A Decade of Bnieuws

Words

Aimee Baars

Our ambition to represent all the voices within BK faculty; our slogan clearly states "your voice is ours". However, achieving this can be challenging at times. In the digitized world, in which news and opinions travel rapidly and dispersed, the information we are exposed to has become fragmented and fleeting. Thus, among all the online platforms, our hard copy Bnieuws publication might seem outdated. However, if you close your eyes for a sec, instead of hearing your overheated laptop buzz or your phone beep, listen to the crinkly sound and textured feel of freshly printed paper, waiting to be read.

As we have entered 2020, a new decade - in response to all the 'then versus now' Instagram posts - the moment for us too has come to reflect on the past 10 years of this magazine. As editors, our team must not only take reflect on chosen themes and the quality of content, in wider perspective, we must also reflect on the format we choose to publish these in. This article takes us back in time chronicling the attempts of previous editorial teams in defining the identity and role of Bnieuws magazine within our faculty.

The Bnieuws team believes there is quality to the tactility of paper that gives us a greater connection with texts. There is a sense of completeness in the information we get when reading a print media, as compared to the digital platform: merely taking a couple of minutes of your day to step away from the ever-present technology radius, concentrating on holding the magazine in your hands, the tactile engagement of flipping through, back and forth, forth and back. We believe these are necessary in-between moments to refrain from RSI wrists, square eyes and heart palpations ;)

And so, we will lovingly so stick to our hard copy publications - this calendar year at least. However, in taking this analogue path we are challenged in reaching our audiences, in reaching the future-oriented, 2020-you! In the past months, we have observed that we have yet to fully extend our reach to "all voices" in our faculty. Hence, the editorial team has been in process of reshaping Bnieuws, asking ourselves the following questions: "In which article formats do we best represent the faculty as a whole?", and in regard to the promotion and dissemination of the magazine, "Which communication channels can we use to increase our readership?" We took these questions as an opportunity to turn the Bnieuws archive upside down and dig up old issues from the years 2010-2020. This article presents the development Bnieuws Magazine has gone through, both content and format wise. Progressing and improving Bnieuws means engagement with you, our readership. Thus, our 2020 resolution is to strengthen the relation to the faculty and its daily dwellers. Join us on the journey!