By Shona Johnson
2015 proved to be a fantastic year for student media at Swansea University. A media co-ordinator was appointed, SU-TV started airing its first ever live-recorded magazine show, Xtreme Radio landed some fantastic interviews with Welsh politicians and some famous musicians, and the Waterfront welcomed in a batch of new editors! And starting from the academic year 2016/2017 Swansea Student Media will become a service, rather than a group of societies, which will result in more exposure for SU-TV, Xtreme and the Waterfront, along with no joining fees! Getting involved with the paper, the radio and the television station is a great way to kick-start a career in media, looks fantastic on a CV and is a whole lot of fun.
SUTV.CO.UK
SU-TV is the student union’s television station. It was founded in 2013 by students Sophie Wiggins and Samantha Booth, and has continued to grow since then. The station records events for different societies, putting them up on facebook and youtube to give societies more publicity and to physically capture their hard work in video format. They also put on a magazine show (think ‘The One Show’) that is filmed, edited, produced and presented entirely by students.
SU-TV station manager Jack Page talks about his involvement in the television station:
“Without SU-TV there’s no chance I’d have the skills and confidence that I do today. It’s allowed me to express myself creatively as well as being a source of great fun. If you want a career in the media, it’s the place to start. Or if you don’t, then join for the fun.”
SU-TV are holding their first film festival in the Taliesin Arts Centre on the 29th of April where they will be showcasing six different student-made films. Tickets are £3 each and will be available from the Taliesin within the next few weeks, it’ll be an evening to remember!
If you would like to get involved in SU-TV, please either message the facebook page or email at sutv@swansea-union.co.uk!
To keep updated with SU-TV news, head to www.su-tv.co.uk/su-tv-blog, or like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/SwanseaUniTV!
XTREMERADIO.ORG
Xtreme Radio is the student union’s radio station. It was founded in November 1968 as ‘Action Radio’, making it the the second oldest radio station in the UK and the oldest in the whole of Wales.
The station plays a wide range of music shows, along with news and specialist shows seven days a week – radio shows presented by students! Xtreme also host live outside broadcasts on both the Bay and Singleton campus, check out their social media to stay updated with events!
Xtreme’s Head of Music Ollie Salter had this to say about his experience as a part of the radio station:
‘Being part of Xtreme Radio has been a great experience throughout my time at Swansea. Student media is undergoing a huge revival at the moment and having the opportunity to contribute to that is really rewarding!’
You can listen online at www.xtremeradio.org. To find out how you can get involved with xtreme radio, drop them a message on their facebook page: www.facebook.com/xtremeradio, or tweet them at: @xtremeradio.
The Waterfront
The Waterfront is the student union’ s newspaper at Swansea University. The paper offers a full range of sections, from news to culture.
There are different student editors for each section, who write for an elected editor that manages the content of the entire paper. Any staff, lecturer or student (present or former) of Swansea University can write for the paper, as long as they email their article to the correct editor for their work to be published. Editor email addresses can be found on online at: http://waterfrontonline.co.uk/contact
Tech Editor Declan Murphy talked about his involvement in the newspaper:
‘Writing for the Waterfront opened opportunities for me that I wouldn’t have got otherwise. I’m able to write about things I care about and build a portfolio which I can bring into the world of work. By using the experience I gained from the paper I was also able to secure a place studying in Colorado over Summer.’
If you would like to find out more about the paper visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/thewaterfrontswansea
