STUDENTS have hailed a new Herald initiative to provide free access to heraldscotland.com across all colleges and universities in Scotland.
It means any student or staff member who logs on to heraldscotland.com while connected to their campus wifi can read its content free of charge.
And according to a vox pop of Scottish university students, the move has been welcomed as a way of helping them stay better informed.
Glasgow Caledonian University student Kaloyan Tsvetavov said it would be beneficial for students’ studies and coursework.
The 21-year-old business management student from Bulgaria added: “Free access is fantastic. For those who are interested in business it’s a good source of news where you can expand your knowledge.
“I would preferably read news online because everything is online and it’s more convenient. Truthful sources are always better. Its important to have the facts rather than reading lies.”
Anna Bochorishvili, a 31-year-old Glasgow University second year sociology PHD student from Georgia, said the move was “great”, adding that most students had a very limited budget, especially international students from non-EU countries.
“We already pay a lot for our studies so it’s good to have a source which is free and available for all of us,” she said. “Fact-based news is very important. It’s important to be able to trust something that gives appropriate information.”
READ MORE: The Herald launches free online access to students
Alan Jane Godfrey, who is studying child and health and social care at the City of Glasgow College, said students would be more likely to read the Herald now there is free access.
The 17-year-old added: [Free access] is good because not a lot of students can afford to buy a newspaper.
“We read a lot of lies and people believe them so fact-based news is important so we know what’s actually going on.”
Glasgow Caledonian University student Ochuko Akpoduado from Nigeria, who is completing a masters in electrical engineering, said: was a Herald fan.“I like The Herald. It’s good that access is free for students. said Mr Akpoduado who is completing a masters in electrical engineering.
“My friends who study in Birmingham don’t have that privilege. Getting it here in Scotland is perfect.”
Bota Sandibek, a Glasgow University educational studies masters student said she would be more likely to read the Herald if it was free. The 24-year-old, from Kazakhstan, added: “It’s useful because you always have your phone and easy to access if you have wifi or data. Easy access online could give them more opportunities to read news.”
Arron Milligan, a 19-year-old City of Glasgow College events hospitality student from Renfrew, said: “I occasionally read Herald articles on Facebook. From what I’ve read it seems like pretty decent information. [Free access] is good because students can get the information that they need, especially when studying or doing an essay. “ Glasgow University politics and economics student Jamie Salem-Dalgety, welcomed the initiative, saying that he had been talking about how he needed to read more Scottish news.
The 22-year-old Glasgow University politics and economics student from Perth said he had other online subscriptions and that now having a Scottish news website access was “nice”. “Students tend to live in a bit of a bubble, we often just bounce our ideas off one another and sometimes don’t consider the larger world. It’s important to read wider news. You can be introduced to perspectives you wouldn’t otherwise get, and then you can introduce them into your circles as well,” he said.
Sherin Wodi, a 27-year-old Glasgow University postgraduate translation studies student, added: “As I have only been here for a short time I don’t know everything about Glasgow, so [free access] will let me learn more.”
The new open access project is sponsored by CGI, a technology consultancy group, and made possible by IT company JISC, who provide digital solutions for the UK education and research sector.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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