AU has a new student-run multiplatform magazine, thanks to the Sept. 12 launch of PHAZE Magazine. The newest addition to AU’s media landscape is the brainchild of sophomore and PHAZE editor-in-chief Neah Gray.
Gray, a School of Communication student studying film and media arts, wanted to create a fresh type of magazine for AU students. Gray said that the name was based on the “phase of the new digital era and the transition from reading news ten years ago to today.”
Inspired by the different mediums of journalism, such as print magazine and photojournalism, Gray wanted to incorporate three different platforms into her project.
“Even though multimedia journalism is stuff like photos, text and video, I kind of wanted to take it a step further and have multimedia platforms,” she said.
The three platforms of PHAZE Magazine include an online magazine, podcast and an artistic print component called The Zine. The group posts text, images and videos daily on their website, which is split into five components: music, art, lifestyle, news and exclusives. Each has its own subgenre, such as hair and beauty as well as poetry and short stories.
PHAZE originally launched a weekly radio show featuring unknown and popular musical artists, but the team has discontinued the radio show to focus on podcasts. The Zine will be released quarterly, and is more like a traditional print magazine. The first edition of The Zine will be released in late November.
“Even though we have computers and phones, it’s nice to have something to touch and interact with,” Gray said.
PHAZE aims for a combined sensory experience. If someone becomes tired of reading the magazine, they could switch and listen to the podcast, and vice versa.
“We are trying to hit all of the ways you can interact with media,” Gray said. “The goal of our platforms is to bend and expand the lens of media to create new and innovative ways to interact with the growing digital age.”
“It’s not news in the traditional sense of journalism, it’s more of ‘here’s the things going on at campus and in our community right now’ and ‘here is how it is going to affect people in our community,” PHAZE’s news editor Elyse Notarianni said.
Notarianni joined the magazine after she was notified by the School of Communication about a new publication. She said the staff is evolving and there are multiple voices from the diverse staff that come up with unique ideas.
Notarianni said during editorial meetings, they discuss various topics, including news, lifestyle, and art and are open to the ideas and interests of everyone. During a recent meeting, a writer expressed an interest in art and turned that passion into an article on how to appreciate art.
In addition to the magazine, PHAZE cosponsors Fresh Fridays, which is a weekly poetry event where featured poets from around the country present their work. They occur every Friday and run from September through December.
This article has been updated to reflect that PHAZE has discontinued its radio show.
