''Roar News'' is the

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also rep ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. It is editorially independent of both the university and the students' union. The newspaper was named second-best student publication in the United Kingdom and Ireland by the Student Publication Association in 2022. It won six awards in 2015, including Best Publication, Best Website and Best Design. In 2014 it won several others including a Mind Media Award and Student Media of the Year. ''Roar'' has existed in various incarnations since 1973, but in 1992 its name was changed from ''Casey L'' to ''Roar News'' - named after the university's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

, Reggie the lion. ''Roar'' prints four times a year, spending most of its energy on bringing students and staff up-to-the-minute news online. Former editors, writers and photographers now work for national news outlets such as '' The Sun'', ''

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

,'' ''The'' ''Daily Mail'', ''Time Out Magazine'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

,'' ''Sky'' and ''

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''.

History

''Roar'' has existed in various formats, as a magazine, then a

tabloid newspaper A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet. There is no standard size for this newspaper format. Etymology The word ''tabloid'' comes from the name given by the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs We ...

. It was turned into a full colour, glossy magazine in 2006 but has since been re-branded as a tabloid, borrowing the style of ''The Sun'' and ''The Mirror'' newspapers in its layout. It once fell under complete editorial control of the Vice-President Media and Publications, Vice-President Communications and Vice-President Student Media and Engagement, with shifts in the nature of its editorial independence, but in 2010 a student editor was appointed. The correct version of the newspaper's full name is ''Roar News'', although it is typically shortened to ''Roar''. The newspaper's name has changed the punctuation and style many times over the years which often leads to it wrongly being called 'ROAR', 'ROAR!' or 'Roar!'.

Awards

Roar was Highly Commended for the Best Publication award at the Student Publication Association's 2022 National Awards. Then-Editor-in-Chief Marino Unger-Verna was also awarded Best Interview for 'The Personal Toll of India's Pandemic'. At the Student Publication Association's 2021 London Regional Awards, Roar was Highly Commended in the category of Best Publication. Two of the paper's editors were also recognised, with Asher Gibson winning Best Journalist and Marino Unger-Verna being Highly Commended for Outstanding Commitment. In 2018, Roar picked up a total of five Highly Commended Awards at the Student Publication Association. Nominated in five categories, the paper was commended in all five: Best News Story, Best Multi-Media Journalism Story, Best Newspaper Design, Best Student Photographer and Best Lifestyle Story. The paper also picked up Best Publication in the London Regional Student Publication Awards. In 2017, Roar won a Highly Commended Award at the Student Publication Association for Best Feature. ''Roar'' picked up six awards at the Student Publication Association in 2015. The paper won Best Publication, Best Website, Best Design and Best Entertainment Piece. It received a highly commended for Best News Story and Best Feature. Roar's editorial team won the Anna Sargent Student Journalist Award at the Mind Media Awards for outstanding mental health reporting in November 2014. The newspaper was also shortlisted alongside The Guardian and Cosmopolitan for the non-student award of Best Publication. Roar won Best Website in the 2014 Student Publication Association awards and received a special recognition for Best Publication. Alongside KCL Radio, KingsTV and Photosoc, Roar was ranked as one of the top three best student media outlets in the country at the NUS Awards 2014. KCLSU Student Media received runner up in the Student Media of the Year category.

Campaigns

True to its tabloid style, ''Roar'' runs traditional tabloid campaigns on matters of student interest. Past campaigns have included: * Health Schools job cuts (May 2014 – present) ''Roar'' came out against university plans to cut 120 jobs in Health Schools in a leader accusing the College of lacking transparency and racing through the redundancy process too quickly. * London Living Wage (Feb 2014 - March 2014) As part of the campaign, ''Roar'' ran an interview with two anonymous King's cleaners who couldn't afford to feed their children on the front page of their February edition. That edition of the paper was taken into the College Council meeting in March, where King's agreed to the

London living wage London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. * Lord Carey 'homophobic' comments (Nov 2012–Feb 2015) ''Roar'' campaigned for the removal of King's alumnus

Lord Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the Ch ...

from the Strand Campus windows for controversial comments in opposition to same sex marriage at a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

conference fringe event in 2012. * Mental health awareness (Nov 2013–present) ''Roar'' produced a special print edition on mental health in November 2013, aiming to raise awareness of mental health among King's students. It included articles such as 'We need racially diverse counsellors' and an interview with King's alumnus

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

on his ADHD.

References

External links

''Roar''s website

''Roars page on the KCLSU website
{{Newspapers in London King's College London Student newspapers published in the United Kingdom Publications established in 1973 Monthly newspapers London newspapers