“˜Progressive Voice’ to debut on internet

UCLA students will find themselves faced with a Web full of new
online reading material, as another online newsmagazine received
approval Tuesday night.

Progressive Voice, the fourth online newsmagazine approved by
the Associated Students of UCLA’s Communications Board in two
months, is hoping to produce its first solid issue at the end of
the quarter.

The Communications Board, a component of ASUCLA, is in charge of
overseeing student media, including the Daily Bruin, the yearbook
Bruinlife and assorted newsmagazines.

Progressive Voice creator Bryant Tan, a fifth-year Asian
American studies student, said the online publication will focus on
a variety of political issues, such as analyses on regional and
campus issues, affirmative action and war.

Tan added that the political analyses would not necessarily be
aligned with political parties.

“We don’t want to be too radical to alienate the
constituency of readers, but we don’t want to be too middle
of the road,” Tan said during the meeting.

Tan, who was a presidential candidate for the Undergraduate
Students Association Council last spring, said there is a need on
campus for a progressive magazine to reach out to the large number
of liberally-minded students on campus.

Though his experience as academic affairs commissioner on USAC
last year did not influence his publication ideas directly, his
defeat in the election freed up time to undertake the magazine
endeavor, he said.

“My own personal background was dedicated to journalism
and writing, and I wanted to continue that personally,” Tan
said. “I think there’s a lack of using writing as a
tool to get people to care about issues more.”

Tan also mentioned at the meeting that his current core staff of
six to eight people will be striving for weekly content
updates.

“We hope that once we debut, people will be open to
(Progressive Voice) and that it adds to the college
environment,” Tan said. “We hope that people will keep
an open mind, that we’re not just the people who agree with
us.”

Like the three previous online newsmagazines that were approved
last quarter, the staff of Progressive Voice will need to undergo a
libel and ethics training workshop in February before production,
said Media Director Arvli Ward at the meeting.

Currently, the Web publications are waiting for the appropriate
publishing technology that would make content and design
modification more feasible for the editors.

Political commentary newsmagazine Criterion ““ started by
Bruin Republicans chairman and former Daily Bruin Viewpoint
columnist Andy Jones ““ Josie, a publication on women’s
issues, and The Worldly, a newsmagazine devoted to cultural
affairs, should be online by the next month, Ward said.