An Focal/ Pulse

Zandali

I'd be interested to hear student opinions on the UL publications An Focal and Pulse. Do you think they are good publications. I have written for them in the past and I am just wondering do people think they are of a high standard of journalism?

tweety_bird

An Focal i think seems to be getting better and better over the last few years. Great articles about items of interest(not all politics because afterall we are students that have different interests); a must read with a coffee in the SU common room.

Pulse on the other hand I dont think I've seem more than twice in 3 years. From what I can recall, the articles did indeed span different genres whether it be music, cinema etc. As it is a limerick student magazine I would like to see more about Limerick itself, whether it be the fastly growing music scene, fashion or indeed sports.

Just my two cents.

cson

I've written for both so obviously I think the standard is through the roof...

But seriously; the standard in both is excellent imo. I can imagine how hard it is to get people to commit to writing and get them to have articles and pieces in on time (sorry bd ) so I think in my years here reading it the editors have put together a really solid student paper. I do think that enough of students don't realise what a great vehicle An Focal is for getting work published and seeing if its up to standard - if your good enough you'll get printed.

Regarding Pulse, that was introduced in bd's reign of terror and I think it was a brave direction to take. Even braver was she deciding a good bit of my stuff was suitable for it :pac: But again, in all seriousness, I think Pulse is a good idea overall but I think a couple of things hold it back; first being I don't think it has a direction (and that's not a dig at either of the Aoife's - Pulse is in its infancy and directions usually take time to form). By direction I mean; one sort of theme and purpose. Second thing is I'm pretty sure that it's expensive to produce, especially without selling advertisig on it. Lastly; I'm ot sure if students get it/or warm to it. Maybe with a little publicity or something for it - but again that's costly. I fear that it'll be done away with thanks to costs but I firmly believe it's still a good idea but it just needs something to propel it into the student consiousness.

pervertedcoffee

Ummm doesn't anyone realise the plug was pulled on Pulse earlier this semester? If ye haven't noticed that we might be in a spot of bother...

cson

pervertedcoffee wrote: »

Ummm doesn't anyone realise the plug was pulled on Pulse earlier this semester? If ye haven't noticed that we might be in a spot of bother...

Newsagents don't stock either of them up here in Dublin :P

pervertedcoffee

Ah, but we will reach our aispiratons someday!

entropic

I think that the paper is a good publication but it is a bit stale at the moment and has been for the last two years. Its the same general paper every year that I have been here. Some little nuances that are the editors doing but still the "Union Heads" in quotes of the week and there is always at least 3 in the student speak section.

I also have a massive problem with the AGM edition this year. The ad was buried in a half page bland ad for the thing. It should have been the front page and sexed up a bit. An Focal is probably the biggest tool that the SU have for reaching the general student population and I dont feel it was expoilted to its fullest for the meetins this year.

daithi_lacha

entropic wrote: »

Some little nuances that are the editors doing but still the "Union Heads" in quotes of the week and there is always at least 3 in the student speak section.

While it is probably desirable to provide a much broader spectrum of quotes etc., you must understand that people who volunteer to write for An Focal largely consist of the aforementioned "Union Heads", with limited time on their hands. The hard working "Union Heads" who compile the "student speak section" are largely based in the Students' Union, therefore it makes sense for them to base their article on the people they can find in the nearby the Union.

And to some, the publication may appear "stale", but again I'll emphasize that a huge amount of time and effort go into An Focal, and new writers are always welcome!

cson

I could be wrong in saying this but as far as I know their isn't a lot of the Journalism course actively participating in the publications? I know Jason that's on here is fairly active (which is odd for a Tipperary person ) in them, but do the rest of your class contribute? The reason I ask is that the budding journalists of this course should be using An Focal as a means for honing their skills and seeing their work in print - it's a fantastic opportunity to test out and improve your journalistic skills. I don't know if its already in place but some sort of liason between An Focal and the course wouldn't be a bad thing imo.

klong

Don't the journalism students produce their own paper, one for Southill?

Like entropic said, I'm not as fan of the "quotes" of the week section being SU heads. Would it be bold to lift the (very few) decently funny quotes from "Overheard in UL" and credit them as such? I do think that the sport section has improved a good bit while Tomas and co. have been there.

(I have written for both An Focal and Pulse in the past, by the way- a rather irregular contributor though)

cson

klong wrote: »

Don't the journalism students produce their own paper, one for Southill?

I'm sure the intention is right but I can't help thinking that those resources would better served by using An Focal as their medium. As I've said its a fantastic vehicle for those who are pursuing a career in the field and every Journo student should endeavour to use it.

(and not have laccy's irregularly spouting their shite in it!)

jkeire

Right, here we go.

I do the Student Speak section of the paper every fortnight and I am well aware that there are people associated with the SU on it, but this is not more the fact that they are “SU heads”, more the fact that they are people I know that would be willing to do it.
You see, I do go up to many random strangers and ask them for a few minutes to go through the Student Speak rota of asking the question, getting the name and course and taking the picture, but 90per cent of the time they don’t do it, either by saying “No, sorry”, or by wasting five minutes contemplating would they do it or not at then deciding not to.

Maybe I just have one of those faces people just don’t have time for, but I can tell you for a fact that I do make and active effort to get a random bunch each week. The fact that I find it hard is my fault and has nothing to do with Aoife. Still, my course mates tell me they like student speak. It’s a fun part of the paper and I don’t think it’s something to get pissed off at.

Regarde les journalists, I, as current news editor, have made an active attempt to get fellow journalism students to write for the paper, which I had moderate success with in the 2nd years and a pretty decent success with the 1st years. I got three second years involved, one of whom had a front page story this semester. I got a good few first years, who are very eager to get to grips with the paper.

Also, the MA students do a yearly paper for Southill called “The Southill Voice”, just as we – the BA class – did a paper for Moyross.

cson

jkeire wrote:

Maybe I just have one of those faces people just don’t have time for

This

Seriously though; if that's all people are getting worked up about, then I think you can be content enough with the job you're doing

YFlyer

klong wrote: »

Don't the journalism students produce their own paper, one for Southill?

Last year it was for Moyross. AFAIK the Limerick Leader paid for it to be printed, and it was in one of their Editions.