Burnt Revival
By Kassie Araque, journalism junior
“I don’t think that’s the type of journalism experience that our students get elsewhere in TSM or in classes."
T
oday, it’s hard to imagine any college campus without its trademark publications and student media outlets. Over a century ago, The Daily Texan began serving students across the Forty Acres and remains a dominant force as the most-awarded college newspaper in the nation. While Texas Student Media (TSM), which oversees the Texan and other campus outlets, has been a fixture for over 100 years, some of its entities had a difficult time solidifying themselves. One of these, Burnt X, has “returned from the dead” after a couple years of sporadic publishing and a hiatus. The publication’s adviser, Katey Outka, who also leads The Drag, a fellow TSM entity, said Burnt X aims to provide a space for pieces that don’t fit the mold of other platforms. “I felt strongly about it because the Burnt X style of journalism — buzzy pieces written with a lot of voice and style — is the type of journalism I spent most of my career doing,” said Outka, a 2013 Moody graduate.
12
Co-editor-in-chief Hasina Shah, a journalism junior, said the publication serves as an alternative to the hard-news style of The Daily Texan and the broadcasts of Texas Student Television, allowing students to grow their portfolios. “It won't be a jokey kind of publication - it will still be very newsworthy, but a bit more lighthearted,” Shah said. According to the “Burn Book,” which serves as Burnt X’s how-to guide, the story goes that three students, just a bit younger than Outka, teamed up with then-TSM director Gerald Johnson to start the publication. Johnson had a goal of creating TSM’s first digital-only platform and, within seven months, accomplished it. “I remembered how cool it was that these three people I knew started this cool publication, and it felt really sad to let it go away,” Outka said. Current staff express the same passion for BurntX. “I love the idea of a UT lifestyle magazine and don’t want something so valuable to go away,” said Lillian Vest, Burnt X’s co-editor and a third-year journalism student, in an Instagram post promoting the magazine.
Fall 2023 Issue
