Palatinate (newspaper)

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Palatinate is the Durham University student newspaper. Its name derives from the colour Palatinate, a shade of purple associated with the university and derived from County Durham's political history as a County Palatine.

The paper reports on news about the university and prints on a fortnightly basis during term time. It also includes local news, comments, features and sports news.

Palatinate is published by Durham Students' Union. However it has always been editorially independent, and historically it has often used this freedom to publish critical articles about the Students' Union.

The editors of Palatinate are elected on a termly basis; notable former editors include George Alagiah, Jeremy Vine and Piers Merchant.

[edit] History of Palatinate

The first issue of Palatinate was published in 1948.
For three academic years from 2001 to 2004, Palatinate was published in broadsheet format. In October 2004 it reverted to its current tabloid format.
In 2001, Palatinate was named the NUS/Independent Student Newspaper of the Year.
In January 2004 Palatinate became a free publication. This was achieved by greatly increasing circulation which drew more advertising revenue.
In 2005 the paper stopped receiving direct funding from Durham Students' Union, causing an increase the amount of advertising needed. The Students' Union still provides Palatinate with office space and computing facilities.