Roar News Explained
Roar News is the student newspaper of King's College London. It is editorially independent of both the university and the students' union.
Roar has existed in various incarnations since 1973, but in 1992 its name was changed from Casey L to Roar News - named after the university's mascot, Reggie the lion. Roar prints four times a year, spending most of its energy on bringing students and staff up-to-the-minute news online.
Former editors, writers and photographers now work for national news outlets such as The Sun, Press Association, The Independent, The Daily Mail, Time Out Magazine, The Times, Sky and Thomson Reuters.
Roar is also a multi-award winning student newspaper being consistently recognised by the Student Publication Association (SPA). In 2023, they won Best Publication in London and were Highly Commended for Best Publication in the UK.
History
Since its founding in 1973, Roar has existed in various formats, as a magazine, then a tabloid newspaper. It was turned into a full colour, glossy magazine in 2006 but has since been re-branded as a tabloid, borrowing the style of The Sun and The Mirror newspapers in its layout.[1]
It once fell under complete editorial control of the vice-president Media and Publications, vice-president Communications and vice-president Student Media and Engagement, with shifts in the nature of its editorial independence, but in 2010 a student editor was appointed.
The correct version of the newspaper's full name is Roar News, although it is typically shortened to Roar. The newspaper's name has changed the punctuation and style many times over the years which often leads to it wrongly being called 'ROAR', 'ROAR!' or 'Roar!'.
An archive of Roar's Print Editions can be found on Issuu. [2]
Content and Structure
Roar operates both in physical print and online, where it publishes multiple times a day during the academic year. The newspaper has four sections: News, Comment, Culture and Sports. News typically includes student-centred content on issues such as teacher strikes, drink spiking, tuition fees and mental health. Comment, on the other hand, features student opinions on national and international events. The Culture section reviews student productions, films and more. This includes Roar's satire column, "The King's Jester", ran in partnership with the KCL Comedy Club.[3]
The Sports section is wide-ranging, covering both student sporting competitions and international tournaments. A key focus of the Sports section is extensive reporting on the annual London Varsity sports fixtures between King's College and University College London (UCL).[4]
Print Editions are published around three to four times per year. Publication dates have been variable but a September "Freshers" Print Edition has been a regular feature for new King's College London students. Newspapers are distributed across King's campuses, including Strand, Guy's and Waterloo. During the Covid-19 pandemic, as many students were studying from home, Roar published virtual "print" editions online.
Online publication is frequent with writers sometimes releasing articles around two or three times a day. Breaking news is typically published on the website too. In recent years, the newspaper has expanded their multimedia content too. Many of their interviews are published in video-format on YouTube and Instagram. They also run Podcasts, "RoarCast" and "Manestream Media",[5] where they host discussions with King's College London alumni (including Members of Parliament), student societies and university staff.
Notable Stories & Campaigns
- Health Schools job cuts (May 2014): Roar came out against university plans to cut 120 jobs in Health Schools in a letter[6] accusing the college of lacking transparency and racing through the redundancy process too quickly.
- London Living Wage (Feb 2014 - March 2014): As part of the campaign, Roar ran an interview with two anonymous King's cleaners who couldn't afford to feed their children[7] on the front page of their February edition.[8] That edition of the paper was taken into the College Council meeting in March, where King's agreed to the London living wage.
- Lord Carey 'homophobic' comments (Nov 2012–Feb 2015): Roar campaigned for the removal of King's alumnus Lord Carey from the Strand Campus windows[9] for controversial comments in opposition to same sex marriage at a Conservative Party conference fringe event in 2012.[10]
- Mental health awareness (Nov 2013): Roar produced a special print edition on mental health[11] in November 2013, aiming to raise awareness of mental health among King's students. It included articles such as 'We need racially diverse counsellors' and an interview with King's alumnus Rory Bremner on his ADHD.[11]
- Charles Amos Controversy (May 2020): After Charles Amos was elected President of the King's College London Conservative Association, Roar interviewed Mr. Amos, exploring his deeply controversial views on the NHS, race, gender and LGBT rights [12] His past comments on these issues would also lead to his swift removal as the society's President, an event also covered by Roar. [13]
- Post-Covid University & College Union Strikes (October 2021 - present). Roar covered the impact of lecturer strikes on students and interviewed key players within the unions [14] as well as the university administration.[15] The SPA praised Roar's coverage of the events at their 2023 national conference, where Roar won "Highly Commended" in the Best Publication category.
- Drink spiking at KCLSU venues (February 2022 - present). After multiple incidences of drink spiking at student bars across King's College campuses, Roar interviewed members of the 'Stop the Music' campaign who had negotiated with the university and student union for improved safety protocols. [16]
Awards
- 2014: Roar won Best Website at the 2014 SPA Awards and received "Special Recognition" for Best Publication. The editorial team won the Anna Sargent Student Journalist Award at the Mind Media Awards for outstanding mental health reporting in November 2014. [17]
- 2015: Roar picked up six awards at the SPA National Conference. The paper won Best Publication, Best Website, Best Design and Best Entertainment Piece. It received a highly commended for Best News Story and Best Feature. That year, Roar also won The Guardian's prestigious "newspaper of the year" award. [18]
- 2018: Roar picked up a total of five Highly Commended Awards at the SPA National Conference. Nominated in five categories, the paper was commended in all five: Best News Story, Best Multi-Media Journalism Story, Best Newspaper Design, Best Student Photographer and Best Lifestyle Story. The paper also picked up Best Publication in the London Regional Student Publication Awards.
- 2021: At the SPA's London Regional Awards, Roar was Highly Commended in the category of Best Publication. Two of the paper's editors were also recognised, with Asher Gibson winning Best Journalist and Marino Unger-Verna being Highly Commended for Outstanding Commitment.
- 2022: Roar was Highly Commended for the Best Publication award at the SPA's 2022 National Awards. Then-Editor-in-Chief Marino Unger-Verna was also awarded Best Interview for 'The Personal Toll of India's Pandemic'.[19]
- 2023: At the SPA's London Regional Awards, Roar was awarded Best Publication. Staff Writer Matteo Cardarelli was awarded Best Journalist and then Editor-in-Chief Ishaan Rahman was given a special mention for Outstanding Commitment. Then Head of Tech Jack Curtis was awarded Highly Commended for Outstanding Commitment; this followed a major redesign of Roar's website in late 2022 [20] At the SPA's subsequent national conference, Roar was runner-up for Best Student Publication in the UK.[21]
Editorial Team
Roar's editorial team changes annually. The administrative team, consisting of the Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor(s)-in-chief, select new section editors each year. This process is independent from the KCLSU.
Each section has at least two editors responsible for overseeing a large team of writers. Sections regularly collaborate with each other to produce joint articles, record podcasts or cover major student events.
| Editor-in-Chief | Term |
|---|
| Tara Saghal | August 2019 - March 2021 |
| Marino Unger-Verna | March 2021 - March 2022 |
| Ishaan Rahman | March 2022 - March 2023 |
| Fintan Hogan | March 2023 - Present | |
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Roar!. 3 October 2018.
- Web site: Roar News Publications . Issuu.
- Web site: The King's Jester Archives . Roar News .
- Web site: London Varsity 2023 – Letter From The Sports Editor. Roar News .
- Web site: Podcast Archives. Roar News .
- Web site: Roar! says: When King's want staff culled, they'll barely give them time to scream before 'letting them go'. 2014-06-23.
- Web site: Our cleaners in poverty say: "King's are greedy and selfish". 2014-03-03.
- Web site: Roar! News February 2014 print edition.
- News: You searched for lord carey .
- Web site: Lord Carey: gay marriage would be 'cultural vandalism'. https://web.archive.org/web/20120224203725/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9093297/Lord-Carey-gay-marriage-would-be-cultural-vandalism.html. dead. 24 February 2012. 20 February 2012. 3 October 2018.
- Web site: Mental Health edition of Roar! News . November 2013.
- Web site: KCLCA President Wants To Scrap The NHS, Privatize All Education, And Have More Black-Tie Dinners. . Roar News.
- Web site: Charles Amos Removed From KCLCA Presidency . Roar News.
- Web site: “We Need To Fundamentally Change How Universities Work”: Dr. Ewan McGaughey On UCU Ballot And Potential Strike Action . Roar News.
- Web site: KCL VP Education Prof. Adam Fagan On The Cost Of Living, Staff Strikes, Mental Health And More . Roar News.
- Web site: Spiking At Guy’s Bar: When Will Students Be Safe? . Roar News.
- Web site: Roar Wins Mind Media Award And Shortlisted For Another At Successful Awards Night . Roar News .
- Web site: KCL's Roar wins newspaper of the year at Guardian Student Media awards . The Guardian .
- Web site: SPA National Awards 2022 Winners Announced! . Student Publication Association . 10 April 2022 . Student Publication Association . 11 April 2022.
- Web site: The Student Publication Association Regional Awards are back for 2023! . Student Publication Association .
- Web site: SPANC23: National Awards winners . Student Publication Association .
