Can you tell us more about The Dialogue?
Bharat: The objective of the magazine is to bring together diverse student pieces on a wide range of issues, with a particular focus on conflict and its consequences.
Throughout the years, we have helped turn the magazine into a professional, structured creative outlet for constructive political opinions and stories. We try to choose a broad range of stories and writers. Our themes from this year’s editions are liberation and intersectionality, which reflect that goal.
Can you describe your role as editor-in-chief?
Bharat: I started in October 2023, but the magazine has been running for a few years. I saw it as a great chance to use my experience in the news and help create stories that could make a difference. As editor-in-chief of the latest issue of The Dialogue, I was responsible for selecting writers and stories for the magazine, as well as editing the stories and coordinating with the society on publishing and marketing.
What are the main challenges you face as the editor of a political magazine?
Bharat: The main challenges faced can be coordinating with students' reporters from King’s College London to make sure the articles are all completed on time. Also, ensuring the geographies and issues covered across stories are diverse and not concentrated to Europe or North America. This is particularly important given our themes of Liberation and Intersectionality, as well as preserving the vision and core ideas of the reporters while not compromising on the fairness or journalistic integrity of their articles.
It can be quite a challenge to edit the articles given to us. From cutting them down to their word limit to giving constructive criticism on writers’ work.
On reflection, I would have negotiated with the society for more pages in the magazine so I wouldn’t have needed to trim down people’s hard work. But I am very proud of what the team ended up putting together and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to take on similar roles?
Bharat: Stick to your values and journalistic standards no matter how insistent the reporters are on a piece of opinion that might be disputable. The overall quality of the magazine is your responsibility, and more importantly an addition to your CV.
How can students get involved in the project?
Bharat: If you are interested in getting involved in The Dialogue, whether as a writer or editor, students can look out for applications being opened next academic year from September. The Dialogue is an opportunity to make connections, learn from others and gain a deeper understanding and different perspectives about the world we live in. It's a brilliant chance to try your hand at journalism and connect with like-minded students across the political kaleidoscope.
The Dialogue is a termly publication that champions a broad holistic view on a given contemporary topic that finds the focus for each issue. Find out more at https://www.kclpolitics.com/the-dialogue#SECTD