About moritz.magazin

moritz.magazin

moritz.magazin is the student magazine of the University of Greifswald, published in the Hanseatic city on the Baltic coast. As the print magazine of the moritz.medien — the student media family that also includes moritz.tv and the webmoritz. online magazine — it has reported since 1998 on the goings-on at Greifswald University and many other topics worth reading. The successor of the earlier print magazine "Crash," the moritz has constantly evolved, accompanying thousands through their university daily life. Addressing primarily the students and staff of the university — but also regularly read by other residents of the city — the magazine is produced by an editorial team of around 25 more-or-less permanent editors who fill four 52-page issues a year, appearing in print at the start of the summer and winter semesters and as e-papers on the website. In the German student press, the moritz stands for the tradition of the university cities: the independent student voice, made by students for students.

Overview

The magazine presents itself as the Greifswald student magazine — the print voice of the moritz.medien. Its editorial program covers university politics and the developments at the University of Greifswald, student life in all its aspects, and the world beyond the lecture hall and library: the editors review the newest films and books, follow higher-education policy developments, and report on culture in the Hanseatic city. The declared ambition is to walk through life with open eyes and ears — to miss no interesting information, to uncover grievances, and to make the world a little better and studying a little more pleasant.

The readership is the university community: the students and employees of the University of Greifswald — one of Germany's oldest universities, founded in 1456, the third-oldest in Germany and, Greifswald having been under Swedish rule at its founding, the oldest university in Sweden — and the city's other residents who read the magazine regularly. The editorial team of around 25 editors comes from all fields of study, enabling the broad spectrum of topics: from university politics to film and book reviews to the many facets of student life.

The production rhythm — four issues a year of 52 pages each, appearing in print at the start of the summer and winter semesters and as e-papers online — follows the academic calendar. The editors' tasks span the full journalistic craft: researching, phoning, interviewing, contacting, listening to music, watching films, reading, writing, correcting, editing, and layout — the practical journalism school alongside the studies.

History

The student media in Greifswald have a long tradition. Before moritz.tv and the webmoritz. were founded, there was already a print magazine: the "Crash." Its successor, the moritz, has reported since 1998 on the events at Greifswald University and many other readable topics — constantly evolving and accompanying thousands through their university everyday life. The moritz.medien family grew around the print magazine: moritz.tv, the student television channel, and the webmoritz., the online magazine, extending the student voice into video and the web.

The magazine's organizational form follows the German student self-administration: the editorial positions — the editor-in-chief and her deputy for moritz.print, responsible for producing the moritz.magazin issues (the winter and summer moritz) — are advertised by decision of the student parliament (Studierendenparlament), to which the editors are accountable through the media committee (Medienausschuss). The 2016 advertisement documents the structure: the editors-in-chief coordinate the editorial team's work, set the content priorities, decide on the publication of contributions, convene editorial meetings, and handle the organizational and administrative work of the print media. The priority goal is ensuring a functioning editorial operation and winning readers; the products should inform students about relevant events around the university, the city of Greifswald, and beyond.

The University of Greifswald's own history — its 555th anniversary celebrated in 2011, its Nordic culture festival Nordischer Klang (the largest festival of Nordic culture outside the Nordic countries), the German-Polish polenmARkT festival — forms the cultural context in which the student magazine operates. The monthly student magazine, as the university's international profile notes, is read by the majority of students and publishes stories not only about university politics but about culture in general.

Coverage and Content

The magazine's coverage follows the student year's rhythm. University politics forms the core beat: the decisions of the student parliament, the university's administration, higher-education policy developments at the state and federal level, and the conditions of studying — from the semester ticket to the library hours to the housing market. The editors' ambition to uncover grievances gives the magazine its investigative dimension: the student press as the university's watchdog.

Student life coverage addresses the everyday: the Ersti (freshman) weeks with their city rallies and beach games, the student clubs and initiatives, the part-time jobs and internships, and the leisure of the Hanseatic city — the Baltic beaches where others vacation, as the university's motto puts it: "Studieren, wo andere Urlaub machen" (study where others vacation). Culture coverage reviews films and books, follows the Nordischer Klang and polenmARkT festivals, and reports on the city's cultural life.

The four-issue rhythm structures the year: the winter and summer semester openers serve the orientation function for the new students, while the issues' 52 pages allow the long-form reporting — the interviews, the background pieces, the photo essays — that the daily webmoritz. complements with its continuous online coverage.

Organization and Ownership

moritz.magazin is published within the moritz.medien — the student media of the University of Greifswald's student body — alongside moritz.tv (the student TV channel) and the webmoritz. (the online magazine). The student radio station radio98eins, operated mainly by students with independent music and local news, forms the audio complement in the Greifswald student-media landscape. The editorial positions are filled by decision of the Studierendenparlament; the editors-in-chief for moritz.print are accountable to the Medienausschuss.

The editorial team — around 25 more-or-less permanent editors from all fields of study — works voluntarily alongside the studies; the magazine's production is the practical journalism school the editors describe: researching, interviewing, writing, correcting, editing, layout — "a nice change from everyday study life, where you can try things out and acquire basic journalistic knowledge." The e-paper editions on webmoritz.de extend the print issues into the digital archive.

Circulation figures are not publicly confirmed in freely available sources. The commercial model is that of a German student magazine: financed within the student body's budget (the semester contributions), distributed free at the university and in the city, with advertising from the local businesses — the bars, clubs, copy shops, and services that address the student readership.

Digital Presence

The magazine's digital home is webmoritz.de — the portal of the moritz.medien, where the moritz.magazin appears with its e-paper editions alongside the webmoritz. online magazine and moritz.tv. The e-papers of the four annual 52-page issues are published on the site at the start of the summer and winter semesters, forming the digital archive of the print magazine. The webmoritz. online magazine extends the print rhythm into continuous online coverage; moritz.tv brings the student voice to video.

The moritz.medien's digital presence serves the university community's information needs: the print magazine's long-form reporting, the online magazine's daily updates, and the TV channel's video formats combine into the cross-media student voice. Since 1998 in print — and now in print, online, and video — the moritz remains what its editors intend: the Greifswald student magazine, made by students for students, with open eyes and ears for the university, the city, and the world beyond.