Affairs Today
 | |
| Type | Online |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) |
Alexandre Gianasso Maximilian Linhard Ferdinand von Götzen |
| Editor | Christopher Jackson |
| Staff writers | 50 - 100 |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Political alignment | Independent |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters |
Glasgow United Kingdom |
| Website | Affairs Today |
Affairs Today is a global student-run online business and politics newspaper aimed at university students around the world.[1] It mainly focuses on international political developments and global economics although it also produces career, travel and lifestyle articles.[2] Its principal audience are university students and is mostly read in the United Kingdom. Affairs Today has no particular political inclination as it attempts to be a platform where highly engaged students can voice their opinions regardless of their stance on the matters they write about.[3] As such, a wide and diverse range of views is found on Affairs Today. The thought behind this unusual editorial guideline is that readers would be challenged by the views of their peers and as a result engage with and learn from the articles published on Affairs Today. In terms of style, Affairs Today seeks to emulate the journalistic standards of long-established publications such as the Financial Times and The Economist.[1]
Affairs Today is operated by more than 70 staffers based in more than 10 different countries around the world.[2] Every member of the staff are required to be university students.[4]
History
Affairs Today was started in February 2013 by University of Glasgow students Alexandre Gianasso and Maximilian Linhard.[3] However, it is only in November of that year that Affairs Today was formally incorporated. At the date of incorporation, Ferdinand von Götzen had joined the founding team in his capacity of Editor-in-Chief.[4] Affairs Today originally started as a blog operated from a student hall and was chiefly set up as a rival to The Gateway, a newspaper sometimes referred to as the "Student FT".[1] It is during a visit to the University of Edinburgh that Alexandre Gianasso and Maximilan Linhard read a Gateway newspaper for the first time, whereupon they decided that the same could be achieved by students themselves.[4] At the time indeed, most writers for the Gateway were professional journalists. After a difficult first few months of low readership, Affairs Today experienced rapid growth in late 2013 as the original team was expanded and as high-profile interviews added to the credibility of the website, notably with King Simeon II of Bulgaria.[1] The website thereon moved from its original aim and sought to establish itself as its own brand of 'global student business news'.[3] From that point on, Affairs Today managed to feature more successful interviews with prominent business and political leaders, which have contributed to its expansion since then. Affairs Today is currently headquartered in Glasgow.[5]
Notable Interviews
Affairs Today conducted interviews with important personalities drawn from the business and political world. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the personalities Affairs Today interviewed since 2013[6]
- Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
- Didier Reynders, Belgium's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Prime Minister
- Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade
- John Sculley, former PepsiCo President and Apple CEO
- Lord Robertson, NATO Secretary-General
- Jaan Tallinn, Co-Founder of Skype
- Brian McBride, Chairman of ASOS.com
- Kevin Sneader, McKinsey & Company Asia Chairman
- Ahmet Üzümcü, OPCW Director-General and Nobel Prize winner
- Nigel Eccles, Co-Founder and CEO of FanDuel
Editors-in-Chief
- April 2016 - Present: Eimi Harris
- April 2015 - April 2016: Christopher Jackson
- September 2014 - April 2015: Ryan McElney
- September 2013 - September 2014: Ferdinand von Götzen
Directors
- CEO - Ferdinand von Götzen
- Publisher: Alexandre Gianasso
- April 2015: Maximillian Linhard
- Deptuty Managing Director: Christopher Jackson
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Alexandre Gianasso, 2nd year Business and Management & Politics student". University of Glasgow.
- 1 2 "Affairs Today: Student Journal Focuses on Global Business and Politics". College, Career, Life.
- 1 2 3 Simandan, Voicu. "Interview with the CFO of Affairs Today, Maximilian L. Linhard". Simandan.
- 1 2 3 "Meet Maximilian L Linhard of Affairs Today, A Global Business Journal". With 5 Questions.
- ↑ "Not Your Ordinary Current Affairs". Tiny Career.
- ↑ "Interviews". Affairs Today.
