When our former Editor Jonny started up ‘The Weekly Nouse’ (TWN) in April 2020, I don’t think that any of us really thought that it would still be going nearly one year later. Nouse has been in print since 1964, and this is by far the biggest disruption the paper has ever faced to physical printing.
TWN was meant not only as an alternative to our usual editions, but as a way to bring us together, both as an editorial team and as a support network. TWN was completely opt-in last year because, as expected, many weren’t in the right headspace to be engaging with Uni work, let alone anything else.
It was during our weekly Zoom meetings that I, a relative newbie, really started to click both with Nouse and with the people behind it. There was a huge sense of satisfaction to be gained from putting out top-quality content every week in spite of the dire situation we were in. These meetings encouraged me to reach out and have a chat when the only thing I wanted to do was curl up in my room and rewatch Killing Eve for the third time.
TWN then became the only experience that our Freshers have had of Nouse. I’m so pleased that we have been able to offer a prod experience in this capacity, and that our new members have helped to keep TWN vibrant, fresh and exciting.
However, I’d be a fool to say that TWN is a substitute for our print editions. That would be as backward as lecturers claiming that Zoom is no substitute for attending a lecture in person (only for them to realise the implications of this now…). There’s nothing more uplifting as a journalist than holding a print version of your own article in your hands. Our team has missed out on vital design training, as well as our Wednesday socials.
It remains uncertain when we will be able to begin printing again, with the government’s roadmap being subject to certain conditions. But it is our hope that when household mixing is allowed once again, we will be able to return to the office in some capacity this academic year.
So, is this a farewell? We can only hope – but I won’t be jinxing it.
The important thing is that we are continuing to deliver articles on pressing social issues to you, our readers. This week in Comment, Lucy Cooper and I both cover gender representation and liberation, which is particularly important given that we have just had what I’m calling one of the worst weeks for women in recent years.
Elsewhere, Matthew King discusses what the UK census’s new optional questions around gender identity and sexual orientation mean for identity politics, and in Sport Lucy Wilde looks at the problems women are facing exercising outdoors during lockdown.
Thank you for staying with us, and hopefully, the next time you read an Editor’s Note from me it will be on paper at a campus media stand.
