’s hidden among the colourful illustrations and feature pieces of student papers being published every week, in the walls of editorial meetings I’ve led with a shaky voice, and embedded in the pages of Oxfess.
I’ve always known I loved writing. I’ve filled up hundreds of notebooks and sent my friends letters when we aren’t in the same place. I frequently note down quotes that make me laugh in my notes app and don’t get me started on the flow charts I write after a night out (it’s almost concerning).
However – like many other state-school students at Oxford – I’ve never quite known where to actually put this love of writing. My secondary school didn’t have a student-led magazine or newspaper printed like clockwork, and for most of my degree I would tentatively read articles written by my peers. I never quite thought that the person writing them could, in fact, be me. Journalism was, in my mind, out of reach.
If you are creative, enjoy writing, or want to speak about something you’ve been thinking about, student journalism is the place to do it. Although it might appear as a mystical phenomenon sometimes, reserved for a specific type of person from a specific background, student journalism needs your voice. In order for journalism to continually change and respond to what is happening now, it requires diverse voices. No one’s self-doubt should be an obstacle in this.
Particularly with accessibility, writing is a tool through which we can start a conversation. Especially where there isn’t yet a clearly defined platform in Oxford more broadly to have these discussions, writing is a great place to start. If it is something you are scared to articulate, or a feeling you are convinced that no one else will share, I have found that writing an article is a great starting point, and is massively liberating.
Again – doing this isn’t as mysterious as I first perceived it to be. To pitch an article, join the group for contributors for the relevant publication on Facebook, or, if you have your own idea, message the editor directly and I’m sure your idea will be welcomed. To edit, or make art, for a newspaper, committee applications tend to open at the end of each term ready in time for the next. For smaller positions, you really don’t need any experience, just an enthusiasm to create. I’m aware that these all seem like obvious points, but I had to find this out for myself, and it can be hard to know where to start.
Contributing to student journalism can, as writers of this series have shown, be loaded with imposter syndrome. Particularly where I’ve written on issues about the relationship between social class and Oxford, I’ve worried about reactions to my articles. I have feared that commenting on the structural divides at Oxford would be perceived as a direct criticism of people in any particular social group, rather than criticising the divides themselves. Fearing a specific reaction, though, shouldn’t stop anyone from writing.
Navigating a leadership role in a student publication can also be difficult when infiltrated by feelings of imposter syndrome. It provides an opportunity – both to do something you love, but also to steer the conversation in the way you so choose. When editing pieces to a publishable standard, I have made sure to point out when they don’t read to be entirely accessible. At first, I found this a bit embarrassing, announcing to a room of six fellow editors that I don’t understand a French word, a specific artist or artistic movement, or felt that a nod to a place in London or the name of a boarding school was unnecessary.
Despite this being intimidating, I hope that starting these conversations – as The Oxford Blue has done in this series, and as myself and others have done on a smaller scale – has some sort of knock-on effect. By slowly shifting the culture of student publications, and their reputation, I hope that student journalism will become more accessible, attracting student contributors from all backgrounds to share their ideas and have their voices heard.
This links to a conversation I heard on the radio recently about the accents of news reporters. On major news programmes, most reporters have an RP (received pronunciation) accent – that which is traditionally perceived as the ‘proper’ British way of speaking. However, discussion was being had about whether news companies should deliberately recruit reporters with accents from all over the country, and I think this is a really important point. People should be able to turn on the news and feel themselves and their individual national identity represented – it’s essential for diversity. This is needed in exactly the same way as the written voice. Both national and student journalism have a long way to come, but it’s through having conversations like this that means it can change.
The elephant is, undoubtedly, in the newsroom. But gradually it can make its way towards the door, article by article, meeting by meeting, term by term.