Off The Record » Satire, satire, every where, and all things banal did shrink
Who checked their email today? If you didn’t, I’d suggest you scroll to the bottom of this post.
Campus, it seems, is too satire-free. Moment of Zen and The Sketch, for years the staple diet of the University’s wit-addicts, are no longer satisfactory. ‘Banal campus news’ is all Vision and Nouse can muster, it appears – and they’re under threat.
Can you hear the satirical rumbling on the horizon? Or is that just the perpetual beeping from my phone as hundreds of ‘Calling all budding journalists and satirists’ emails roll in throughout the day. If anything, it was an awfully impressive PR roll out.
But was it a roll-out at all? Where was the publicity? I’m a little confused. The email contains little clues. They originated from a number of lecturers – no doubt abusing internal mailing lists – and did not reference the publication, referring to it as only ‘a new, independent newspaper at the University of York’, with ‘satire as its backbone and provide a monthly alternative to the existing campus publications’.
Hmmmmm, I mused. Independent. As in from YUSU? Or just from the cruel banal dictatorship of Nouse and Vision? Perhaps the University are part-financing a satirically-disguised samidzat to launch a phoney war against YUSU towers. Or has someone struck a deal with a bankrupt graduate recruitment company?
The only calling card – a Hotmail address – increased my interest further. ‘Who are these jokers?’ asked one person who forwarded it to me. I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. Or, perhaps more to the point, do I know if they are indeed jokers or not. Though I suppose they must be, being satirists and all.
But wait – I’ve heard this before. The Lemon Press, a remarkably similar satirical magazine start-up that was mooted last term. Their description: ‘York University’s number 1 satirical magazine, offering a piquant blend of humour, creative writing and miscellaneous insight’ looks awfully similar to the mysterious email. But their Facebook page says issues will be ‘Termly’. The email said ‘Monthly’. The LP’s roster looks pretty full – even Nouse‘s own Dr Shergold (whose wit, I must vouch, get sharper with every netball match) is on the team – but the mysterious email wanted to recruit all of its editorial. So, I assumed we had two new magazines on the cards.
Is campus large enough for two wannabe Private Eyes? Are there enough good writers? Or, indeed, enough things to be satirical about?! It’s a mystery. If anyone has any answers, please let me know.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for creativity, and for enhancing York’s position as the country’s student media hotbed. And look – no whinging – I’ve even publicised them here. But more in bemusement than backing.
If this anonymous emailing is a (perhaps too satirical) Lemon Press tactic, then I wish them all the best. But a competitor? I fear for an epidemic of wry smiles and bleeding hands with all this cutting satire flying around.
–
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:49:56 +0100 (BST)
From: ——-@york.ac.uk
To: hjf503@york.ac.uk
Subject: Calling all budding journalists and satirists
Hello,
A group of us have secured funding to start a new, independent newspaper at the University of York and are looking for scores of people to help with the September 2009 launch and production of this exciting new project.
The paper will have satire as its backbone and provide a monthly alternative to the existing campus publications, avoiding banal campus news and taking a more light-hearted and off-beat tone.
We are looking for
Managing Editors (an opportunity to run the show)
Sub Editors
Section Editors
Satirists
Writers
Proofreaders
Illustrators/Cartoonists
Designers
General Helpers (distribution, editing, marketing, PR)
Salesman on commission
Sections will include:
Satire
Politics
Arts
Music
Sports
Film
Fashion
Please write to yorkstudentnewspaper@hotmail.com if any of the above roles are of interest, or just to register your interest in this massively exciting project.
Best,
The Team!
Loading ...
I sincerely hope that ‘independent’ means ‘not getting funding from YUSU’, because at the moment the two campus newspapers only get six issues per year paid for by the university.
I’m also intrigued by the distinction drawn between ‘satirists’ and ‘writers’.
But maybe I’m just grumpy because I’ll be graduating this year and won’t get to see it. I’m sure the rest of campus is ‘looking forward’ to this ‘exciting’ publication.
Oh my God. This is the most pointless article I have ever seen, in Nouse or anywhere else for that matter! ‘Are there enough good writers?’ Heaven forbid! I’m sure a lot of people could produce a better article than this.
If you’re interested in getting involved in Nouse, Anon, drop an e-mail to contact@nouse.co.uk.
‘Nouse Anon’? Is that a support group?
Henry, is this supposed to be satire? A hint: over emphasis is just annoying and not in itself satirical.
Also it helps to have an actual target.
Looks like you woke up, somebody called your paper ‘banal’ and you flew into a blind and primitive rage and said it was satire. Just saying.
“Is campus large enough for two wannabe Private Eyes?”
Actually, this would be good. Kind of
“Is campus large enough for two wannabe Private Eyes?”
Actually, this would be good. Kind of a platonic guardian for the platonic guardian for the wannabe Guardian.
To sort of ‘watch’ the watchers of the watchmen (oh yes, I went there). Problem is, if they start watching each other: who turns out the light?
“I’m also intrigued by the distinction drawn between ’satirists’ and ‘writers’.”
It would seem that to be a word satirist is to be a writer, but that to be a writer is not also to be a satirist. I’d also call some cartoons satire: not all satirists are writers.
It’s not really that intriguing after all. There two distinctions: 1) A writer may not produce satire and 2) A satirist may not produce writing.
I guess it depends on how narrow a definition of ‘satire’ you want to take. I’d say though that there isn’t a very good case for taking the narrower route. This is because such a diverse range of works that are satirical undermines any claim that satire is just written in form.
I’m intrigued by the fact that they’re looking for commission based salesmen. Does this mean that they’re intending to try and sell the newspaper on campus? That could explain how they’re going to be independent. But is there really a market for it on campus? Will students actually be willing to pay to read this “new, independent newspaper” when we can already read Nouse, Vision, and soon The Lemon Press for free? (I’m assuming the Lemon Press will be free, anyway)
Another possibility is that it’s trying to sell ad space.
This apple is your apple
This apple is our apple
Yours is a news apple
Our apple’s your news ap-puull
But apples and apples everywhere;
and some still not a slice to eat.
I thought the same thing when I saw that email. Why didn’t the Socs & Comms Officer ask them if they’d heard of The Lemon?
But then again, they say they’ve received ‘funding’, not YUSU funding, so perhaps they’ve gone through different channels. The @hotmail address suggests the latter.
its all so well and good banging on about the lemon press and saying that we already have a satire publication but seeing as the LP have never printed anything that is a pointless issue.
i’d just be happy to have a bit of satire on campus. well so long as its funny.
This looks rather encouraging. I’d love to see a satirical light-hearted paper on campus (I miss Nouse’s old satire pages, and can’t stand the dreadful conceptual pages that replaced them). And they seem shrewd enough to make it work: after all, they’ve already got Nouse doing this (very effective) advertising campaign for them, and for free! One presumes.
I honestly don’t want to see another venture fail before it starts, after all, that would place me into the same league as the cream of the Nouse crop by questioning the purpose of a non-existent newspaper before its even printed. However, the true debate that arises from this ‘article’ in my mind isn’t the question of ‘are there enough good writers?’ moreover, ‘why would anyone want to invest into the antiquated platform of print in 2009 – The Year of the Recession?’
If any logic were to be applied here, those behind the venture would jump on the bandwagon of Nouse, The Yorker and the soon-to-be ‘vision dot co dot something’ and produce something online at very little cost that remains up to date all the time, not termly or even monthly, and where mistakes or bad articles are likely to be ignorrrrred ignorrrrred.
Maybe it’s just the depressed Management Student in me that isn’t exactly jumping for joy over the concept of yet more students trying to be funny with no-one there brave enough to say ‘I appreciate your attempt at humour but… it’s shit and we’re not publishing it’ Having been in societies that are famed for slapping themselves on the back more often than bunch of double jointed sadomasochists, I can say with no uncertainty that without constant scrutiny, mediocrity will become the cornerstone of the publication.
For now, I’ll welcome the new publications on campus with open arms if they are able to be genuinely funny and clever, but a large part of being clever is realising that for £100 you’ve got a ‘.com’ website for a year that requires little or no maintenance. You want to make something once or twice a term? Make something truly amazing with YSTV… that’s my plan.
GB
Henry, I wonder why it is you think The Lemon Press has been “mooted last term” considering we’re ratified, have secured a domain name and hosting for a website the next two years, and never intended to put our first issue out until September this year?
The mysterious email isn’t from the Lemon Press as far as we know. We do, however, extend an invitation to the anonymous sender to come to any of our open meetings, should s/he wish to discuss the satire situation further. In any case, competition isn’t a bad thing, and from the looks of it, the two aspiring magazines will be different anyway (we want The Lemon Press to be free, for one thing).
Also, I ought to point out that whilst The Lemon Press is a satire magazine, it also aims to provide a platform for “Creative Writing” and “Miscellaneous Insight”.
Hope this helps clear things up,
Lemon Press
“Henry, I wonder why it is you think The Lemon Press has been “mooted last term” considering we’re ratified, have secured a domain name and hosting for a website the next two years, and never intended to put our first issue out until September this year?”
In fairness to Foybles, The Lemon Press is hardly the talk of the town. If I’m right in thinking that its senior editorial team is responsible for online creative writing outlet Red-Jay, then by golly are we in for a treat. Or indeed ‘insight’.
It’s very underhanded of this newer magazine than the Lemon Press to go all guns blazing and grab some headlines, while LP members are probably quietly writing away. Who’s going to want to start any new magazine ventures here in York when Nouse think they are above all and can cast aside anything creative?
I agree with Lady Gaga, if LP are allowed to get off the ground and are given some support, the writers of Red-Jay look like they’ll do a fantastic job.
“In fairness to Foybles, The Lemon Press is hardly the talk of the town. If I’m right in thinking that its senior editorial team is responsible for online creative writing outlet Red-Jay, then by golly are we in for a treat. Or indeed ‘insight’.”
What a joke; invoking fairness and then using it to be unfair.
Not exactly cricket. Go Team Foybles.
“but a large part of being clever is realising that for £100 you’ve got a ‘.com’ website for a year that requires little or no maintenance”
Or, with the free web hosting provided for York’s societies, for £6 you can get a .co.uk for two years.
We were already planning on using the website to “produce something online at very little cost that remains up to date all the time”, but since we have to charge membership fees anyway, and we’re hoping to get YUSU funding, that extra money can pay for the print-copies of the best writing for each term.
Lady Gaga, yes, the people behind Red-Jay are also involved in The Lemon Press at its senior levels. To you and Anon, thanks for the support
“You want to make something once or twice a term? Make something truly amazing with YSTV… that’s my plan.”
Listen to the man. He is the voice of reason.
Er excuse me Radio Gaga, you may have given me the inspiration for my name but I was, in fact, being nice! No teacup for you!
Good luck to The Lemon Press and the new endeavour Henry is on about – the more publications on campus the better. Out of interest, what has happened to Word Salad and Art Chips and The Zahir?
‘Listen to the man. He is the voice of reason.’
Hang on…. WHAT?!?!!?
http://www.grantbradley.com
Oops! This link appears broken.
Suggestions:
View cached copy of page from Google
Go to http://www.giantbradley.co.uk
well Bucks.. a few people in the past have referred to me as a ‘giant’… but this is neither time or the place for flirting…
Point taken LG. Comment retracted. Though I already have a teacup. Two wouldn’t have been bad though. Good luck to the Lemon Press and the anonymous friendly Others.
Re: 3rd response: I put it to Chris Northwood that Nouse, or whoever is responsible for this area of Nouse business, ignores expressions of interest in writing for it, thereby provoking people into other ventures such as one of the two being discussed in this article.
“[Nouse] ignores expressions of interest in writing for it”
The only thing we can really do if you e-mail us is put you on the mailing list. The best way is probs to join the facebook groups and then you’ll get details of when the meetings about content take place. Some sections like news, comment and arts send out messages for meetings/web content pretty regular due to the high availability of content. The music team, for example, just handed out an interview with the Noisettes.
Hope that helps!