Journalism students at University of Limerick have produced the 16th edition of the award-winning Limerick Voice newspaper.
The newspaper, carried with the Limerick Leader, hit the streets this Wednesday bursting with over 40 stories covering news, sport and features, including some exclusives written by the UL journalism students.
Speaking about this year’s Limerick Voice, editor in chief Ellen Gough said: “As college experiences go, ours has been a rollercoaster. Between lockdowns, placement, and Erasmus, our first full year on campus has been our final year. After spending most of the four-year degree studying from bedrooms in every corner of the country, we have pulled together to produce one of the finest editions of Limerick Voice.
“The process was intense and exciting, there were some steep learning curves but ultimately, I am so proud of what we have produced, and so proud of the team who produced it.”
The award-winning multi-media Limerick Voice news project involved 30 final year and MA journalism students from UL who have been working on the project since last September.
Over 200 hundred stories were published across multi-media platforms and 400 minutes of Podcasts and radio news bulletins were broadcast.
The Limerick Voice Instagram page reached over 30,000 accounts in the month of February alone while the Limerick Voice Twitter platform had 210 thousand impressions by March 2023. At peak times student reporters were producing 15 stories per week as well as balancing their studies and personal lives.
Rachel Petticrew, Digital Editor, said: “The consistency and unwavering quality of our interdependent news website, podcast platform and social media coverage is not to be overlooked, and has not gone unnoticed; in January, Limerick Voice was named Best Publication in Ireland and Northern Ireland by the Student Publication Association.
“In just a few months, I’m proud to say that our work with this publication is sure to be an asset to carry with us as we venture out into the big and not-so-bad world,” she added.
Limerick Voice Podcast Editor Caleb Brennan explained: “Our brilliant team has also been working hard to bring this print edition, three diverse podcasts in the form of News, Sports and Features; echoing the same multimedia edge that has bolstered the Limerick Voice website this academic year.”
UL Lecturer and Course Director for the BA in Journalism and Communication, Kathryn Hayes, who oversees the multimedia project each year, said the experience of working on Limerick Voice website and newspaper provides vital real-life experience for journalism students.
“Limerick Voice has developed into an award-wining multi-media news project, which has become an integral part of journalism education in UL. It provides a wonderful portfolio building opportunity for our students as they prepare to enter the highly competitive world of work.
“We are very proud of this year’s newspaper edition, and the sterling work that has been produced across all of the Limerick Voice multimedia platforms since the beginning of the academic year.”
For more, see http://limerickvoice.com.