Monicha Tully, the editor of Arcadia magazine

Female editor inspires Exeter students with media ambitions

Monicha Tully, the editor of Arcadia magazine, visited Exeter on 30 January 2020 to speak to budding journalists about her career path and to give some top tips on breaking into the media scene. This event was organised by the student team behind Exeter’s RAZZ magazine and went ahead with support from the Alumni Annual Fund, whose grant funded Monicha Tully’s travel expenses and enabled the event to be free-of-charge for students. Freya Insoll, a student who attended the event, said that Monicha Tully’s speech was ‘helpful and insightful and definitely encouraged me to pursue a career in journalism!’ 

RAZZ Magazine is a publication created by Exeter students for Exeter students, and focuses on art, culture and lifestyle. Their termly magazine features articles, illustrations, photography and creative writing, and their blog is regularly updated and read worldwide.

This year’s Print Editor, Charlotte Forrester, wanted not only to promote the work of students at Exeter but also encourage this pool of talent to pursue a career in the media. As this is an industry notoriously difficult to break into, especially without connections, she thought that a speaker event would be a perfect way for her and her peers to gain an insight into the media and be given helpful advice on how to embark on a career, as well as facilitating networking between themselves and with a professional journalist. A grant from the Alumni Annual Fund for speaker travel expenses made sure that this event could be free of charge, to enable inclusivity and ensure that no future journalist was barred from attending due to financial hardship.

Monicha Tully, the editor-in-chief of Arcadia magazine, gave an inspiring presentation on both her job and her career path before answering questions from the audience. Isabelle Gray, who is a member of RAZZ magazine in addition to being the Senior Editor of campus newspaper Exeposé, said of the event: “It was really beneficial to go to a talk by an editor of a magazine and hear her story, Monicha was a really lovely, open woman and made the industry feel a lot more accessible with all the specific advice she gave us. RAZZ's ability to make such a big event feel intimate and friendly meant that we were all able to ask Monicha questions after her talk and discuss openly plans for the future and how to get into the industry.” Tully also made an impact on student Katie Burdon, who enthused that she “was nothing short of inspirational, encouraging us to take chances while arming us with insanely useful tips on breaking into the industry. I left feeling energised about the future and hope RAZZ can continue to put on more events like this one!”

RAZZ magazine and online blog can be read online and you can also follow the team on Twitter (search for @RazzMag). You never know, you could be reading a piece from a successful journalist of the future!

Date: 17 July 2020