The good old days

The Union website is to undergo a bit of a facelift in the coming months, with a number of revisions to the design. The changes will not, however, include the restoration of news feeds from Live!, Felix and stoic tv. The three media outlets had all been a permanent fixture on the old site and Live! was given assurances in June last year that they would return. Despite plans to do so being well advanced they have now been dropped from the final redesign, apparently at the behest of ICU President John Collins. Mr Collins denied all knowledge, claiming - with a wry smile on his face - that small details like that did not concern him. Earlier in the year he said of the plan: "what if there's bad news?"

The news section of the redesigned website will continue carrying propaganda amongst event advertising and election results. Burying bad news is not uncommon this year and was especially apparent when Mr Collins came off his bike - the page advertising his progress was swiftly dumped from the front page, where it was intended to stay for the duration of his ride. Those visiting it through the feed on the Live! front page noted that it did not mention an accident until several days later, initially claiming the ride had been stopped due to bad weather.

Live! Editor Ashley Brown commented on the U-turn: "We must be doing a good job if they are trying to limit our audience - what does the Union have to hide? I'm sure Stephen Brown is made of sterner stuff: I've seen him in a kilt and he didn't mind having his dirty laundry on display then."

John Collins in Reporter - blink and you'll miss him

Unconfirmed rumours are circulating that this latest spat between Beit Towers and Live! is down to the ICU President being sore at having no picture of himself with the Queen in Reporter, Imperial's staff magazine. His only presence is in the background of another photo, apparently wiping his nose. A certain media editor received much more coverage.

Anyone looking for a balanced view of events in the Union should, of course, add Live! as their home page. As well as the latest news and critical analysis, the front page includes news feeds from College, ICU and the BBC, alongside the latest weather forecast and tube status. Events taken from the union website, as well as extra ones added directly by clubs, are also visible on both the front page and events calendar.

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