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The Falmouth Anchor
TypeOnline newspaper
Owner(s)Falmouth & Exeter Students' Union
Founder(s)Cecelia Armstrong and Hermione Blomfield-Smith
EditorJoseph Taylor
Deputy editorKirsty Heffernan
Founded2015
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersPenryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom, TR10 9FE
Websitewww.surfradio.co.uk/anchor-news

The Falmouth Anchor is the online student newspaper of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter's Cornwall campuses.[1]

Founded in 2015, the paper produces local news coverage catering to both universities.[2] Run by a team of student volunteers, the Anchor—as it is also known—provides opportunities for students to contribute to its various sections, including news, opinions, politics, arts, lifestyle, fashion, and sport. Since its conception, The Falmouth Anchor has been affiliated with the Falmouth & Exeter Students' Union as a society open to all Cornwall-based students.[3]

History

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The Falmouth Anchor was formed in early 2015 by Cecelia Armstrong and Hermione Blomfield-Smith with the aim to bring a student publication to universities in Cornwall.[4] It launched as a free monthly print newspaper with the first edition releasing in June 2015 and featuring an interview with Falmouth University Chancellor Dawn French.[5] The paper continued in this format for a further ten issues until September 2017, when financial difficulties—owing to the withdrawal of production grants from the University of Exeter—forced the Anchor to end its regular print production.[6][7] Since the beginning of the 2017/18 academic year, the publication has operated in an online-only capacity.[8]

Notable stories and wider coverage

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In June 2018, 2018/19 Editor-in-Chief Annissa Warsame and News Editor Ivan Edwards broke a story highlighting an email sent by the University of Exeter's careers service which accidentally featured a quote from Erwin Rommel, a German general associated with the Nazi Party.[9] The article was picked up by several national news outlets.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The Anchor's coverage also hit international channels with USA Today, Fox News, and Breitbart News all reporting on the mishap.[17][18] The story's widespread reach resulted in The Falmouth Anchor receiving the "Best Impact" award at the 2018 Student Publication Association Regional Conference (South West) in November 2018.[19] This recognition continued at the National Conference (SPANC) in April of the next year with Warsame and Edwards' article being shortlisted for "Best News Story".[20]

The following year, the paper garnered further national attention with its coverage of the 2019 European Parliament election in the South West England constituency. At a campaign rally in Truro in May 2019, controversial YouTuber and the UK Independence Party (UKIP)'s candidate, Carl Benjamin, was struck by a dead fish thrown by a protester during an interview with then-Politics Editor Jacob Jaffa. The moment of impact was captured on camera by 2019/20 Editor-in-Chief Alex Welsford with the image leading The Falmouth Anchor's report of the incident.[21] The photo, in combination with the article's headline "'Super callous fragile racist sexist UKIP a***hole': Carl Benjamin visits Truro", saw the news quickly picked up by Metro and The Falmouth Packet, which made note of The Falmouth Anchor's website repeatedly crashing due to the number of times the report was being shared.[22][23] The full video interview with Benjamin was uploaded to his YouTube channel "Sargon of Akkad" where it amassed over 270,000 views as of November 2019.[24] On 26 May Labour Party MP Jess Phillips—who was previously subjected to online abuse from Benjamin, saying he "wouldn't even rape her"—quoted a tweet that used the Anchor's photo to announce Benjamin's failure to be elected into the European Parliament.[25][26] The coverage led to further accolades for The Falmouth Anchor; "Highly Commended" in the "Best Impact" category at SPARC South West in November 2019, and a "Best News Story" nomination for Jaffa at SPANC20 in October 2020.[27]

Merger with Surf Radio

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In November 2023, for financial reasons, the Falmouth Anchor merged with fellow media society, Surf Radio. The merger has seen the creation of the Falmouth Anchor radio show as well as new articles being published on the Surf website.

Awards and nominations

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Student Publication Association National Conference (SPANC) Awards

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Student Publication Association Regional Conference (SPARC) Awards (South West)

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  • 2018 – Best Development (Won)[35]
  • 2018 – Best Impact (Won)[35]
  • 2019 – Best Development (Won)
  • 2019 – Best Impact (Highly Commended)

National Societies Awards

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  • 2018 – Best Media Society (Shortlisted)[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Falmouth Anchor Newspaper". Falmouth & Exeter Students' Union. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  2. ^ Beeson, James (11 September 2015). "New student led publication launched on Penryn campus". Exeposé Online. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Societies | Your Exeter | University of Exeter". www.exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. ^ Beeson, James (11 September 2015). "New student led publication launched on Penryn campus". Exeposé Online. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  5. ^ "The Falmouth Anchor - June 2015". Issuu. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. ^ "The Falmouth Anchor - May 2017". Issuu. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ Green, Daniel (6 March 2020). "Student publications are axing print as they need to compete with social media | Media news". www.journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  8. ^ Broome, Cameron (3 September 2017). "Falmouth Anchor ends print publication but retains ambition". The Mancunion. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  9. ^ Warsame, Annissa; Edwards, Ivan (16 June 2018). "Exeter Career Zone accidentally quote Nazi General in e-mail blast". The Falmouth Anchor. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  10. ^ "University includes Rommel quote in email to students". BBC News. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  11. ^ Bevan, Tom (21 June 2018). "University lecturer 'inspires' students with quote from Nazi he had never heard of". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  12. ^ Williams, Ian (20 June 2018). "University of Exeter apologises for using Nazi quote to inspire students". mirror. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  13. ^ Mills, Jen (20 June 2018). "Exeter University sends students 'motivational quote' from Nazi general". Metro. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  14. ^ "University of Exeter sorry for emailing quote from Nazi Erwin Rommel to motivate students". Sky News. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ^ "University apologises after Nazi general quote used to motivate staff and students". The Telegraph. 20 June 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  16. ^ Woolcock, Nicola (21 June 2018). "Whoops! Careers adviser's 'uplifting' quote is from Nazi Erwin Rommel". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  17. ^ Pitofsky, Marina. "University apologizes for sending quote from Nazi general to students". USA TODAY. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  18. ^ Parke, Caleb (22 June 2018). "University apologizes for using Nazi general's quote to motivate students". Fox News. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  19. ^ Evans, Owain (25 November 2018). "Regional Award Winners 2018 -". Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  20. ^ Collins, Jem (17 March 2019). "#SPANC19: The Awards Shortlist Has Been Released". Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  21. ^ Jaffa, Jacob (10 May 2019). ""Super callous fragile racist sexist UKIP a***hole": Carl Benjamin visits Truro". The Falmouth Anchor. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  22. ^ Buck, Kate (11 May 2019). "Fish thrown at Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin who tweeted about raping MP". Metro. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  23. ^ Ferguson, Emma (11 May 2019). "Carl Benjamin fish and milkshake protest in Truro gets national attention". Falmouth Packet. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  24. ^ Kippered - Sargon of Akkad Interview with the #Falmouth Anchor. Sargon of Akkad. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Syal, Rajeev (7 May 2019). "Police investigate Ukip candidate over Jess Phillips rape comments". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  26. ^ Phillips, Jess [@jessphillips] (27 May 2019). "What a shame. https://t.co/VniL8e9xis" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "SPA Awards 2020 -". Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  28. ^ @SPAJournalism (7 April 2018). "The winner of Best Entertainment Piece is Carl Altaner from @TheFalAnchor Highly Commended goes to Tom Green #SPANC18" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "#SPANC18 Awards shortlists -". Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Canterbury Christ Church's UNIfied wins big at SPA Awards - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage". HoldtheFrontPage. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d Collins, Jem (17 March 2019). "#SPANC19: The Awards Shortlist Has Been Released". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  32. ^ "SPA Awards 2020 -". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  33. ^ Student Publication Association [@SPAJournalism] (21 March 2022). "Over to our sports fan: it's our Best Sports Reporter shortlist! #SPANC22 https://t.co/v7WZsJYLsN" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Student Publication Association [@SPAJournalism] (21 March 2022). "Next up, it's our shortlist for Best Sports Section! #SPANC22 https://t.co/KbGnZqjEWi" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ a b Evans, Owain (25 November 2018). "Regional Award Winners 2018 -". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  36. ^ "National Societies Awards 2018 - Shortlist". www.cardiffstudents.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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