So that’s it. Another year of SCAN comes to an end. Looking back, the whole team have learned a lot.
The SCANs at the start of this year were, we will openly admit, poor. We hadn’t developed a clear vision on design or content and it showed.
After a lot of work, towards the end of Michaelmas Term, our design noticeably improved and this allowed the content to shine. As a result, that is when I regard SCAN as truly starting this year.
We have aimed to shift the tone of SCAN, particularly its News section, substantially. The aim was to make it critical – but not purely for the sake of criticism. We wanted to hold both the University and the Union to account when we needed to, and looking back I think we have achieved this on a number of occasions.
Of course, there will always be this criticism that SCAN is a “LUSU mouthpiece”, but the response to that is while we have celebrated the Union’s successes on many occasions, we have also raised questions on some occasions. I believe this is both healthy and necessary.
There have been big moments. I am particularly proud of our coverage of Roses, our Elections coverage, and the reporting we have done on issues such as the college bars and the closure of the Music degree scheme.
Next year sees further change for SCAN as we move to the first student Editor since the 1970s. While concerns have been raised about this from some quarters, I have every confidence in next year’s Editor as well as the new structure we have created to spread the workload of producing SCAN and ensuring it is set up to prosper over the coming years.
We haven’t been able to please everyone. By the nature of SCAN, it never will be able to. Some of the criticism we have received is justified, but I hope ultimately that you as the reader have found some value in what we have produced over the year – and that you have enjoyed reading it as much as we have making it.
