Limerick Voice: UL students continue to lead the way with annual paper

TEN editions and hundreds of ink-soaked pages later, the aspiring reporters at University of Limerick’s School of Journalism continue to publish detailed insights into local life in the annual Limerick Voice newspaper. 

This year’s 40-page chronicle of the local beat, produced by a team of MA and BA journalism students over the past three months, is distributed in this weekend’s Limerick Leader broadsheet edition.

Led by editor Marisa Kennedy, the front page leads with a story of a Limerick family have gone to extraordinary lengths to ease the agony of terminal illness. Inside, there is a powerful human interest spotlight on people overcoming physical disabilities in sport.

The newspaper also looks at Limerick’s growing homelessness crisis ahead of Christmas celebrations, and carries out an exclusive survey on the Eighth Amendment.

According to their survey, 60% of respondents are in favour of changing the constitutional ban on abortion in Ireland. 

UL Head of Journalism Mary Dundon commended the multi-media project, whose website went live in September, covering daily breaking news and sports stories. It was also active on social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ms Dundon said that the production of the newspaper provided students with the experience needed in the industry.

UL president, Prof Des Fitzgerald said that project is an example of how journalism education at UL is committed to preparing students for the world of work. “Problem based or experiential learning is a key component of many of the programmes of study at UL and Limerick Voice is an excellent example of how well this concept works and how professional our students can be. All of the students who worked on this project now have very real experience of the skills that are required to take a newspaper from concept to print.”

Journalism lecturer Kathryn Hayes, who oversaw the project, said that the Voice “gives students the chance to experience what it means to be a professional journalist and empowers them to make editorial judgements with guidance from faculty here at the journalism department in UL”.