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''The Spark'' is the student newspaper of the University of Reading. It is produced monthly during term time (previously fortnightly), and as of June 2011 the newspaper has reached Volume 57 Issue 3, following a convention of increasing volume number with each new academic term. It is available as a paper edition distributed across University halls of residence, academic and administrative buildings. The current editorial team are in the process of redeveloping the newspaper's website, with a view to uploading the newspaper in a digital format and providing web-exclusive content to maximise volunteering opportunities. The paper follows a traditional newspaper layout: the front portion of the newspaper is devoted to news issues, particularly those concerning students at the University. ==History== Spark * was established in 1934 as 'The Shell', and varied considerably in design, style and quality with the change in the demographic of the University, the advancement in printing and editorial techniques, and the change in political orientation of the editorial team. In 1984, the newspaper changed format to a more magazine-style publication, rebranding itself as the short-lived 'Splat', before changing again to Spark * in 1988. Spark * reverted to a newspaper format in 1990, under the title 'Spark'. At this point the newspaper was published weekly. In 2006 the then Reading University Students Union (RUSU) President Dave Lewis took the decision to have Spark * published fortnightly, to reduce costs and to give the volunteer staff more time between issues whilst completing their degrees. This move coincided with a move to printing in full colour and the rebranding as 'Spark *'. In January 2008 Spark * was radically redesigned and restructured under the leadership of then editor Claire Taylor. The new design was introduced to create a fresh and modern brand for the paper and to ensure individual sections were easily distinguishable. The first issue of 2008 featured an exclusive in depth interview with the newly appointed University Chancellor Sir John Madejski. Over recent years, Spark * has expanded considerably, with the addition of Debate, TV and Creative pages in 2008, the addition of Science and Technology and Fun and Games pages in 2009, and the addition of Political Comment, Beauty and Food pages in 2010. The newspaper now varies between 40 and 48 pages (rendering it one of the largest student publications in the UK by page number) and is published 15 times per year. In recent years, Spark * has been aiming to increase the quality of the newspaper, particularly following an incredibly scathing Independent article in 2005, where a former Varsity editor described Spark * as 'about as visually appealing as a punch in the retina'. Since then, the newspaper has had a major redesign by University Typography and Graphic Communication students, and has upgraded its design software to Adobe InDesign CS3 thanks to a kind donation by the University's annual fund. Spark * is currently in the process of upgrading its ageing eMac computers to faster, more modern iMac systems. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Spark*」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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