STUDENT PUBLICATION ASSOCIATION

Research & Reports

Our research examines the challenges facing student journalism, from editorial independence and press freedom to funding, representation and the future of student media.

OCTOBER 2026 · RESEARCH REPORT

Membership Survey 2026: Key Findings

Cover of the SPA Membership Survey 2026: October 2026 Key Findings report.

The SPA’s 2026 membership survey examined the challenges facing student publications across the UK and Ireland, including editorial independence, relationships with publishers, funding, publishing arrangements and diversity.

The survey ran from 20 June to 20 September 2026. It received 88 responses from 85 member publications, representing 31 per cent of SPA member publications at the time. Not every question was compulsory, and the report sets out the number of responses for each finding.

Selected findings

  • 85 member publications took part, representing 31 per cent of SPA member publications.
  • Seven of the 85 said they did not have independent editorial oversight from their publisher; another 16 said they did in certain circumstances.
  • 14 of the 55 publications to whom the funding-cuts question applied said they had experienced cuts (25 per cent).
  • 38 respondents were specialist publications.

These findings describe the publications that responded; they should not be assumed to represent every SPA member. See the full report for the complete methodology, question-level denominators and additional context.

Read the published findings

Read the report: Full report (23 pages, PDF).

Future research

We will use this page to publish further SPA surveys, research reports and findings relevant to student journalism. Our governance and policies section contains organisational and statutory reporting.