The Tab Cambridge has emailed the presidents of Cambridge’s May Balls saying that with the exception of Trinity and St John’s, they “will not be giving any free publicity to May Balls this year in the form of reviews.”

In an email seen by Varsity, the paper’s editors James Wells and Xavier Bisits claim that “perks like free or discounted tickets are one of the only ways we can incentivise our authors”.

Presidents were roundly critical of the move, with Derek Chan, Chair of the May Ball Presidents’ Committee (MBPC) for 2015-16, condemning The Tab’s “non-negotiable request” as “particularly irregular and heavy-handed”.

Currently, the MBPC maintains a policy of not issuing free or discounted tickets in exchange for reviews. Chan indicated that the committee-wide policy would stand, and all presidents Varsity spoke to concurred.

“The MBPC does not agree that the financial burden of incentivising Tab writers should rest with our event committees,” Chan told Varsity. “Unlike Tab Media Ltd., the running of balls and June events is not for profit.”

The President of Emmanuel College’s June Event echoed the sentiment, arguing that “given that May Balls and June events do not make a profit … and that our income comes directly from ticket sales... giving away free tickets constitutes a material expenditure”.

“I have to think of every pound spent in terms of value to our guests, and I do not believe that reviews are the most effective way to spend that money,” she said.

If the MBPC does not change its policy and offer free or discounted tickets, The Tab editors note that “the only reviews [The Tab] will be doing are John’s, Trinity and any colleges seeking publicity in the form of a sponsored article”.

Chan told Varsity of his disappointment at this stance. “We are dismayed that an editor of The Tab implied his intention to block pro bono review submissions from publication,” he said. The Tab’s editors have confirmed that they stand by their view.

The Presidents of the Trinity College May Ball issued a joint statement affirming: “It is not the Trinity May Ball’s policy to provide free or discounted tickets, beyond those given to our charitable partners and our committee.”

A student at Newnham College said that by only reviewing Trinity and St John’s May Balls, The Tab were “perpetuating the pomposity of the only two colleges who could probably afford to give them free tickets”.

Citing its status as “the most read student newspaper in the UK” in their email to the May Ball presidents, The Tab’s editors argue that “a review by The Tab is, of course, very valuable”, quoting the site’s page view figures and the benefits they claim a good review can bring to an event.

They claimed that students “pride themselves on making it into [their] photos”, and that “a good view upholds the reputation of the event, creates hype and facilitates ticket sales in future years”.

Speaking to Varsity, a student at Homerton College said, “I doubt most students paying for May Ball tickets with three figure price tags will appreciate The Tab trying to use its influence for free tickets. It’s arrogant and unethical.”

The President of Emmanuel’s June Event went on to tell Varsity that she found the paper’s conduct to be “unprofessional”, adding that “it seemed underhand to approach colleges directly when our policy had been clearly set out centrally. Approaching presidents individually felt like a tactic to undermine that coordination.”

She also described how she felt that “the bulk of the email itself read very similarly to messages sent to past presidents requesting free tickets. The only novelty is the promise not to review colleges which do not offer tickets.

“As far as I know, Emmanuel hasn’t offered free or discounted tickets to press in the last three years, and have nonetheless received reviews.”

In a statement to Varsity, The Tab’s editors said: “We are concerned that Derek’s support for a ban on committees being able to issue press tickets is harming the norm in Cambridge of newspapers including The Tab being able to review as many events, balls and plays as possible.

“We don’t expect a review’s ticket to every event or even most events, but without reviewers’ tickets, it is far more difficult for newspapers like The Tab to incentivise busy students to put an effort into covering events, particularly the less well-known balls. Indeed, the reason why many students join The Tab is the knowledge they may receive such tickets, which is an incentive for their high output.

“General practice in the UK is to give reviewers’ tickets, stimulating discussion, adding to the event experience and even giving free publicity to the event in question. Rather than getting committees to break the rules – as has been done in the past under similar agreements by newspapers like The Tab, if indeed the policy existed beforehand - we would like to point out openly the problems that this ban has for journalism in Cambridge.

“We can’t force anyone to give us reviewers’ tickets, of course, but we do hope to encourage the committee to remove its ban for next year. We strongly believe committees should be able to make their own decisions about ticketing.

“We will be making an exception in the case of Trinity and John’s because we believe we have a duty to our readers to cover the most popular May Balls irrespective of the committee’s ban.

“Trying to uphold the norm of review passes existing in Cambridge by not publishing articles we didn't commission in the first place is the opposite of 'heavy-handed'. What is heavy-handed is creating and enforcing a ban on committees being able to offer reviewers' passes, in contrast to recent years where we have been offered reviewers' tickets, such as by Girton, Churchill and Pembroke. What is heavy-handed is trying to railroad The Tab into publishing articles we haven't even commissioned."