Journalism – The Orbital

24Apr

By Olivia TaylorNo Comments

Opinion

The Democratic Downfall of Journalism

Daniel Pearl was an American journalist. Near the time of his abduction and death, he had been working in Mumbai, India as the Southeast Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, but had travelled with his family to Karachi, Pakistan to report on the United States’ War on Terrorism following the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in 2001. Pearl was recognised for his journalistic detail and his ability to empathise with how humanity - and our own human nature - is affected by international issues. Consequently, he was considerate of the reported portrayal of the Islamic world towards his Western readers. Nevertheless, during his time in Karachi in early 2002, Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by several Islamist jihadist groups working together, operating under the Lashkar-e-Omar umbrella. ...

30Nov

By Ilayda KaplankiranNo Comments

News, Opinion

Westernisation of the Media

What is the value of human life? What is a “dominant western ideology”? It is best described as the propagation of a rigid geopolitical identity that prioritises western values, while concealing and alienating third world countries. As you can imagine, this is a deeply embedded narrative determining the discussions and outcomes in any political or academic space . Nearly all types of media coverage perpetuate western models of journalism, navigating desirable political views, and consequently overlooking the baseless claims that they might be making or insinuating. Historically, the tendency to privilege and perpetuate narrow-minded western thought traces back to the Imperial age. During a time when minority groups were glorified, and the elitist perspective involved “saving ...

26May

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Opinion

The Reality of Sex Work at University

All names have been changed to preserve anonymity. ‘I’ve been very lucky that all of the arrangements I’ve had have been with really genuine people’ – surely it indicates something foul when someone feels lucky to have encountered basic respect? Surely such respect, and ‘genuine people’, should be the norm? Are we so doomed as a society? I would like to believe we are not. However, when it comes to the industry of sex work, and young people entering it, it may be a different story. According to a pre-pandemic stat by Leicester University, an estimated 5% of UK students turn to sex work, and one in five consider it. Remember, that is pre-pandemic. If Covid generated any mainstream student story, it was the...

14Nov

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Fact or Fiction?

How technology is helping to disrupt the truth ‘Fake News’ is a phrase most frequently associated with the likes of Donald Trump, pointing the finger at journalists for their sensationalist, subjective reporting and blaming them for the hate he received by many. Journalists have a lot of responsibility in that regard – we are a society built on the opinions of the masses and journalists have a large stake in swaying that opinion. Many also associate this issue with a rising ‘cancel culture’- one bad word and the twitter cavalry storm in. In the twenty-first century, we have got endless information at our fingertips. Thanks to the internet, we can momentarily discover breaking news or the height of a favourite celebrity; any kind of information that will satisfy a curiosity and ...

13Oct

By Lee MillerNo Comments

Sports & Socs

NBA Superteams: Basketball Analysed

“I’ll never leave the team.. till we build to a championship level. It needs a lot of work but me and the guys we are ready for a challenge”. A young Giannis Antetokounmpo tweeted in 2014, a year following his 15th pick by the Bucks in the 2013 NBA draft. At the time, the road ahead to the playoffs looked bleak. Their 2013-14 season ended with a record of 15W and 67L. Steadily, both the Bucks and Antetokounmpo improved - the Bucks have shown consistency in the playoffs since 2016-17, and Antetokounmpo picked up his first MVP in 2019. Turning his words into reality, Antetokounmpo dropped a cool 50 points in arguably one of the greatest performances of a Finals game. It’s this tenacity that is at the heart of the sport. Bucks elation was at the expense of the Phoenix Suns, who w...

13Oct

By Lee MillerNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Guide to the UCL Favourites 2021/22

The greatest club competition in football returns this September with several teams eyeing the prize. A manic transfer window could provide the tightest competition in years, with many teams bolstering their squads in the knick of time. Below, we take a look at the predicted odds of success come May 2022. PSG: The bookies' favourites have undoubtedly had the best transfer window in history, acquiring sensational names on free deals like Donnarumma, Ramos, and Messi. The project with PSG has been simple - win a champions league. The rejection of Real Madrid’s £190 million offer for Mbappe throws all eggs into the UCL basket knowing he will walk as a free agent next year. Appearances in the final and semi final over the last 2 years are a testament to their progress, but being c...

20Sep

By Natasha LamNo Comments

Opinion

Journalism: Maybe, Maybe Not.

Journalism is an amazing industry. Difficult, sure, but absolutely amazing. Of course, I’m biased in that view considering I am looking to go into this industry and, on good days, may even refer to myself as an actual journalist rather than a journalist-to-be. My life is filled with FOI requests, countless emails to interview subjects and half-finished articles in various Word Documents and I love it. I am always trying to get my friends interested in journalism and if you’ve spoken to me for longer than five minutes, it’s likely I’ll have tried to recruit you for this very magazine. People getting involved in journalism, and especially student journalism, is extremely important as we are facing accusations of ‘Fake News’, budget cuts and, more often than not, a stressful environment to wo...

22Sep

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Science & Technology

AI on the Radar

Ever since its inception, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not only been at the forefront of technological advancement but also a major theme within many action films. What many films of the last decade have told us is that AI will either stage a hostile takeover of the world, or send us into obsolescence by one day replacing us, thus taking over the world regardless. For any journalist, current or aspiring, that day may be today, as it was announced earlier this year that Google is funding an AI program that will create news stories for publications. Google manages a fund, the Digital News Initiative (DNI), that awards grants to digital journalism projects around Europe. They awarded a grant of over £600,000 to Ireland’s Press Association and Urbs Media for their collaboration on the R...

22Aug

By Yasmeen FrassoNo Comments

Features

The 2016 Student Media Summit

This week saw the ninth annual Student Media Summit return to London. Hosted by the NUS and Amnesty International UK, the two-day Summit aims to educate and develop the skills of students involved in media and those wanting to pursue it in the future. Features editor, Yasmeen Frasso, talks about her experience. Walking down New Inn Yard on the morning of Thursday 18th August was a strange experience; the morning travels were filled with the excitement of actually being able to go to a place that, for the day, was not only a central hub for activism, but journalism as well. Two areas which journalist and keynote speaker, Laurie Penny, later explained to us are often largely intertwined. But, of course, anxiety also latched onto me. “Was I wearing the right clothes?” “Was I prepa...