The Oxford Blue (newspaper)
The Oxford Blue is an online newspaper produced entirely by students at the University of Oxford. Founded in 2020 and named after the university colours, it is Oxford University’s first new newspaper in 30 years. The newspaper receives no university funding, and is entirely independent[1][2] and the first digital-only student newspaper in Oxford.
| File:The Oxford Blue Banner Logo.jpg | |
| Format | Online |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Lois Heslop and Phoebe Hennell |
| Publisher | Oxford Blue Publications Limited |
| Editor-in-chief | Zaman Keinath-Esmail and Andrew Smailes |
| General manager | Ipsita Sarkar |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Oxford, UK |
| Website | theoxfordblue.co.uk |
Search The Oxford Blue (newspaper) on Amazon.
Foundation[edit]
The Oxford Blue was founded by two undergraduates, Lois Heslop (Lady Margaret Hall), the founding Editor-in-chief, and Phoebe Hennell (Christ Church), the founding Managing Director of the newspaper. Heslop was previously Deputy Editor of Cherwell (newspaper), and Hennell had spent time working for a series of London start-ups before coming to Oxford.[3] Hennell and Heslop conceived the newspaper during their second year at university, and it started publication in January 2020. It received over 250 applications to join the founding editorial team in its first two weeks.
The first editorial discusses that the newspaper seeks to be a “disruptive new voice, celebrating individuality, battling elitism and heralding a new direction for student journalism”[3]. The newspaper was founded in response to the perceived “cliquey” nature of Oxford student journalism with the aim of providing opportunities for students to develop their journalistic skills, regardless of background. It seeks to be accessible to all, especially those with no prior experience in journalism.
In October 2020, the newspaper won the Student Publication Association Best Newcomer Publication award.[4][5]
Aims[edit]
The Oxford Blue is a training newspaper, and has a collaborative editing process designed to provide both its editorial team and writers with practical journalistic experience. The newspaper states that authors retain control over the content they produce and no changes are published without their consent.[6]
The Oxford Blue produces daily content on its website, as well as a weekly podcast named The Blue Spotlight.[7] It seeks to provide its readers with global perspectives on international events that they may otherwise not be exposed to, and has a section dedicated to world news. In addition to reporting on existing stories, it has an Investigations Team which seeks out stories it considers to be of significance to the student community based upon tips and its own research. It also has a focus on individuality and hires columnists each term, as well as podcast hosts. The sections on the paper include Current Affairs, Global Affairs, Opinion, Culture, Lifestyle, Interviews, Columns, Video, and Podcast.
Organisation[edit]
The Oxford Blue, its podcast, YouTube and social media channels are subsidiaries of Oxford Blue Publications Limited[8], which has a Board of Directors, made up of former Editors, Managing Directors and business staff. Each term, the Board appoints two Editors-in-chief and one Managing Director to run the paper.
The Oxford Blue and Oxford Blue Publications Limited is run entirely by students at the University of Oxford. The Board of Directors has two co-Chairs, and each term’s Editors and Managing Director join the Board for at least one term after their tenure. The Board also elects other members on a yearly basis. The Editors-in-chief and Managing Director are termly positions, elected by the Board of Directors. The term’s Editors-in-chief and Managing Director choose the Editorial and Business teams. The editorial team is divided into sections - currently Current Affairs, Global Affairs, Culture, Lifestyle, Columns, Opinion, Video, and Podcast. Each section has a Senior Editor, and several section editors. The section editors are responsible for putting out commissions and editing pieces, while the Senior Editor is responsible for publishing to the website and social media channels, as well as leading content direction.
Content[edit]
In February, The Oxford Blue reported that Pembroke College professor Peter King had plead guilty to possession of child pornography.[9][10] Its article was later cited by The Guardian[11] and the BBC[12].
In April 2020, The Oxford Blue was the first to report that Christ Church papyrology professor Dirk Obbink had been arrested for stealing papyrus fragments from Oxford’s Sackler Library.[13][14]
In June and July 2020 The Oxford Blue published several articles on racism at Oxford University.[15][16] It also reported that the university was violating doctor-patient confidentiality agreements in suspension cases.[17]
Following the move to online examinations in 2020 and 2021 precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Blue revealed that an internal committee at Oxford University had told departments that “they are strongly encouraged to retain online exams where academically appropriate” for 2022 and 2023.[18] Oxford's Law Faculty later announced that Law finals in 2021 would be held online.[19]
References[edit]
- ↑ Heslop, Lois (23 February 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Pembroke don pleads guilty to possessing child pornography". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 8 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Nasskau, Leo (27 February 2020). "New Evidence Suggests Pembroke Professor Produced Indecent Images". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 8 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Heslop, Lois (21 January 2020). "A Letter From The Editorial Team". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 8 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Oxford independent newspaper wins Society-sponsored Student Publication Award – Society of Editors". Society of Editors. 2020-10-14. Retrieved 2021-08-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "SPA Awards 2020". Student Publication Association. Retrieved 2021-08-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Reporting Guidelines MT21" (PDF). The Oxford Blue. 16 July 2021. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The Blue Spotlight". Spotify. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ "OXFORD BLUE PUBLICATIONS LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Heslop, Lois (2020-02-23). "EXCLUSIVE: Pembroke don pleads guilty to possessing child pornography". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Nasskau, Leo (2020-02-27). "New evidence suggests Pembroke professor produced indecent images". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ "Oxford lecturer admits producing indecent photographs". the Guardian. 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ "Oxford academic Peter J King jailed for child abuse images". BBC News. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Heslop, Lois (2020-04-16). "EXCLUSIVE: Christ Church professor arrested over scandal of stolen papyrus". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Dodd, Vikram (16 April 2020). "Oxford professor arrested on suspicion of ancient papyrus theft". The Guardian.
- ↑ Hennell, Phoebe; Onovo, Melanie (2020-06-03). "Accusations of racism at Christ Church JCR hustings". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Emery, Gabriella (2020-07-02). "Former Christ Church Boat Club committee member admits to defacing George Floyd image". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ Investigations, Oxford Blue (2020-08-27). "EXCLUSIVE: Oxford colleges violate doctor-patient confidentiality in forced suspension cases". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ News, Blue (2021-06-28). "EXCLUSIVE: University proposes online examinations for 2022 and 2023". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ "Law Faculty Confirms Online Open-Book Final Exams". The Oxford Student. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
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