AYY: Clarification on the future of the student magazine Aino

1 Nov 2019

“Student media resonate with

those who are not already in
possession of all that social
capital.”
Clarification on the Future of AYY’s Student Media
November 2019
AYY: Clarification on the future of the student magazine Aino
1 Nov 2019

Contents
Introduction 2

1. Clarification’s Execution 3
Reader Survey 3
Dialogue 4
Charting Of Student Media 5

2. Need for Student Media 6

3. Target Group’s Thoughts on Aino Magazine 8

Aino’s Weaknesses 8
Aino’s Strengths 9
Light Analysis of Aino’s Contents 11

4. International Student Media 11

Formats and Channels 12
Editors 13
Language Versions 13
Aino in Relation to International Student Media 13

5. To Conclude 14

6. Identified Challenges and Solution Proposals 15

7. Summary 17

Appendices 19
Appendix 1: Question Frame of Reader Survey 19
Appendix 2: Dialogue Script and Participants 22
Appendix 3: Results of Student Media Charting 23

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Introduction
The student magazine Aino is an independent publication funded by Aalto University Student
Union. In recent years, the magazine has brought to light various important and even painful
topics from within the University (such as the Inside Joke article, published in 2018, which
discusses racism among student actives) and been successful in Aikakausmedia’s Editkilpailu
contest, for example. Aino has been profiled as an ambitious and journalistically high-quality
publication whose contents are produced by professional editorial staff.

In connection with this clarification, it came out that the popularity of Aino among Aalto
University students is not beyond dispute. In part, the target group’s views reflected the
results of the reader survey carried out in 2015. Four years ago, a large part of the respondents
felt that Aino was irrelevant, distant and only aimed at certain Aalto students. Back then,
several respondents wished for content that was more tightly connected to AYY and Aalto. The
same criticism was repeated also in this clarification’s data.

Since spring 2019, the student magazine Aino has been on a publishing break lasting until the
end of the year, following the resignation of the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief and Subeditor. AYY
has used the budget released from the editing costs to work out the continuation options.
Between August and October 2019, we commissioned a clarification from Kaskas Media,
whose results we have assembled in this report and the presentation summarising it.

The clarification included three stages of data collection: a reader survey conducted online, a
dialogue and a charting of international student unions’ student media. The goal of the work
was to produce information on the hopes and opinions regarding AYY’s student medium to
assist the Student Union’s decision-making.

In this clarification, we will answer three questions:

1. In what way has the student magazine Aino served its readers?
2. What kinds of needs and hopes do Aalto University students have for student media?
3. What will the student medium financed by AYY look like in 2020?

The Aino magazine is at a crossroads. In this clarification, we will propose a direction in which
it could go next.

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1. Clarification’s Execution
We will next present the clarification’s progress stage by stage.

Launch meeting 08/19

Reader survey 08–09/19
Dialogue 09/19
Benchmarking 09–10/19
Final report 10/19

Reader Survey
We carried out a reader survey in Finnish, Swedish and English in late August–early September
2019. The survey was sent to the mailing list members along with AYY’s weekly newsletter. The
survey was open for two weeks. The question frame can be found at the end of the report in
appendix 1.

The Finnish-language survey was answered by 286 people, the English-language one by 42 and
the Swedish-language one by five. When combined, the respondents represented each School
of Aalto University (ARTS, BIZ, END, SCI, CHEM, ELEC) and the classes of 2012–2019.

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School distribution of all survey respondents

A gift voucher of 200 euros to Verkkokauppa.com was raffled among all respondents.

The survey data was analysed by classifying the open answers according to the following
questions:

1. What have the respondents liked about the Aino magazine? Why?
2. What have the respondents not liked? Why? / Why do the respondents feel they have
not been included in the Aino magazine’s target group?
3. Do the respondents feel that Aalto University needs a student medium? Why?
4. What kinds of contents are the respondents interested in?
5. What should be done with the budget allocated to the Aino magazine?
6. What should not be done with it?

Dialogue

A dialogue is a constructive and equal way to have a discussion where the aim is to understand

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one another. At the event, a confidential atmosphere is created and understanding of the topic
at hand deepened. This way, people with different offsets can meet as equals and be heard
before the final decision is made.

We organised and facilitated a two-hour dialogue for eight people. The participants were
current and former Aalto students from different Schools (SCI, ELEC, ARTS, BIZ). The dialogue
also included persons who had been involved in the making of the Aino magazine, as well as a
representative of the AYY Board.

In the dialogue, we delved deeper into the themes brought up in the reader survey on the
meaning, target group and contents of the student medium. The goal was to start a
conversation on what good and relevant student content is like in the 2020s and in which
direction it should move in the future. No decisions were made in the discussion; instead, we
focused on listening to the opinions and hopes of the different parties regarding the student
medium.

We took notes on the event, and these were utilised in the last stages of the clarification, i.e. in
the benchmarking charting and in preparing the final report. The script of the dialogue can be
found at the end of the report in appendix 2.

AYY offered cinema tickets for the dialogue participants.

Charting of Student Media

For the charting, we analysed the student media of six international higher education
institutes. In our analysis, we utilised the materials and information that were available online.
The higher education institutes to be charted were decided based on the discussions had in
the launch meeting of the clarification.* The chosen institutes were:

1. Aarhus Universitet (Denmark)

2. Chalmers tekniska högskola (Sweden)
3. Kungliga tekniska högskola (Sweden)
4. Lunds universitet (Sweden)
5. Universiteit Utrecht (Holland)
6. Yale University (United States)

The goal of the charting was to investigate how student media have been made in higher
education institutes on different sides of the world and to identify some good practices that
could be utilised in AYY’s own student medium.

The detailed results of the charting have been collected into the table that can be found at the
end of the report in appendix 3.

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*Some of the institutes proposed in the launch meeting had to be left out of the final charting. For example, no
information could be found online on the possible student medium of the Chinese Tsinghua University, which ruled
out its inclusion.

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2. Need for Student Media

“Students’ freedom of speech is a great privilege, and it is important to

hold on to this. Student media act as illustrators of the students’ point of
view, highlighting topics important to the students and investigating
angles that may not be acknowledged by the mainstream media.”

– Reader survey respondent

Based on the clarification, there is a need for an independent student medium among Aalto
University students. 20 per cent of the Finnish-language reader survey’s respondents wish that
the magazine was a continuation of AYY’s communications, while 55 per cent want the
magazine to observe AYY and Aalto University critically.

A total of 67 per cent of the respondents to the reader surveys in Finnish, Swedish and English
consider a student medium necessary. There are manifold needs in a community like Aalto, as
the Aalto Schools are very different to one another. Students representing the different classes
are also probably interested in different contents: a freshman wants a campus map and
information on the orientation week, while a student at the verge of graduation wants to find
inspiration for life after their studies and examples of the career paths of alumni. It is simply
impossible to accommodate everyone’s wishes.

Based on the clarification data, however, there are two common main needs for a medium
financed by AYY:

1. The student community needs a critical, independent and official mouthpiece.

The majority of the students involved in the clarification find it important that there is content
out there for them that is not a continuation of the Student Union’s communications. The
questioning attitude towards Aalto and AYY is both praised and criticised in the data. At best,
an independent medium can make students aware of things they would otherwise not pay
attention to in everyday life, and of students of other fields they do not come across on a daily
basis in the halls of their own campus buildings.

“What is important about Aino is that it’s a magazine for the student community of all
of Aalto. The magazine brings you viewpoints from every field’s communities and
bursts the Teekkari, Kylteri and Arts bubbles a bit in an appropriate manner. This wide
perspective is what I have especially enjoyed about the magazine.”

– Reader survey respondent

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2. A good student medium helps build the Aalto identity and brings to light the community’s
internal matters.

Many respondents find that the Aino magazine, or student media in general, plays an
important role in creating community spirit within the University. In the opinion of several
respondents, Aino has not succeeded very well in this task so far. On the other hand, Aino has
brought comfort and a sense of belonging to those who are still looking for their place.

“The loudest and most active [students] can be found in your tribe’s guilds and sections.
But the quiet majority doesn’t identify with the loud student identity. Student media
have resonated with those who are not already in possession of all that social capital.”

– Dialogue participant

Thinking about Aalto University with its Schools and countless study programmes, it is
challenging to form a coherent idea of an Aalto identity shared by all students. When planning
the next steps for student media, it is necessary to stop and consider what it is that essentially
brings Aalto people together and which things create the shared Aalto experience.

“The [Aalto] spirit and community are to do with how you as an individual can best
flourish. The magazine doesn’t have to define what the Aalto community is; instead,
the magazine provides a platform for an individual to determine that everything I do as
an Aalto person is part of what makes the Aalto spirit.”

– Dialogue participant

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3. Target Group’s Thoughts on Aino Magazine

A total of 64 per cent of the respondents to the reader surveys in Finnish, Swedish and English
feel that the Aino magazine has not been made for them. We should, however, keep in mind
that although the Aino magazine has been independent both journalistically and from the
Student Union, it is financed by AYY and tied to Student Union membership. It is unlikely that a
medium published in connection with “forced membership” could speak to the entire student
body of Aalto University that is not only extensive but also a very heterogenous group. In a
critical target group, one-hundred-percent satisfaction is a pure impossibility.

Next, we will present some praise and critique given by the respondents to the current Aino
magazine. This feedback can also be used to identify how the future student medium is hoped
to differ from the current one.

Aino’s Weaknesses
“Aino features hardly any stories on student life, the students’ everyday or the things
that relate to the average student.”

– Reader survey respondent

From the survey data, we identified three recurrent points of criticism directed at the current
Aino magazine:

1. Contents

Not all survey respondents consider the contents of the Aino magazine interesting or relevant
from a student’s point of view. It is difficult to relate to the topics, as they are not connected to
your own life. Contents more tightly connected to student life and Aalto University activities
are wanted in the magazine, as these are what differentiate the Aino magazine from other
periodicals.

The chosen topics often seem rather heavy to many people. On the one hand, the critical and
questioning approach is appreciated, but a more positive attitude is wanted alongside it to
build community spirit.

2. Sense of Exclusion

It is felt that the magazine is aimed at Arts and Business students in particular, and much of
Aino’s contents remains distant to many of the Teekkaris who answered the survey, for
example. In general, a large part of the survey respondents feels that the Aino magazine does
not represent Aalto as a community. Many people think that Aino could address student life

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and Aalto business in a more versatile manner.

Several respondents questioned the points of view of the articles published in Aino. According
to them, the stories are often written by a reporter from outside of Aalto who observes the
University’s phenomena in an unfamiliar and often negative manner. Many respondents feel
that the magazine occasionally has a rather hostile attitude towards the community for which
it exists.

In addition, the answers feature recurring concerns about the magazine’s editorial staff using
Aino as a launching pad for their personal editorial careers.

3. Financial Costs

The reader survey respondents have varying ideas about what part of AYY’s budget has been
spent on publishing the Aino magazine. Especially those respondents with an overall critical
view of Aino seem to believe that the magazine’s expenses are much higher than what they
actually are. Some of the respondents would like to use the funds allocated to the production
and printing of the Aino magazine on repairs in campus facilities or on mental health services,
for example.

Aino’s Strengths
“Aino is a brave, urban operator in its field that interests me as an active member of
the student community.”

– Reader survey respondent

A lot of praise was also given to the Aino magazine in the survey data. From the answers, we
identified three particular points of praise:

1. Contents and Tone

Many respondents praise the Aino magazine for not being afraid to start a conversation and
for taking a stand on the so-called “hush-hush” topics within Aalto University as well as in
society at large. The magazine has offered its readers new perspectives and critical
observations on the investigated topics, and it has also questioned some of the operations of
Aalto and AYY. Some of the respondents feels they have tangibly benefited from the
magazine’s articles in their work, for example.

2. Communality

Several respondents consider the Aino magazine an important means to bring out the voice
and skills of Aalto University students. Aino has also been seen to have the potential to be the

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magazine of the entire student community alongside the separate subject organisation and
guild magazines, and thus an essential strengthener of the communal Aalto experience. In
addition, many respondents praise the fact that stories of both current and already graduated
Aalto people have been presented in Aino.

3. Quality

Many respondents say they find Aino’s layout and look stylish and appreciate the magazine’s
photo features in particular. The texts are described as high-quality s that have been carefully
prepared. The magazine’s ambition and professionalism in comparison to other student and
organisation magazines is praised in several answers. Some respondents wish that the
magazine would continue to be made by an editorial staff consisting of more experienced
reporters rather than by Aalto volunteers. The print and paper quality of the print magazine
are appreciated.

Light Analysis of Aino’s Contents

The contents are mentioned in the survey data and the dialogue in both a positive and a
negative light. We paid attention to the recurrent criticism of the fact that the magazine’s
contents feel irrelevant to students and remains too distant from everyday life at Aalto. For
this reason, we conducted a brief analysis of the four latest issues of the Aino magazine, i.e.
issues 3/2018, 4/2018, 1/2019 and 2/2019. Each magazine features around ten articles.

In every issue, there were between five and eight different types of stories addressing Aalto
University, students and alumni, research conducted at the University as well as what is going
on around campus. In other words, at least one half of each magazine addressed the very
topics many respondents wanted to have more of. At the same time, the stories were more
about the students and alumni of Arts subjects than representatives of the other Schools. This
is something that Aino is criticised for a lot in the clarification data.

The articles that were not directly about Aalto or student life were, among other things, about
climate change, politics and other societal matters, such as caring for close relatives. Based on
our brief media analysis, we can thus state that most of the criticism regarding the contents is
fairly unjustified.

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4. International Student Media

For this clarification, we charted the contents, editorial procedures and good practices of six
international student media, which could also be utilised in AYY’s student medium in the
future. The universities and publications are:

1. Aarhus Universitet: Omnibus

2. Chalmers tekniska högskola: Tofsen
3. Kungliga tekniska högskola: Osqledaren
4. Lunds universitet: Lundagård
5. Universiteit Utrecht: The Digital University Journal, DUB
6. Yale University: Yale Daily News

Based on their professionality, contents and publication pace, the charted publications can be
divided into three groups:

1. Traditional Student Magazines

The majority of the media are print-format student magazines executed entirely or chiefly by
student forces and published a few times a year that delve solely into matters of the campus
and university.

2. Consistent Online Media

The majority of the charted publications are online media in which contents are published
daily at best and roughly once a month at the slowest. In terms of contents, these media focus
mainly on matters internal to the university. An exception is Lund University’s Lundagård
medium, which also publishes articles related to topical societal matters.

3. Professional Top Publications

The other extreme is represented by Yale’s Yale Daily News, which comes out every weekday,
has been polished into a professional newspaper and addresses regional and societal topics in
addition to university-related ones.

Formats and Channels

Most of the charted student media consist of a print magazine published a few times a year as
well as actively updated online media. Some higher education institutes, such as Yale
University and Kungliga tekniska högskola, also publish podcasts addressing campus matters
and studies, for example, but also themes like love and friendship. Yale Daily News additionally
makes its own videos, named YTV, which introduce topical people and events from the Yale
campus and the university’s operating area.

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All of the student media have an account on one or more social media channels. However, the
use of social media does not seem particularly systematic; instead, it is mainly used to share
articles published in the magazines with a few accompanying words.

Editors
In a large part of the investigated student media, the editorial staff consists of at least one or
two paid professionals as well as student assistants. The media do not mention on their
websites whether they pay their assistants for their work.

Two of the media (Yale’s Daily News and Chalmers tekniska högskolan’s Tofsen) operate on a
volunteer basis. The voluntary nature of Tofsen can be seen, for example, in the rather modest
look of the print magazine and the website and the fact that no more online content is being
produced.

At Yale Daily News, for its part, the volunteer-based production does not seem to impact the
medium’s quality or publication pace in the slightest. Writing for Yale’s student medium is
extremely popular, and all eager writers have to go through an elimination process. The
medium is administered by a business team consisting of students, although it is run by a full-
time general manager.

Language Versions
The charted student media are produced primarily in the higher education institute’s main
language. All non-English-language institutes do, however, also offer some English-language
content. Some of the media have an English-language section on their website, while others
produce mainly individual translations of some of their articles.

Aino in Relation to International Student Media

The investigated international student media do not offer any particular role models that AYY
should keep an eye on with regard to its own student medium. In terms of its contents and
look, the current Aino magazine stands out from most of the student media we observed.

In its reference group, Aino bears the most resemblance to a periodical. In addition to student
life, its contents have addressed societally important topics in feature articles, for example.

In terms of its layout and look, Aino has looked more professional than many student media.
The fact that a graphic designer has been hired for the medium is evident in the carefully
finished and thorough end result. Aino’s contents and visual look have played together well
and produced a recognisable brand for the magazine.

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The most functional practices of the charted media are the moderate publication pace of the
print magazines as well as the active production of online content, which helps them react
quickly to and comment on matters that are topical and/or relevant to the university.

AYY’s future student medium should also be able to offer more English-language content than
thus far in order for the medium to draw in also exchange and international students as well as
the University’s international staff. AYY can take its cue on multilingualism from Lund
University’s Lundagård medium, for example, whose English-language contents are clearly
visible on the front page and whose website has a separate English-language side. A large part
of Lundagård’s English-language website content is produced by international and exchange
students.

To conclude, it can be said that it is challenging to place the Aino magazine in a specific place
on a previously presented line, as the magazine combines features from all three groups: it is
made by students for students, its stories are published in print and online, and it is
professional and resembles a periodical. Additionally, Aino’s contents are more versatile than
in the majority of the investigated publications. In other words, Aino is a rather unique
publication in its reference group.

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5. To Conclude
In the final stages of the clarification work, public discussion on journalism and the fate of
organisation magazines is heated. With the discontinuation of the Vihreä Lanka magazine, a
shared concern is in the air about who and what will be broadening people’s world view in the
future.

In the light of this discussion, it is delightful that high-quality journalism and other content
production is being appreciated at Aalto University. Based on the clarification, it is clear that
Aalto people need and want an independent student medium. It observes the Student Union,
the University and society with a critical eye and, in the best-case scenario, offers an arena for
the formation of a communal Aalto identity.

A large part of the reader survey respondents and dialogue participants feels that the student
magazine Aino has succeeded in this task. The magazine has offered a bold and critical
perspective on topical phenomena. Aino has been praised for its quality, and it beats its
international counterparts in terms of the versatility of its contents as well as its professional
execution.

Based on the dialogue and the reader survey, the Aino magazine’s concept does, however,
need to be updated. The print publication coming out four times a year and the print’s
distribution in particular have not worked as hoped, and neither has the magazine always
served its readers well enough. The magazine needs a clear face.

Some of the survey respondents and dialogue participants feel that AYY’s communications,
Aalto’s other magazines such as guild and organisation magazines, as well as other media are
enough to serve their needs. They think that the whole University’s communal student
medium does not bring any additional value if it resembles any given Finnish periodical. As one
dialogue participants puts it: “If I wanted to read Image, I’d subscribe to it and read it.”

Based on the clarification, we have established a proposal for the next steps of Aino. In our
proposal, we have attempted to take into account as broadly as possible the wishes brought
up during the clarification.

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6. Identified Challenges and Solution Proposals

“Keep it simple. Let’s only do a little, but let’s do it really well. Taking it all the way
cannot be left out.”

– Dialogue participant

We used the reader survey and the dialogue to identify three key challenges for why the Aino
magazine has not reached its readers as effectively as it could. We will next present these
challenges and our proposals for solving them. In the Summary chapter, we will paint a picture
of what Aino’s editorial process could look like in 2020.

CHALLENGE 1

Distribution does not work.

Based on the clarification, it has been unclear to whom the Aino magazine is being sent, as it
has not been delivered to all members of AYY. Magazines have been left to pile up in the
staircases of Otaniemi student apartments, even though the idea has been for them to be
dropped through the students’ letter boxes.

SOLUTION PROPOSAL 1

Delivery of print magazines to homes is stopped.

We propose that the Aino magazine is published in print twice a year. Instead of home
delivery, it would be good to have the print publication available on the Otaniemi campus as
widely as possible: on stands in all University buildings as well as in the cafes and restaurants.

CHALLENGE 2

Marketing is inefficient.
Aino’s current marketing does not reach its target group. It is unclear to many people where to
get a copy of the magazine and when. The social media channels could be used more
strategically. Foreign students, in particular, are wondering about how to take part in making
the magazine.

SOLUTION PROPOSAL 2

The editorial staff is given a face at publication events and time to prepare a social media
strategy on work time.
The editorial staff could be present on campus to hand out the print magazine when it is
published. This way, students would get a face for the publication, get to interact with the

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makers and to express their interest in the making of student media. The distribution could be
tied to a date or event that brings Aalto people together, such as the school year’s kick-off
frolics or Laskiaisrieha, when lots of people are moving about the campus.

Planning the use of social media strategically is a cost-effective way to promote the student
medium’s awareness and visibility. Aalto people are a closely-enough defined target audience,
so it would not take too much work to reach them using targeted social media advertising, for
example. In connection with the print magazines’ publication, the editorial staff could also plan
a light social media campaign to support the marketing. Most of all, it is important that some
of the student medium’s budget and some working hours of its editorial staff are allocated to
the planning and execution of an efficient marketing and social media strategy.

Alongside harnessing social media, we propose that the print magazines’ publication dates and
distribution sites are announced in AYY’s weekly newsletter. Additionally, links to the student
medium’s topical online contents could be shared in the weekly newsletter.

CHALLENGE 3

There is not enough English-language content.

Based on the reader survey, the student medium should produce contents in Finnish and
English in equal measure. The need for English language was justified, among other things, by
the fact that it would support Aalto’s international brand.

SOLUTION PROPOSAL 3

Resources must be allocated to English-language content production.

A Finnish university naturally has more content and writers on offer in the Finnish language
than in English. However, a section of the student medium’s budget should be set aside for the
production of English-language contents and/or for commissioning translations. The
production of English-language contents requires native-level writers. Targeted marketing on
social media, for example, is needed to find them and lure them in.

Having text translated, for its part, calls for a professional translator. We propose that the
editors commission translations for articles that address topics that are significant to the
University and/or of which each Aalto University student should be aware. The editorial staff
can decide the number of articles it has translated per month or per print magazine.

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7. Summary
We propose that the student magazine Aino remains the student magazine Aino, but that the
ways it is made are reformed. The development ideas and the editorial process we are
proposing are within the budget that has been allocated to the editing of Aino thus far (i.e.
around 75 000 euros). It would take more work and be much riskier to completely rebrand
Aino instead of developing the existing product.

The Aino of the 2020s consists of a versatile and high-quality independent print publication
coming out twice a year and an actively updated website. This enables the readers’ wishes on
the publication’s format to be met: 83 per cent of the Aalto people answering the Finnish-
language survey hoped for an online publication, 48 per cent a print publication.

The print magazine is published at busy points of the study year: in the beginning of the year in
connection with Shrovetide, for example, and in September as the studies begin. In connection
with the publication, a small event is organised on campus at which the editorial staff are
handing out magazines hot off the press and getting to know their readers.

Online, contents are published monthly at a pace determined by the editorial staff. We
propose light social media campaigns in connection with the print magazines’ publication that
advertise an issue coming out and tempt readers to get hold of a copy.

When the funds meant for the printing costs and distribution of two print magazines are
released from the student medium’s budget, more can be done to push further active content
production online. A separate monthly budget consisting primarily of writers’ fees is allocated
for the publication of online contents. Some of the online budget can be reserved for the
production of demanding texts requiring quick reactions and commenting on topical
phenomena. Particularly the planning of the magazine’s distribution and marketing are
invested in. The goal is for the contents to reach their target group as effectively as possible in
terms of both subject matter and availability.

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Student magazine Aino’s year.

JAN–FEB: Social media and marketing strategy

FEB: Social media campaign / SHROVETIDE: publication event on campus / PRINT 01/20
SEPT: Social media campaign / ORIENTATION WEEK: publication event on campus / PRINT 02/20
ALL YEAR: continuous online content

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Question Frame of Reader Survey

Respondent details:

What year did you start your studies at Aalto University?

School

Email address (Please leave your email address if you want to be included in the raffle
for a 200 € gift voucher to Verkkokauppa.com.)

1. Have you read the Aino magazine?

2. Do you feel that the Aino magazine has been made for you? [YES / NO] Give reasons for your
answer.

3. What is good about the Aino magazine?

4. And what could be improved?

5. Does Aalto need a student medium funded by AYY? [YES / NO] Give brief reasons for your
answer.

6. What would make you interested in a student medium financed by AYY? You can choose
multiple options.

◯ Aino magazine continuing as is

◯ The student medium being made by Aalto people for Aalto people
◯ The medium is journalism that is independent from other bodies
◯ It is not a continuation of AYY’s communications
◯ It is a continuation of AYY’s communications
◯ It is readily available on campus and online
◯ It is available in different languages
◯ It deals with generational phenomena and familiar topics
◯ It observes the operations of AYY and Aalto critically
◯ It observes the surrounding world and student life critically

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AYY: Clarification on the future of the student magazine Aino
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◯ Topics dealing with your personal life situation, such as studying, finding work
and life management

7. In what format would you like to consume student media? You can choose multiple options.

◯ Online publication
◯ Print magazine
◯ Video
◯ Podcast
◯ Social media channels
◯ Other

8. If you said “other,” what would that be?

9. From the content options below, choose the ones you personally are most interested in.

◯ Topical news
◯ Columns, essays or opinion pieces
◯ Feature stories (see definition at beginning of section)
◯ Profiles (see definition at beginning of section)
◯ Phenomenon stories (see definition at beginning of section)
◯ Tests and questionnaires
◯ Investigative journalism (see definition at beginning of section)
◯ Service journalism (practical pieces offering advice)

10. What kinds of topics would you like to read about in the student medium financed by AYY?

11. For what do you think the funds used on editing the Aino magazine should be used?

12. And for what should the funds definitely not be used?

13. How should AYY’s three official languages be taken into account in the student medium?

14. Can you think of anything else related to the survey’s themes that you would like to share
with AYY and the people carrying out the clarification?

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AYY: Clarification on the future of the student magazine Aino
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Appendix 2: Dialogue Script and Participants

4.30 pm Facilitators introduce themselves and explain what the Aino clarification
is about and what the goal is for the dialogue event. Dialogue rules are gone through
quickly and participants reminded of the event’s confidentiality.

4.40 pm Quick introduction round

4.50 pm Getting in the mood:

● Discussion in pairs on the question: “What kinds of experiences or
thoughts first come to mind on the topic of our dialogue, the future of
AYY’s student media?”
● First, one person tells the other and the other person listens. Then the
listener asks some elaborating questions. After this, the roles are
reversed.
● Breakdown with the question: “Let’s sum up a bit what we had in mind.
What kinds of themes came up?”

5.00 pm Dialogue, leading questions: What are student media needed for? What
are good and useful student media like?
● In the reader survey, 68 per cent said that Aalto University needs a
student medium. Why this result? What do you think about this?
● What do you think student media are needed for today?
● So far, the Aino magazine has been funded by AYY but still an
independent journalistic publication. What do you think the relationship
of the student medium and the Student Union should be like?

5.40 pm Thoughts on Aino and good execution

● The student community at Aalto is highly manifold. It is not an easy task
to speak to everyone. Whom should Aalto’s student medium serve?
Who uses it?
● How has Aino succeeded in this? Why?

Supporting the Aalto identity

● Many of the reader survey’s answers mentioned the wish for AYY’s
student medium to upkeep the communal “Aalto identity.” What do
you think this means?
○ What role does the student medium play in the upkeep of a
communal student identity?
○ What kind of content do you think supports this goal?
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AYY: Clarification on the future of the student magazine Aino
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Ideal future
● It is January 2021. What kind of student content would you like to see
produced at Aalto?

8.20 pm Breakdown
● What did you learn today?

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