York Vision (previously known as yorkVision and York Student Vision) is one of two student newspapers at the University of York. Vision is a registered society of, and is funded by the University of York Students' Union (YUSU).
Organisation
Unlike many other university newspapers, which have sabbatical editors, York Visions staff is made up entirely of current students. The current Editors are Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb and Emily Sinclair. The Deputy Editor is Laura Rowe.
The newspaper itself contains several sections, with Opinion, Features, Lifestyle, Science, SCENE, and Environment, bookended by news and sport.
Special features
Vision has a number of features that help mould its distinct character. These include: Interviews: Almost every section of the paper has, at one time or another, secured a top-tier interview. Recent highlights include Alastair Campbell, Miley Cyrus, Karl Pilkington, Hot Chip, Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, Nick Clegg, Mark Watson, Franz Ferdinand, Shami Chakrabarti, Aaron Porter, Wretch 32, Dr Jessen, Harry Enfield and Sarah Beeny. In 2022, Marti Stelling interviewed Tik-Tok famous Katylee Bailey. SCENE: The arts pullout containing sections dedicated to Screen, Stage, Music, Literature, Art, Food, Games, and Spotlight, the arts and culture features section. The current editor of SCENE is Dan Gordon-Potts. The Roses Specials: Either an annual pull-out published after the Roses Tournament, or a limited-run, special edition distributed during the tournament itself. The 2008 Roses review was incorporated into the Sport section. 2012 saw the largest scale Roses coverage yet, both online and in print, including a 16-page pull-out produced away from home at Lancaster University. Goalside: A pull-out dedicated to coverage of the summer term 'College Cup', which dominates summer sport at the University of York, first published in 2012. FRESH: The freshers magazine given to all new students at the University of York.
Notable former contributors
Mark Watts
Ste Curran
Dan Roberts – Guardian Brexit editor
Greg Jenner – Horrible Histories comedian
Rajini Vaidyanathan – BBC News North America correspondent
Rob Harris – Associated Press reporter
Poppy Sharp – Food Correspondent
Controversies
In early 2018, The Lemon Press, the University of York's satirical student magazine, accused York Vision of erroneously claiming to be the "most awarded student newspaper" in the country. The outcome of their investigation suggested that the United Kingdom's most awarded student newspaper was The Gryphon, of the University of Leeds. In response, York Vision changed their Twitter description to "one of the most awarded student publications".
The October 2018 issue of York Vision was removed from circulation for a back page advert that consisted of a link to an online submission form, and the heading "Send Nudes". The page received condemnation from the University of York Students' Union, which also claimed that issue had been published without their required approval. The paper was then sanctioned by YUSU and the society was suspended from operating until the start of the 2019/20 academic year under new leadership.
Awards
York Vision has received awards for its writing, design, and in both overall best publication and best small budget categories (due to the lack of sabbatical positions of the paper). In 2009 it was the only student newspaper without a full-time paid member of staff to be nominated for Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year.
It won the award four times in six years, having held the award from 2002–2004. Vision remains the only paper to achieve the remarkable hat-trick in the ceremony's 26-year history.
In 2011, Vision was named Student Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards.
Guardian Student Media Awards
2015
Best Opinion Writer: Edward Greenwood (Nominee)
2014
Best Publication (Winner) Best Reporter: Patrick Greenfield (Winner)
2013
Best Publication (Runner up) Best Website (Nominee)
2012
Best Reporter: Oliver Todd (Nominee)
2011
Best Publication (Winner)
2010
Best Publication (Nominee) Best Reporter: Daniel Goddard (Nominee) Best Reporter: Martin Williams (Nominee) Best Writer: Jim Norton (Nominee)
2009
Best Newspaper (Nominee) Best Reporter: Martin Williams (Nominee) Best Reporter: Tom McDermott (Nominee) Best Sports Writer: Jim Norton (Nominee)