The paper emphasises news and investigations about Durham University, and also includes sports, science, comment, satire, and a pull-out arts and lifestyle magazine, Indigo.

Since December 2014, journalists from the newspaper have interviewed people such as Jess Phillips, Steph Houghton, David Blunkett, Edwina Currie, Moazzam Begg, Owen Jones, Esther Rantzen and Norman Baker.

In 2017, the newspaper celebrated its 800th edition, with guest columns by former editors Sir Harold Evans,[8] Hunter Davies and Jeremy Vine, along with an interview with George Alagiah.

Editors-in-Chief Imogen Usherwood and Tash Mosheim launched a fundraising appeal which provided the means to fund print for Michaelmas term in full and Epiphany in part.

[1] The paper also took home Best Reporter (Toby Donegan-Cross) and Best News Story, and was highly commended for the Billy Dowling-Reid Award for Outstanding Commitment (Imogen Usherwood and Tash Mosheim), Best Sports Coverage and Best Science Section.

In December of that year, the paper's coverage of a walkout at a South College formal dinner in protest at a speech by controversial columnist Rod Liddle was cited by the Guardian.

[14] In November 2022, Palatinate's editorial board voted 97% in favour of becoming an independent newspaper, and leaving Durham Students' Union.

The newspaper has an editorial board of around 80 student volunteers, and its video side, Palatinate TV, has a separate team of a similar size.

In 2021, PalTV was nominated for the Bright Network Impact on Campus Award for "going above and beyond to support their members and the wider university to achieve success, in terms of careers and development of new skills and personal growth.

[27] A documentary on the ongoing student housing crisis in Durham became PalTV's most-viewed video on its YouTube channel, the station's primary platform, amassing over 30,000 views as of 22 February 2024.