Matthew Taylor
There are many reasons why I think you should vote for me for communications officer, but I would like to take this opportunity to deal with the main three; my experience, my achievements and my policies.
In terms of experience, I have served as station manager of Trinity FM for the past two years, giving me a unique knowledge of alternative forms of media as well as committee and editorial experience in a medium other than print, something which I believe will be vital in the role of communications officer. I have served on the committee of Trinity Publications (the body which publishes Trinity News, Miscellany, Icarus, The Bull and the Piranha) for three years, with two years as Amenities Officer, and this year as Treasurer which has also given me a great deal of experience in the financial management of a newspaper. I have written variously for Trinity News, The Bull and Miscellany and so have known a‘writing world’ outside of UT. When it comes to UT, I am currently the Opinion Editor, having previously been a writer and interviewer for UT Culture Magazine (which preceded the University Times magazine). Last year, I co-founded and co-directed the National Media Conference, the first entirely student run media conference in the country with contributions from many of Irelands finest journalists in print, radio and broadcast as well as leading business figure from the industry. I was elected to the SU Communications Committee at the first SU council last year. I have experience, therefore, not only of SU Communications and the University Times, but also of college media and college students outside of that.
Through this work, I have transformed Trinity FM and UT Opinion from the closed-off, drab institutions they were into more inclusive and popular ones. Trinity FM went from being a station with barely any listeners and only a handful of shows running 6PM to Midnight (Monday to Thursday) into a vibrant station with 50 shows every week and a constant rotation of presenters, with new opportunities for students every month. UT Opinion was, before my tenure, a content light substitute for a foreign policy supplement. It featured work from only a handful of writers, and provided little coverage of student-specific events or social issues. While the Opinion section this year has been occasionally controversial, there can be no denying that it has dealt head on with subject matter relevant to all students. We have brought in a host of new writing talent and published submissions from students who expressed their interest in involvement. Our editorial meetings are collaborative brainstorms, and it is this sort of teamwork and team effort that I want to bring to the whole of the University Times. It has been my experience throughout that giving responsibility to other members of a team always produces the right results, and will always make what you are doing fresh and innovative.
I have five specific policies which could be broadly resolved as a total reform of both communication policy and the University Times, as well as the promotion of Irish speaking. Everything I have experienced on the campaign trail so far tells me that students have an extremely limited knowledge of both the operations and achievements of the SU. The failure of communications strategy, which I have witnessed first-hand through the Communications Committee, is that the SU asks why students don’t engage with the SU rather than why the SU doesn’t engage with students. The over reliance on passive forms of media such as postering and websites means that students are not receiving the information they need. The way to transform this is to make the SU and active communicator, by spreading information through class reps to students who can convey it personally and therefore more effectively. The perceived bureaucracy of the SU is part of a greater ‘image’ failure which needs to be changed by organising more events such as the soap box debates in public areas and rallies and meetings in front square or other public forums. Through spectacle, we could hope to engage students more directly.
The University Times is the most successful student newspaper in Ireland, both in terms of its online presence and the physical paper. Recently, however, it seems to have become complacent with this success. The management structure is overly reliant on the top-down management of the Editor. As editor, I would re-arrange the management into a more committee-like structure, with greater editorial input from sub-editors and staff writers. I would also change the system of editorial appointments, with a group of experienced former writers and editors helping to make the selections. The paper also needs to be re-designed, as after four years it is starting to look dated and can’t compete with the aesthetic of Trinity News. The development of an App with a social reader would help us to keep up with the changes in modern media, as well as providing a palm-of-hand information source for students to find out about the community around them. I plan to devote and entire page of the paper to Irish language articles, as well as greater coverage of Irish language events from the societies correspondent.
When you get to the ballot box next week, vote for me for communications, not only as the candidate with experience but also as the candidate with the plan and vision to transform the way we communicate in college.
