We are so back.
Welcome to the sixth instalment of Honi Soit’s student media spotlight — a series where we sit down with student publications around Australia to discuss the triumphs and tribulations of student media.
Yet another story birthed from the depths of the 2023 National Conference of Students came an unlikely friendship between Honi and Empire Times (ET). Of course, it was only fitting that the two Honi Soit tributes who attended NatCon reunited with ET to reminisce together.
Nothing can stop student media from uniting, not even the Good Friday public holiday. So, we joined a Zoom with Lachlan White, the editor-in-chief at Empire Times, to chat about Flinders University’s paper, its university landscape and the future of Adelaide’s student media.
Empire Times was founded in 1969 and, as per White’s description, “started with humble beginnings.” The paper, originally sold for 15c a piece, was founded by Martin Fabinyi who famously started the paper’s printing in their backyard. From here, Empire Times had an oscillating history. Shut down in 2006 as result of Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU), Flinders University saw the production of Libertine Magazine for a short time. It was not until the introduction of Student Services Amenities Fees (SSAF) in 2012 that Empire Times resumed circulation the following year. In White’s words, VSU “killed the weekly issues”.
White described the early iterations of the paper as “very radical during the Vietnam war era”, and noted their legacy of activism as comparable to Farrago (the oldest student newspaper at University of Melbourne — check out our previous Student Media Spotlight for more on this). Empire Times’s past activist reputation saw marijuana smoke-ins, protests against McDonalds on campus and occupations in the registry building just to skim the headlines. Many famous individuals, including former Minister Kate Ellis, composer Martin Armiger and poet Adrien Rawlins also edited the paper around this period.
Now, White says this legacy is “not as radical or involved as it once was” but knows there is an “exciting potential” for the direction of their magazine. As many of the previous student paper spotlights have revealed to be in common, Empire Times started as a weekly newspaper but transitioned to a periodical magazine — eventually moving from eight editions in the early 2000s and now six editions for the 2024 schedule. It seems the transition to periodical magazine has been far from linear, with White explaining that many years “plan on doing eight issues”, but contentious council relations in past years resulted in inconsistent publishing and one-sided regulations changes. His team plans on releasing six issues in print with more pages, similar to the output of their 2023 predecessors.
White’s editor-in-chief position formed naturally, a result of his regular contributions to the paper since 2022. The Empire Times editorial team currently functions with two to four main editors, but White revealed that “current restructuring is taking place because [ET] has problems with its accountability in regulations like digital outputs, social media standards and sub-editor role definitions.”
White’s editorial vision is “focused on the politics and communications with [papers] outside of the Empire Times” and says “we can write whatever we want without consequence. We have good relationships in the Student Council.” While it seems Empire Times does not experience any editorial influence or control from Flinders’ Student Council, White did note that he is in regular communication with its Media Liaison for printing and deadline concerns.
Interestingly, Empire Times’ independence from its Student Council means that editors have complete control over their budget. Allocated a total of $64,000 for design, printing and outreach at the beginning of their term, the three editors must only ensure that $30,000 is split equally between them for their fortnightly pay; the remaining $34,000, collected entirely from SSAF, can be divided according to each editorial team’s specific needs.
However, this freedom has not removed significant funding barriers for the paper. White noted that there have been delays in printing and budgeting for the Issue 2, initially intended as an April Fools edition but more recently revised to take a more general “whacky and satire” angle. While the Media Liaison and Student Council have attempted to offer advice and combat these barriers, White revealed that “we have had many challenges within our team”; as well as anticipating a stronger handover at the beginning of their term, the editors have adapted to a lack of resources, templates and Adobe Indesign training opportunities.
Nevertheless, White remains optimistic and passionate about the past, present and future of Empire Times. His favourite aspect of the paper is “the community engagement of it all”, particularly seeing “what students make”, their “diversity of ideas” and taking “the extra step” to bring them into the design process. White also reminisced that before he was an editor, he “really enjoyed having a ‘shower thought’, putting it on paper and then showing it off to people” — a process he hopes many current writers are able to share.
To no surprise, when asked to summarise Empire Times in one word, White chose “community”. Once described to him as a “glorified colouring book”, he sees the paper as so much more: it is a place “for students to read and engage with what their peers are thinking” outside of mainstream media and with a focus on issues that students care about. Having campaigned on the platform that “students should know where their SSAF is going”, the 2024 editorial team has led significant changes in reporting, including closer attention to Student Council meetings and creative writing content.
White’s goals to concrete Empire Times in the Flinders community have culminated in his five year plan. Centred around a Charter for the paper, the current editorial team hopes to “work on new regulations that have not changed in over ten years”, including an outdated clause which prohibits the paper from publishing articles under anonymous by-lines. Additionally, White wants to “improve outreach” on-campus by talking to people and attending club events, as well as “get more involved with the [national] Student Media Network” and connect with other student publications in South Australia.
Our interview ended with a brief meandering into the differences between student politics at USyd and Flinders. Although they seem worlds (or should I say states) away from each other, our solidarity as student journalists could not be stronger. Stay tuned for the release of Empire Times’ Issue 2 later in the month, as well as more student media spotlights from Honi.