| Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton with the paper, rock p... Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton with the paper, rock production team at the magazine’s launch | 
| The front cover of UOW’s new student-produced magazine paper... The front cover of UOW’s new student-produced magazine paper, rock |
V-C launches new student magazine
29 Aug 2007 | Nick Hartgerink
A new magazine produced by University of Wollongong students came in for lavish praise at its launch at the Faculty of Creative Arts today (29 August).
paper,rock is the brainchild of Journalism students Ben Morgan, Sarah Lucre and Donna Kilby, who headed up a team of journalism, graphic design and marketing students to produce the 48-page glossy magazine.
The first edition is packed with in-depth features and stories about university life, as well as interviews and reviews on films, music and new technology. There is a fashion section and even a page about wine (cask wine, presumably catering for student budgets).
Contributors include journalism students and prominent publishing industry names, including wine writer Greg Duncan Powell and Sydney Morning Herald Young Novelist of the Year Tara June Winch.
The production team commissioned stories and photographs, edited the stories, designed the pages and sold advertising to support the magazine, which also received funding support from the University.
Two thousand copies of the first edition have been printed and distributed throughout the UOW Campus. A second edition will be produced before the end of the year.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton, who is featured in the first edition, said he had not seen a better student publication from any University or School of Journalism in Australia.
“It’s a really exciting and innovative initiative,” Professor Sutton said. “And the best thing is that the idea didn’t come from my office or from the head of the Journalism School. The idea came from three creative students – Donna, Ben and Sarah.
“(Journalism Lecturer) Marcus O’Donnell and (Vice-Principal, Administration) Chris Grange supported them, and they enlisted journalism, graphic design and marketing students …. cutting across Faculty boundaries. We have all the skills needed to produce a publication of this high quality, but it needed to be harnessed …. and that has been done.”
“I hope paper, rock becomes a flagship for this University.”
School of Journalism and Creative Writing Head Associate Professor Stephen Tanner paid tribute to the magazine’s founders and their student production team. “Donna and Sarah have been well supported by the crew behind the project, but it was their idea and they really drove it,” he said.
In response, Ben paid tribute to Marcus O’Donnell for his guidance and support throughout the project, and thanked the “students, ex-students and family members” who had lent their support. He said the project had been a hugely valuable learning experience, as the students had experienced all facets of the publishing process.
“Everyone’s been so enthusiastic about the magazine, and we have some awesome contributors, so we’re really excited,” he said. “We’ve also had a great response from local advertisers ….. and see a lot of potential to take this to the broader Wollongong community in the future.”
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