The various media outlets for students at Cardiff

Keeping up to date with national and local news has been facilitated by an ever-increasing availability in mediums and platforms from which news can be distributed. However, for many students, leaving home marks an end to catching the morning TV news or listening to the radio in the car, simply due to an absence of TVs and radios in many university flats. With social media growing in popularity as a platform for news, students often rely on such media due to its ready availability and ease of access, however in this blog I will take you through all of the main platforms for news for Cardiff students and how you can best make use of them.

Firstly, more traditional newspaper and tabloid publications, such as “Gair Ryhdd” and “The Tab”, are more typical news outlets covering local news, particularly that which affects Cardiff (and Welsh as a whole) students. Gair Ryhdd was established in 1972 and acts as a serious publication focussing on wider ranging news, whilst The Tab Cardiff tends to run more as a tabloid, being part of a wider chain of student run bodies under the jurisdiction of “The Tab National” and aiming to provide articles that students want to read. Alongside their news pieces, both publications run features articles. These are more entertaining or interest-based pieces, where journalists may highlight an element of the city or student life, or may even attempt a feat such as climbing the height of Mount Everest on their university house’s staircase.

Within the Student Union, there is a radio broadcasting and recording studio for “Cardiff Student Radio” which runs live shows almost around the clock and also allows students to shoot podcasts or other recorded audio content in a high-tech specialized environment. This provides an alternative to students who do not want to spend more time looking at their phones to receive news or entertainment and is perfect as an accompaniment to studying in the background, being played at times in most university buildings and non-silent study areas. Recorded shows do not even necessarily need to be broadcast on the university radio station, as so long as you are part of the amateur radio society you can book a slot to use the university recording booths.

Finally, it should not be overlooked how much digital news there is available, both online and on social media. With all of the above mediums in addition being available digitally, the readily available access to online news allows students to keep up to date with proceedings wherever they are. Social media is used especially so in events such as the Student’s Union elections, where candidates canvass and share their manifestos to student audiences far more easily than if they were to do so in person, though both strategies tend to be utilized by the successful parties. Pages run by the elected Student’s Union staff officials are also regularly updated to give students an insight into the day-to-day running of the university alongside a plethora of impromptu opportunities from vintage clothes sales to free cake giveaways.