- The Beaver
Infobox Newspaper
name = The Beaver
type = Weeklynewspaper
format = Compact
foundation = 1949
owners =LSE Students' Union
political =Centre Left
price = Free
headquarters =London School of Economics
editor = Joseph Cotterill
website = [http://www.thebeaveronline.co.uk/ www.thebeaveronline.co.uk]
:"The Beaver is also a character on theUnited States TV series Leave It to Beaver .":"The Beaver (magazine) is also the official magazine of Canada’s National History Society.""The Beaver" is the newspaper of the
London School of Economics students' union.Despite being published by the
LSE Students' Union , "The Beaver" has a strong tradition of independence and hard nosed intelligent reporting.Around 4,000 copies are published and distributed free of charge every Tuesday during term time. "The Beaver" is governed by the collective, a body of around 150 students who have contributed three or more written pieces or photographs to the paper. The collective democratically elects all of the paper's editorial staff. The paper is one of the UK's most active student publications and counts itself among those at the forefront of student issues and campaigns. The paper is made up of news, comment & analysis, features, "PartB", sports and other sections.News
News typically consists of LSE, University of London and Higher Education stories and is frequently contacted by the national press. Recent examples have included the story of Erik Ringmar, a Senior Lecturer at the LSE, being threatened by the School [ [http://ringmar.net/forgethefootnotes/beaverarticle.pdf Senior Lecturer threatened over comments - The Beaver's story hosted by Ringmar.net] ] . This story was picked up by a number of national papers, including
The Guardian [ [http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1766663,00.html Lecturer's blog sparks free speech row - Education Guardian] ] .In December 2005, the Beaver's exclusive coverage of the infamous LSE Athletics Union 'Barrel Run' was picked up by news organisations around the world. 200 drunk students trashed nearby Kings College, causing tens of thousands of pounds in damage. The Beaver beat police to the scene, got exclusive photos and information on those responsible.
Other prominent news organisations to use the Beaver's photos and coverage include: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4506066.stm The BBC] , ITV, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/news/article749452.ece The Times] , [http://www.mirror.co.uk/catchall/tm_method=full%26objectid=16455545%26siteid=89520-name_page.html The Mirror] , [http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,9830,1658280,00.html The Guardian] , The Daily Mail, The Metro, The Evening Standard, [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1323251.cms Times of India] , and The South China Morning Post
Comment & Analysis
C&A publishes student opinion pieces discussing issues that are related to the general LSE student population, regardless whether they have wider social or political implications. Letters to the editor are also published, and the extensive range of articles and letters featured reflect the extensive readership within the LSE. From the average student to high level school officials, contributions to the C&A section have been wide-ranging and varied.
Features
Features deals with world politics, society, business, careers and law articles. It also conducts interviews with leading figures such as
Sir Nicholas Stern [ [http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/Features/a-stern-response Nicholas Stern interview - The Beaver Online] ] and Tony Benn.A recent interview with
Nick Clegg was referenced inHugo Rifkind 'sThe Times column, People [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2827330.ece People - The Times] ]PartB
Launched in 2005 "PartB" is "The Beaver"'s arts and entertainment pull-out. It contains sections dedicated to Music, Film, Theatre, Literature, Visual Arts, Style, Travel, Food & Drinking as well as a Rant section. It also regularly features interviews with persons as diverse as
Alan Bennett ,Ashton Kutcher ,Gerald Scarfe [ [http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/PartB/drawn-from-memory Gerald Scarfe interview - The Beaver Online] ] ,Stewart Lee [ [http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/PartB/the-passion-of-stewart-lee Stewart Lee interview - The Beaver Online] ] ,Eugene Hütz [ [http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/PartB/huetz-attacks Eugene Hütz interview - The Beaver Online] ] andWolfmother [ [http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/PartB/wolfmother Wolfmother interview - The Beaver Online] ] .In 2006, "PartB" was shortlisted for Best Student Magazine in the
Guardian Student Media Awards [ [http://media.guardian.co.uk/studentmediaawards/story/0,,1889609,00.html The Guardian Student Media Awards 2006 Shortlist] ] .ports
Mixture of match reports from LSE teams and comment on world sports. Has courted controversy in the past with its traditionally dismissive approach to the sporting efforts of rival universities. Highlight of the year was traditionally the last Sports section before Christmas, containing photos of the Athletic Union Barrel. This caused particular controversy under the Sports Editorship of Sam Lehmann, after printing a photo of LSE Director at the event which ended up causing considerable damage to King's Strand campus in December 2005. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article754658.ece LSE director at event that led to £30,000 rampage - Times Online ] ]
In 2000, "The Beaver"'s James Mythen won Sports Writer of the Year at the
Guardian Student Media Awards .History
Named after the School's mascot,The Beaver, which was apparently chosen “as representing an industrious animal with social habits”, "The Beaver" was first published in its recognised format on
5 May 1949 . TheBritish Library of Political and Economic Science holds archives of the paper dating back to this first issue, which was christened byGeorge Bernard Shaw , one of the LSE's founding fathers. Since then it has gone through several makeovers, survived LSE's turbulent history and emerged to be one of the most respected and widely read student newspapers in the UK.Notable Former Contributors
Bernard Levin was an early contributor to the newspaper, particularly of theatre reviews.Ekow Eshun , the Artistic Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts and a contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review edited both Features and Arts.Justin Webb is a former editor and has been theBBC 's chief Washington correspondent since 2001.James Corbett , contributing editor ofThe Observer Sport Monthly and author of "Everton: The School of Science" and "England Expects" was political editor of the paper.Simon Garfield, journalist and author of "Mauve" and "Our Hidden Lives", is a former Executive Editor.
Richard Bacon, a former Executive Editor, is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Norfolk South.
Former Executive Editor Tim Gopsill was a member of the collective of
Leveller magazine , a political magazine which was involved in a well-recorded contempt of court case in 1979. He currently edits the magazine of the National Union of Journalists.John Stathatos , a former Executive Editor, is a photographer, writer and art critic whose publications include "The Book of Lost Cities" and "A Vindication of Tlon: Photography & the Fantastic".Robert Kilroy Silk , a eurosceptic right wing British politician, was a former theatre critic for the paper.Paul Klebnikov , though amongst former Executives & Collective members was not unique in achievement after leaving The School, he deserves an extra mention in TheBeaver's History. He took over the paper, summer 86, at a bottom low and turned it around (Crawford, Lewin & Makris were in his team and went on to edit the paper in their own right later on --Crawford & Lewin co-edited). Paul was the first editor ofForbes ' Russian edition. Paul Klebnikov was shot dead on aMoscow street late at night on July 9, 2004 by unknown assailants.Former Executive Editors
*2007-2008 Kevin Perry
*2006-2007 Sidhanth Kamath
*2005-2006 Samuel Gad Jones
*2004-2005 Prashant Rao
*2003-2004 Mark Power
*2003 Ibrahim Rasheed
*2002 Charlie Jurd; Tom Whitaker; Catherine Baker; Iain Bundred
*2001 Chris Wills
*2000 Ian David Curry; Mukul Devichand
*1999 Daniel Lewis
*1998 Matt Brough
*1997 Craig Newsome
*1996 Nicola Hobday; Liz Chong
*1995 Rachel Cuthbert; Susha Lee-Shothaman
*1993-1995 Ronald Voce
*1993 Kevin Green
*1992 Neil Andrews
*1991 Simon William; Sarah Eglin; Madeline Gwyon
*1990 Edward Bannerman; Simon Williams
*1989 Thomas D.G. Parker; Christopher Flook
*1988 Mark Moscher; Stavros Makris; Benjamin Charles Gilbey
*1987 Alexander Crawford; Sivan Lewin
*1986 Nina Kaufman; Nick Holmes; Haider Ali;Paul Klebnikov
*1985 Giles Perritt; Gilli Weedon; Ed Richards
*1984 Iqbal Wahhab; Irene Nyborg-Anderson; Eleanor Edwards; Lucy Cohen
*1983 Richard Bacon; Jim McCallum
*1982 Chris Collet; Penny Marshall; Matthew Price
*1981 Colin Bates; Margaret Cameron-Waller
*1980 Simon Garfield; Keir Hopley
*1979 Ylva Jenkins
*1978 Martin & Carol Saunders
*1976 Anton Chapman
*1974 Peter Trimmins
*1973 Rosie Hurst; G. Foy
*1971 Elisabeth Faulkner;John Stathatos
*1970 Martha Greenyer
*1968 Alison Barlow; Lynn McCann
*1967 James Wickham; Nigel Bowen; Gus Ullsterin
*1966 David Baume; Alex Finer; Frank Mansfield; Jerry Pastor
*1965 Tim Gopsill; Rick Upson; Jon Smith
*1964 Stan Fischer; Brian Soddy
*1963 David Mills
*1962 Mike Cunningham; Mark Harris; Graham Murray
*1961 Richard Stevenson; Kishore Bhimani
*1960 Brian Levy; Don Esslemont
*1959 Nedis Demetrakos; Demetrios Demetrakos
*1958 Brian Steward; Paul Sithi-Amnuai
*1957 David Watkins
*1956 John S. Sidle; Derek Shaw
*1955 Marguerite Watkins; Malcolm R. Ross
*1954 Roland Freeman; C. Ian Jackson
*1953 John M. Dunkley; Sander Rubin
*1950 Brian Morton-Smith
*1949 Charles R. StuartNotes
External links
* [http://www.thebeaveronline.co.uk The Beaver] Online
* [http://www.pollycourtney.com/release-14.htm Polly Courtney interview from PartB]
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