Griffiti magazine

Griffiti is a monthly student magazine distributed throughout the campus of Griffith College Dublin. It was launched by the GCD Students Union in October 2004 as means of communicating student news to the college population, however its early editions took a very satirical slant on the news, a trait that was later rewarded with a gong by the Oxygen Student Media Awards for best colour writing. It is GeneRally regarded as Griffiths's most popular student publication, however its editorial style and physical look have changed greatly with each passing year resulting in inconsistent opinions among the student body. It currently holds the 2007 award for Best Small College Publication in Ireland.

As of March 2007 the magazine has won 2 National Student Media Awards.

History

Griffiti launched in a newspaper form in 2004 under its first editor Nicola Reddy, but turned into a glossy magazine in 2005 under the editorship of John McSweeney. The publication was launched by the college's student union who subsequently admitted that they had no idea what shape or editorial stance it was going to take. The pilot issue seemed to suggest that a serious features-based publication was going to emerge, however Reddy's quick exit from Griffiti after just one issue left everything in turmoil.

Cian Hallinan was quickly appointed to get The Newspaper off the ground. Hallinan's approach to Griffiti proved to be quite different, as he went AbOUT turning it into a satire-based publication. This change in editorial originally proved to be a hit with the students, with the most popular section often cited as being the purely satirical section The Genuine Article. However Hallinan's style soon began to draw criticism from the student body. Though many pupils complained that Griffiti was not worthy of serious writers and was too cliquey, staff on the magazine were quick to point out that the magazine was open to all to Contribute but submissions were not forthcoming.

The paper also published several hard-hitting cover articles commenting on the problems facing Griffith's more disadvantaged students who were literally left out in the cold by the Union of Students in Ireland. Criticized for its poor layout and design (with many students describing it as 'child-like' in appearance) much of the design problems can be attributed to bad printing, particularly in the early issues. When presenting Griffiti with its only award of 2005 for Best Colour Writing, Judge Joe O'Shea (of Seoige and O'Shea) made special mention of Hallinan's work on the paper.

Revamp

Upon the appointment of John McSweeney, the magazine underwent a massive face-lift. The newspaper format was dropped in favour of a glossy magazine look. The size was significantly reduced and the layout and design was overhauled to give it a more professional look. The editorial stance was also radically altered, with the magazine being broken up into clearly defined sections such as News, Sport, Entertainment and Satire. Griffiti's length was also increased from 16 to 24 pages. The Genuine Article was one of the few charactistics to be retained from the previous year.

Those critical of the magazine's new format conceded that Griffiti now looked better than ever, however some pointed out that some of the magazine's satire had been taken from sites such as 'The Onion'. This claim was later debunked as it was pointed out the only content taken from that particular site belonged to one of Griffiti's writers who had given his expressed permission that the articles could be used in the publication.

In 2007, under the editorship of Katie Roche the magazine underwent another physical revamp and is now currently presented in an A5 format.

Online PDF's of issues 9 (pictured left) and 10 can be found here:

Issue 9 Issue 10

Editorial Staff

The editorial policy of Griffiti dictates that the editor be changed every year. However prior to 2006, the editor was the only member of staff of the magazine. In May 2006 two chief writers were appointed to assist the editor in the running of the magazine during the following year. Although InterViews for the editor's position are held at the end of every college year, it is generally considered, although not completely guranteed, that the chief writer from the previous year would assend to the position of editor the following year, Providing they actually apply for the position.

The magazine has proved to be a successful launching pad into the world of journalism and media for all of the editors that have presided over it to date.

Where are they now?

Nicola Reddy: Now deputy editor of The Dubliner (magazine)

Cian Hallinan: Now Contributor to The Dubliner (magazine)

John McSweeney: Now of Yahoo! Online Editorial

Celia Zwahlen: Now editor with Business & Finance Media

Awards

2005 Oxygen Student Media Awards

''Nominations (2):

Small College Publication of the year

Best Colour Writing - ''Winner (Michelle Burke and Caomhan Keane)

2006 Oxygen Student Media Awards

Nominations (5):

Magazine of the Year

Small College Publication of the Year

Best Layout & Design

Best Colour Writing

The Peoples' Choice Award

2007 Oxygen Student Media Awards

''Nominations (3):

Best Layout & Design

The Peoples' Choice Award

Small College Publication of the Year - ''Winner

Griffiti failed to pick up any awards in 2006, despite having the highest number of nominations in any year since it began. It was praised in the category of Magazine of the year, with judge Mr Colman Byrne stating: "The standard was very mixed overall, but the shortlisted entries were all compelling. The second strongest was undoubtedly Griffiti of Griffith College, which blended quality design and production with humour and collegiate topics brilliantly. It was literally pipped at the post by DIT’s entry which was tough competition."