SHOUT at 9!

I

This week, SHOUT turns 9. Whether by design or chance, I've been associated with SHOUT since the first instalment of Echoes on October 3, 2013. When you've spent almost a decade with an establishment, and more with previous sister establishments at the same organisation, you've travelled a long journey.

II

The first youth weeklies of The Daily Star were Rising Stars; and Teens and Twenties. This was in the first half of the 1990s. Chance had it, I was associated with both the weeklies.

Then there was a pause from The Daily Star from my side. In the end of 2007, I found myself with the youth weekly Star Campus. After some irregular contributions, I started my first column, Post Campus. In 2013, Star Campus and Post Campus drew its curtains. Thus, started the era of SHOUT. As SHOUT turns 9 this week, it's natural to ask: why did SHOUT survive longer than other youth weeklies?

III

The basis of the format of Rising Stars and Teens and Twenties was the Young Observer of the Daily Observer, the leading English daily before the Daily Star. Young Observer was a one-page weekly that came out on Sundays, and then on Fridays. The two weeklies of The Daily Star went one step ahead. Initially, they came out as four-page folds within the newspaper. Later, as separate magazines.

The weeklies became a good opportunity for the editorial team to groom themselves. Over time, quite a few staff of the weeklies were absorbed in other sections of The Daily Star or went on to make careers in other media houses. SHOUT was born in 2013 with an established legacy behind it.

In 2013, readership was slowly segregating into print and online readers. SHOUT was clever to notice this change and adapt. Online readership had a few advantages. Print SHOUT could not accommodate long articles due to space constraint. This disappeared in online content. As young people became more and more dependent on their mobile phones to access online content, SHOUT online began to boost.

The best change in recent times is cover stories on issues young people face or think about. A cursory look at these cover stories tells you how advanced today's youth are. We never thought as deeply as today's young people do. SHOUT is now exploring video content. This could be revolutionary if contributors from different areas of Bangladesh contribute.

IV

SHOUT will celebrate its first decade next year. Having been a part of SHOUT over its existence has made Echoes and myself appreciate the last words of Bhagvad Gita that the only constant is change. SHOUT has adapted with changing times making it the longest surviving youth weekly of The Daily Star. The future can only be for the young to SHOUT.

Asrar Chowdhury is a professor of economics. He follows Test cricket, listens to music, and spins Vinyls when he has free time. Email: asrarul@juniv.edu; or asrarul@gmail.com