The Ripple (newspaper)

Infobox Newspaper
name = The Ripple
type = Biweekly newspaper
format = Tabloid
price = Free
owners = University of Leicester Students' Union
editor = James Gardner
foundation = 10 December 1957
headquarters = The Ripple Office
Percy Gee Building
University of Leicester
University Road
LE1 7RH
website = [http://www.therippleonline.com TheRIPPLE Online]

The Ripple is the student newspaper at the University of Leicester. The biweekly free paper editions have a potential readership of nearly 10,000 students, although the actual print circulation is closer to 3,000.

History

"The Ripple"'s predecessor, the "Wave", was founded in the early 1950s by Malcolm Bradbury, [http://www.le.ac.uk/bulletin/bulletinfebruary2001.pdf] who was later to become a renowned author and academic.

The first edition of "The Ripple" was printed on 10 December 1957 (the same year as the university was granted its Royal Charter) under the direction of the newspaper's first editor, Brian Abbs. [http://www.le.ac.uk/alumni/downloads/2005grad_review.pdf]

Notable former editors include Marc Heal (1983–84) and Andrew Biswell (1993–94).

The Ripple in the news

In early 2006 the BBC revealed that the word "moony" was first used in print by the Ripple as part of the slang used during the 1987 RAG week, and led to the Oxford English Dictionary attributing the paper as the source of the word. [http://www.oed.com/bbcwords/moony-new.html] This was then followed by a feature on the Ripple as part of the BBC show Balderdash and Piffle, screened on Easter Sunday, April 16 2006. [http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/press-releases/2000-2009/2006/04/nparticle-ttm-6z4-qmd]

The Ripple received national press attention again in November 2006 after speaking out against an attempt by the National Union Of Students to restrict sales of a number of lad mags in the student union shop. [http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1945140,00.html]

Expansion and Redevelopment

As of academic year 2008/2009, the Ripple will be reinventing it's image, including a total redesign of the logo, colour schemes and layout, as well as expanding sections, following structural and editorial changes under the discretion of the current Editor, James Gardner. The development of a website is being organised over the 2008 summer, and is aimed at addressing circulation issues encountered previously, by providing online services to the Leicester University's large proportion of distance learning students.

External links

* [http://www.leicesterstudent.org/home/content/pages/groups_and_sports/media/the_ripple.html LeicesterStudent.org – The Ripple]

* [http://www.le.ac.uk The University of Leicester]