About The Courier

The Courier has been an iconic part of student life at Newcastle University since 1948, making 2011/12 its 64^th year in print.

With a readership of over 12,000 and at an average length of 48 pages, The Courier is one of the largest weekly student newspapers in the country. It has a national reputation all of its own that has seen it claim numerous awards, including the coveted Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year.

Published every Monday during term time it is distributed across campus far and wide, including Halls of Residence, the Robinson Library, the Sports Centre, the Medical School, the Law School, the Business School, and the Students’ Union.

Its 48 pages cover News, Comment, Lifestyle, Fashion, Music, Arts, Film, Careers, Science, Puzzles and Sport. Not only does this mean it caters for all reading tastes, but it also enables students to try their hand at a variety of different reporting and writing styles while helping keep our readers informed of everything that is going on around campus.

Written by you, for you, The Courier wouldn’t survive without its volunteers. Around 300 students contribute articles and photographs on a weekly or occasional basis, as well as another 35 students who together edit each of The Courier’s sections.

These section editors are responsible for engaging with new writers, editing their material and designing and laying up the pages which you then read. They are all full time students and often work up to 20 hours a week alongside their studies to make sure The Courier continues to maintains its quality.

They form the team that supports the overall editor, the only paid full-time member of staff on the newspaper, and are rewarded, as are all the contributors, by seeing over 70% of students at Newcastle University read and enjoy the pages they have produced when the it arrives every Monday morning.

For a budding journalist, photographer, or designer, there really is no better feeling than seeing your work in print – and that opportunity is readily available with The Courier, one of the best additions to your CV that your time at Newcastle has to offer.

Many contributors to the newspaper have gone on to have successful careers in television, publishing, and other areas of the media, including former editor Dianne Nelmes, who went on to create This Morning, Loose Women and Jeremy Kyle for ITV and Gemma Davies who now works for Sky Sports News. Also, last year’s News Editor Simon Murphy was the much deserved winner of the NUS Student Journalist of the Year Award.