The Saint
Subscription service to mark The Saint's 25th anniversary
The Saint has reached its 25th anniversary, making it one of the longest running newspapers, if not the longest running newspaper, in the University of St Andrews' history. The Saint newspaper was originally formed in 1984 as The Chronicle, and was rebranded in 1997 as The Saint. Before 1950, fortnightly literary magazine College Echoes and Saltire newspaper were published by University students. Another newspaper, Quorum, was published from 1953 to 1962, followed by the Aien, which was printed from 1962 to 1984. The Saint has lasted for 25 years in its two formats, in contrast to the 9-year life of Quorum and the 22-year span of the Aien.
The somewhat satirical nature of the Aien (named after university motto Aien Aristeuen, meaning ever to be the best) led to criticism of the publication in its early days. One letter to the editor, written by S. Hagard, Iain C. Orr and A.D. Roberts on 30th November 1962 (Vol 2, No 8), states: "Examining your last issue in detail, we find your low standard of journalism exemplified in the ugly style and poor grammar...We would suffer your illiteracy more willingly if your subject matter was worth our attention there has been no witty or intelligent comment on University affairs...Our most serious criticism, however, is your lack of originality. You have in fact no comment..." Perhaps in response to the general concerns this letter expressed, The Chronicle was created. The first editors understood, however, that a fortnightly newspaper in such a small town would find it difficult to print the fresh and original news stories that would satisfy its more challenging readers.
The first volume of The Chronicle, published in 1984 (the exact date is uncertain since editors neglected to include the date in its layout), focuses on Union and Library building reforms, which is a topic often covered in 2009 issues of The Saint as the redevelopment of these buildings has once again become a key University project. In 1984, the main debate surrounding Union reforms concerned the formation of a non-profit bookshop on the ground floor of the building, run by the Students' Association. University principal J. Steven Watson objected to the idea that students could run a bookshop in a building for which they do not pay rent, and that would create a commercial disadvantage for bookshops in town. Since this debate took place shortly after the Union was fitted with its 24ft long bar, The Chronicle suggests that the University held a booze before books policy.
The 1984 Library reforms concerned the 'rationalisation' of the building. Shelving and reading rooms were reorganised to make more extensive use of the space provided rather than to add to the building. Unfortunately, this £50,000 regeneration did not include replacement of the 1960s yellow carpet, which is still in place today. The 2010 (or was it 2011?) library renovations represent the next stage of the buildings development. The University are planning to add to the building after all, since internal reorganisation would not be adequate in meeting the current demands placed on the library, caused by increasing student numbers and the elevated international reputation of St Andrews. The Saint continues to communicate this information to its wide St Andrews audience.
Thirteen years later, in 1997, Editor Tim Samuels rebranded The Chronicle as The Saint, a now 32-page tabloid newspaper with a royal blue logo that has become iconic. Saint staff continue to refer to the hue as Tim's blue when laying out issues of the newspaper each fortnight, and can often be seen in town in their royal blue Saint hoodies.
The Saint has been adapted a number of times over the years; the most recent redesign took place in January 2008, when the entire newspaper became printed in colour and the 50p sales cost was eliminated, increasing its circulation from less than 2,000 to over 5,000 students. The Saint is now distributed free of charge since the running costs of the newspaper are covered entirely by advertising revenue.
Advertising revenue has been an important factor of all student publications in St Andrews; newspapers that were established prior to the Chronicle and Saint also largely relied on advertising revenue in order to print regular issues. The Aien and Quorum were sold to students for a price varying from threepence to 20p over the years, although advertising revenue was their main concern. On the 21st January 1955 (Vol 3, No 5), Quorum printed their first national advert, a careers advert from the Manchester Guardian. This event marked a key development for the student newspaper in St Andrews, creating a level of financial stability that did not exist beforehand. Saltire, which was published before Quorum, was tormented by money problems and relied heavily on local advertisements and donations from St Andrews staff to maintain financial viability.
Today, The Saint has strong ties with a number of nationally recognised companies as well as local St Andrews businesses, and requires their advertisements in order to print each issue of the newspaper. Lately, national and local advertising have become less stable sources of revenue, and the latest development in funding for The Saint is the creation of a subscriptions service. All St Andrews alumni and parents are now invited to subscribe to The Saint remotely, for a minimum fee. Copies of each issue will be posted to the address provided, and payments can be made on an annual basis through the PayPal badge on the Saint website. . The Saint is printed fortnightly during term time, producing about ten issues per year, and enjoys complete editorial and financial independence from the University and the Students' Association.
Check the subscriptions pageto find out about subscriptions, or contact thesaint_st-andrews.ac.uk.
-LM
