Best of CASE Europe Region Award
 

Institution: University of Leeds

Title of entry: Leeds Magazine front cover: Moscow calling

About this entry: Moscow calling was a concept devised as a result of the complete redesign of the Leeds Magazine, and out of necessity. The cover story was an interview with BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, and it told the story of a year like no other in his career. An immersive 2,000-word piece catalogued his job reporting on the invasion of Ukraine, interviewing Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, and reporting on Mikhail Gorbachev's death.

Due to UK sanctions on Russia, we were unable to hire a photographer in Russia to take a cover shot of Steve for the magazine. As a result, we devised a collage cover artwork of all the components in the story. This was inspired by artwork devised for periodicals like The Observer Magazine, London Review of Books, and Dazed.

The end result is a powerful illustration of a story of global magnitude, that grabs the reader's attention. The cover was well received by alumni and signified the relaunch of the magazine in December 2022. Daily Mirror editor alumni Alison Phillips, a Leeds alum, mentioned how much she enjoyed the story and the cover.