Student media represents the viewpoint of the student body. A powerful tool for campaigning and showcasing talents of the dynamic members, the independent nature allows students to hold the University, Union, local and national authorities to account.

Demon Media is the student-led media group associated with De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU). It consists of community radio station Demon FM, The Demon newspaper and Demon TV – each having their own sub-divisions and an overarching online platform (www.demon-media.co.uk).

After a period of transition, 2012/13 has been its most successful year; record member engagement – a doubling in the membership, record retention, national exposure, the hosting of the SRA (Student Radio Association) Conference, more content created, an increase to live output and more live events.

De Montfort University (DMU) has a diverse student population, with a 50% BME background. As such, it is imperative that Demon Media has a diverse membership to enable it to effectively represent the student body.

We have emphasised recruitment in this area, resulting in 30% of ‘content creators’ from BME background. There is a weekly show on Demon FM, ‘Chasing Dreamz’, which is designed to engage with international students.

An emphasis on editorial independence from the Union staff and sabbatical team ensures 100% student-led content. DSU appreciates the importance of accountability through student media channels whilst respecting their independence and providing resources and support.

Demon Media highlights issues that are important to students. For example, we are currently running a campaign about student housing and naming and shaming those lettings agencies that are providing a bad service to students.

To ensure the student-led mantra and support the employability agenda, the Union paid for external training and facilitated in-house training and networking sessions with industry professionals, including media law training at the Press Association in London.

A mini conference and networking event was held on campus for all Demon Media members, and speakers included people from Global (Capital, Heart), Bauer (FHM, Kiss, Magic), and the BBC. This allowed the students to gain first hand knowledge from those ‘in the field’ and it has seen a positive impact on the content that is being created.

Student media can often be cliquey, with each media group keeping themselves focussed on their own activity. There has been a successful campaign within Demon Media to eradicate this over the last 12 months, and the best example of where TV, FM, Online and Print worked together was the hosting of the SRA Conference:

454 delegates from all over the country congregated at DMU for three days in April. Although the conference is radio focussed, all media groups came together to play their part in welcoming students and speakers in what has been dubbed ‘the best ever SRA Conference’. Their passion and commitment was incredible and did not go unnoticed. Demon Media was nominated for two DSU Volunteering Awards – Best Group, which they won, and Best Contribution, where they came third.

Another high-profile impact Demon Media has made this year is the launch of the Leicester Media School, where our media groups were instrumental in the decision to bring all media-based academic courses together. Students studying media courses are encouraged to use content they create with Demon as a basis for their academic work. Radio Production BSc has built involvement with Demon FM into the portfolio of the course, where Journalism BA students use broadcast or written content in their course portfolios.

Demon FM, which broadcasts to the whole of Leicester on a community license, has been further recognised for its activities, with two members being nominated for Best Female and Best Male respectively at the Student Radio Awards. The station also won the award for Best Contribution at the Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival (the longest running festival in Europe) after producing a series of daily podcasts: http://www.demonfm.co.uk/category/podcasts/.

The Demon has seen its circulation increase by around 400 copies per issue this year, following a total redesign and rebrand to modernise and define what its brand is. An emphasis has been placed on story relevance for its student readership.

Demon TV has doubled the content it has created this year, with 86 projects taking place to date. It is also creating an income for itself by taking on external commissions.

Demon Live was launched in November, and has been picked up by NME http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/xaWeeHiOjPw and has so far seen over 16,000 video views on its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/demonfmlive/videos?view=0 . It is a series of live music sessions, broadcast through the radio and TV streams. The success of this has spurred the launch of a Demon Media record label, coming in September 2013.

Demon is a founding member of the Student Publication Association, with two of our students elected onto the first Exec Committee – further cementing our place on the national student media landscape.

Demon Media has covered the varsity series, in attendance at all 40 fixtures and produced a live TV stream broadcast online for the rugby and football. We have covered the elections with a live candidate debate. RAG week saw two presenters partake in a 30-hour TV and FM marathon broadcast and our Fresher’s campaign was made up of nine consecutive live outside broadcasts, encompassing live music performances and engaging interaction with the audience.

We also hosted our own stage at Leicester’s Oxjam music festival.

Demon Media is about fun and development. For the students studying media courses (about 40% of our members) it is a platform on which to engage with their chosen career path. For the remaining 60%, it provides an enjoyable and exciting aspect of their university career.

Lynette Williams, DSU President, sums up by saying: “Demon is one of the shining stars on our portfolio. It’s a place where students can learn, cultivate their talents and have fun, meeting new friends in the process. This has been the biggest and best ever year for Demon Media and I know their success will grow in the future.”