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Salient: An Organ of Student Opinion At Victoria University College, Wellington, N. Z. Vol. 24, No. 4. 1961

Where To Begin?

Where To Begin?

These problems confront the editors with difficult questions of programming. What must one include in the newspaper? What must be sought in particular? Where must one begin the cutting, if much must be left out and many important details and subjects must be disregarded?

An essential point of view to be considered in cutting is the sharing of the burden with the other newspapers. Why should the student newspaper write about things which are given better treatment in the daily newspapers and other student newspapers? Often a "students as such" clause is used as a yardstick, thus limiting the editor to strictly student matters. However, the interpretation of this clause in newspaper publishing is just as difficult as it is in international student politics. Is the student in the audience of the student theatre production a "student as such?" If he is, does he cease to be when he goes to a civic theatre? Does the hunger problem become a student matter when an organisation resolves to put on a collection drive for starving Congolese? Or would the money have to be reserved for Congolese students only?

I have tried to show above that narrowing the material reported on is not even purposeful. This point of view is supported by the old, but not necessarily outmoded axiom that one third of the students do not read a single daily newspaper regularly. Besides, it must be considered that some people reading their particular paper delivered at their home even read some things which they would skip over in another paper, sometimes even a book review. In regard to the student body's instructive duty, this can be looked upon as a good thing—providing the review is good.

One must not forget, on the other hand, that the daily newspapers by no means ignore the material affecting the students. In many cases they distribute the student news much better than the student newspapers themselves. A good example for this is student sports. The Finnish daily newspapers are interested in all kinds of sports. And because the students participate in, say, track and field mainly in the fall, when the general sport season is over, the daily newspapers are very thankful for the student sport news and give it big headlines. This does not at all mean that the student newspapers should not report on sports. Of course one should as far as possible and at times some student newspapers chime in on a discussion on sports being held elsewhere.

The relations between the editor and publisher form a special group of problems, as do the relations between the editors and other groups interested in the newspaper's "line." Quarrels on such questions can be found in the history of many a student newspaper.

The international student press conferences have again and again decreed the independence of the student press from any control by the authorities, religious groups, political parties, and institutions. It is easy to determine that not all student newspapers work under such favourable conditions, but that there are controls, sometimes merely formal, sometimes factual as well. Although it is difficult to stand up to these controls, the papers enjoy, in practice, a considerable freedom.

In principle, freedom never means independence of the editors from the publisher, who is naturally invested with all the power. But because each separate decision stems more from routine than from the exercise of power, it has become evident everywhere that the publisher exercises his power in appointing the editor. After that, the editor makes all decisions on his own, normally in agreement with the publisher, so that attention is first drawn to the relationship of editor and publisher when differences of opinion occur.