Student magazine Vertigo will cease operating under its current model after over 50 years of continuous publication, following a meeting of the University of Technology Sydney’s Students Association which voted to ditch it from the association’s constitution.

The constitutional amendments remove all references to Vertigo’s editorial team and mean no new Vertigo editors will be elected in the 2026 student elections for the 2027 term. The motion also repeals article 15 of the UTSSA constitution, which governed student publications, and directs the 2026-2027 executive to present a proposal by July 2027, outlining a new Vertigo/Newswit model for a student media team to begin in 2028.

Under the proposed model, Vertigo will continue to publish as a magazine twice a year from 2028, with a dedicated focus on long-form journalism, photography, illustration and creative work.

But, it will be accompanied by a monthly edition of Newswit, the original UTS student publication which operated from 1973 before the Vertigo name change in 1991. Its remit will be to focus on university affairs, student politics, and campus life, much the same as campus publications like University of Sydney’s Honi Soit.

Newswit was first published before UTS became a university and was still known as the NSW institute of Technology. It’s inaugural editor was Ross Gittins, now the economics editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.

Student media is an important part of campus life, but the way students engage with content has changed significantly.

UTSSA President Neeve Nagle said: “This isn’t about ending student media at UTS. It’s the opposite.

“We think students deserve a media model that actually works: timely reporting on what’s happening at this university, and a creative outlet that isn’t weighed down by the same structural problems every year.”

Nagle added the changes were designed to create a relevant and more sustainable student media model. A caveat in the student association proposal states if a new model is not agreed upon by July 2027, funding for Vertigo, which is currently $80,000 a year, will be used to revert to the current model of ad hoq publication alongside the running of the magazine’s website.

“Student media is an important part of campus life, but the way students engage with content has changed significantly,” Nagle said.

“Our research showed that students want timely news and updates, while also valuing thoughtful long-form journalism and creative expression. This new model is designed to deliver both.”

According to the UTSSA the proposal followed independent research commissioned by the UTSSA in 2023, which found students are increasingly consuming information across multiple platforms and prefer news and creative content to be tailored to different formats.

Main image by Tom Snow.