thetribune.ca

What is The Tribune?

The Tribune is an independent, student-run newspaper at McGill University in Montreal. It has covered McGill, Canada and international news since 1981, and is published by the Students' Society of McGill University (SPT). Its sections span News, Opinion, Features, and Arts & Entertainment.

What that means in practice

• Who runs it: Students, not a professional media company or the university administration. Editorial decisions sit with the student staff.
• What it covers: Campus affairs (McGill policy, security, labour disputes), Quebec and Canadian politics, and broader world news, plus opinion columns, long-form features, and arts coverage.
• How it reads: A mix of reported news, first-person essays, and argument-driven opinion. The Opinion section, for example, runs pieces criticising Montreal City Council motions and Quebec homelessness policy, while Features carries personal writing on identity and campus life.

A useful comparison

Who it suits

If you are a McGill student, an applicant, a Montrealer following local politics, or a researcher interested in student journalism, The Tribune is a direct source for campus news and student perspectives that larger outlets rarely cover in depth. If you need fast breaking national news or wire-style reporting, a general news organisation will usually serve you better.

Next step: Browse the News section first for campus developments, then Opinion and Features if you want student commentary and personal writing. You can also compare coverage with The McGill Daily, another independent student paper at McGill, to see how two student newsrooms treat the same campus stories.

How can McGill students get involved with The Tribune?

McGill students can get involved with The Tribune by pitching and writing for its sections, which the paper organizes around News, Opinion, Features, and Arts & Entertainment. Because it is entirely student-run and independent, contributors are typically fellow students rather than professional staff, so the main path in is editorial: propose a story, report it, or write commentary and culture pieces.

The Tribune

H3 Practical ways to start

• Read a few recent pieces in the section you want to write for, then pitch a specific angle rather than a broad topic.
• Expect student-edited workflows: an editor will likely assign, give feedback, and fact-check before publication.
• If you prefer behind-the-scenes work, student papers usually also need copy editors, photographers, illustrators, and social media help, even when the visible bylines are writers.

H3 Who it suits

The Tribune fits students who want campus-focused journalism with reach into Montreal and Canadian issues, and who are comfortable with tight deadlines and collaborative editing. It is less suited to someone seeking a purely personal blog, since the format is edited news and commentary.

Next step: check the site's contact or contribute page for the current pitch email and section editors, then send a two-paragraph pitch with your angle, sources, and why now.

How does The Tribune cover McGill administration and student advocacy news?

The Tribune covers McGill administration and student advocacy as a student-run newsroom would: it reports institutional decisions, then follows the organizing and pushback around them. Its McGill coverage includes campus governance and security policy, labour disputes, and the practical information students need, such as how to vote in a Quebec general election. Advocacy coverage often centers on student groups negotiating with the university and on the outcome of those negotiations.

What that looks like in practice

• Administration: policy changes and their implementation, such as a requirement that McGill security wear recognizable badges.
• Student advocacy: collective action and bargaining with university bodies. A reported example is the Montreal Trans Patient Union announcing that McGill's Student Wellness Hub would again provide gender-affirming care to trans American students under 19, after months of negotiations.
• Labour and legal conflict: coverage of disputes reaching bodies like the Tribunal administratif du travail.
• Student-facing service journalism: explainers that translate institutional processes into steps readers can act on.

How the sections divide the work

Trade-offs to keep in mind

This is an independent, entirely student-run paper at McGill, publishing since 1981. That means deep campus access and a student perspective, but also a viewpoint shaped by the student body rather than a professional wire service. For university decisions, pair it with official McGill communications; for Montreal and Quebec politics, compare with local outlets. If you are a student trying to understand a policy that affects you, start with the News section, then check whether an advocacy group has published its own account of the negotiations.

What is The Tribune's editorial stance on Quebec and Canadian politics?

The Tribune does not publish a single party-line editorial stance. As an independent, student-run newspaper at McGill, its politics show up through its Opinion section and story selection rather than a formal platform: pieces in the supplied page evidence criticize Quebec and Montreal institutions from a progressive direction, covering Palestinian solidarity, homelessness policy, composting enforcement and McGill's treatment of trans students. Expect left-leaning, accountability-focused commentary on Quebec and Canadian politics, with individual writers holding varying views.

What that means in practice

• Opinion is where the argument lives. Editorials and op-eds take positions; news coverage generally reports on activism, labour disputes and university governance.
• Quebec politics gets close attention. The evidence includes election explainers, municipal motions and provincial policy debates.
• Canadian and international stories appear through a campus lens. National issues are often framed by how they affect students and Montreal communities.
• No fixed party alignment is evident. The criticism falls on municipal and provincial actors across the spectrum rather than endorsing one party.

A useful next step

If you want to gauge the stance on a specific issue, read the Opinion section over several months rather than a single piece, and compare it with The Tribune's news reporting on the same topic. For contrast, see how The McGill Daily and The Concordian frame similar Quebec and campus stories.

How can I submit an opinion piece or pitch a story to The Tribune?

The Tribune does not publish a single, prominently advertised submission page in the material available here; the practical route is to contact the relevant section editor directly. Because it is an entirely student-run paper at McGill, pitching works best when you match your idea to an existing section: News, Opinion, Features, or Arts & Entertainment.

What to send

• Opinion pieces: a clear thesis, roughly 600–900 words, written in first person or as a reasoned argument. The Opinion section regularly runs student and community voices on Montreal, Quebec, and campus politics, so local angles land better than general commentary.
• News tips: a short summary of the facts, who is involved, dates, and any documents or contacts who can confirm details. Do not send a full draft; editors will assign a reporter.
• Features and arts pitches: a two- or three-sentence pitch describing the subject, why it matters now, and who you can interview. For arts coverage, note whether you have access to the artist or event.

Practical next step

Email the section editor whose beat fits your idea, with a subject line like "Pitch: [topic]." Include your word count target, deadline availability, and a one-line bio. If you are unsure which section fits, send it to the main editorial address and ask for a redirect. Expect editing: student papers often have volunteer editors working on tight weekly cycles, so follow up once after about a week if you hear nothing.

Decision criterion

Pitch to The Tribune when your story is McGill- or Montreal-centred and you can report it yourself. If your piece is national or international commentary with no local hook, it is a weaker fit for a campus paper and may be better placed elsewhere. For comparison, other Canadian student and independent outlets such as The Varsity and rabble.ca accept pitches on different beats and regions, but their processes and audiences differ.

What does The Tribune's arts and entertainment coverage include for Montreal readers?

The Tribune's arts and entertainment section covers Montreal's creative scene through artist interviews, reviews and roundups, with a focus on people working in the city. A representative example from the page is an interview with Stina Baudin, a Montreal-based Haitian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist who combines textile, sound, written text and archival data to explore Black and Afro-diasporic identity, describing her practice as bricolage. The section also runs items such as a summer culture roundup and a remembrance of Montreal jazz figure Oliver Jones.

For a Montreal reader, the value is local specificity: profiles of artists who live and show in the city, plus commentary on performances, exhibitions and releases, rather than broad international entertainment news.

H3 Practical uses

• Find out about Montreal artists and cultural events before or after attending.
• Use interviews to understand an artist's process and themes, not just the finished work.
• Pair arts coverage with the paper's news and opinion sections for context on the city's cultural politics.

H3 Who it suits

• McGill students and Montreal residents looking for student-press coverage of local culture.
• Readers interested in Black and Afro-diasporic art, jazz and interdisciplinary practice in Montreal.
• Anyone who prefers artist-led interviews over listings alone.

H3 Trade-offs

• As a student-run paper, arts coverage is selective and driven by contributors, so it won't match the breadth of a dedicated city arts weekly.
• You may get depth on a few artists rather than comprehensive event calendars.

A useful next step: if you want to track a specific artist or medium, start with the Arts & Entertainment section and check back around the start of each semester, when previews and roundups tend to cluster. For comparison, Montreal's established arts press includes Cult MTL, and McGill student media includes The McGill Daily.