Newspaper Reads Overseas

How iPulse Differs From the University of Aberdeen’s Student
Newspaper, The Gaudie

By Sydney Burke, Social Media Editor

Haleigh Keil is a junior at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a staff writer for the school’s student newspaper, The Gaudie.

Students writing for iPulse are required to choose a dedicated beat (i.e., topic) to cover for the entire semester. However, The Gaudie allows students to write about anything they choose from week to week. Keil has written about several different topics, including fall lifestyle, television reviews, recipes and more.

“I write what I would want to read because I know that other people will be interested in those topics,” said Keil. “Making sure your stories will resonate with people and be relevant to the publication is essential.”

The Gaudie was established in 1934, making it the oldest independently run student newspaper in Scotland. For comparison, iPulse was founded in 2014, making it a relatively new publication.

Additionally, while iPulse staff writers meet in person once a week for a formal staff meeting, The Gaudie does not have any in-person meetings.

“All of our articles are pitched to the editors-in-chief through a group chat,” said Keil. “From there, we submit our articles to the leaders for our section, and they are edited by them and the editors-in-chief.”

Rather than having an editorial team, The Gaudie has section leaders for each subject, to whom the more than 100 staff writers report to. These sections include Life and Style, Sports, Features, Satire and others. Each week, The Gaudie releases a 24-page edition.

“Hearing about iPulse has given me many ideas to bring to The Gaudie,” said Keil. “I think iPulse seems a bit more professional while The Gaudie is very laid back.”

Keil will be publishing an article about the differences between U.S. school newspapers and Scottish ones in the coming weeks.