Preconditions for a Good Weekly Salient

The favourable preconditions for a good weekly Salient are as follows:

More Staff:

A budget of at least $1000 for staff in addition to the Editor. I think it so unlikely that Salient will ever be any good again with one full-time staff member that I have no hesitation in recommending that a full-time (that is, no units at all) staff of three be catered for (which could be done under a payment scheme revised as above). I sincerely hope that my successor, should he be so unlucky as to inherit a situation which approximates mine, will prove me wrong. If he doesn't give it a go he shouldn't be the Editor.

The question of payments should be examined closely by the subcommittee. To recap the present situation; I am paid $700 per annum and I am allocated the sum of $450 to distribute as I choose amongst other staff. (It is worth noting that this is in fact a smaller amount-by $50—than was available in 1969 when $500 was paid to the Technical Editor. We are going backwards.)

I shall spend this money by paying $250 to my Technical Editor, a full-time employee of the Sunday Times, and $200 to my Deputy Editor, who is taking five law units this year. For the information of the subcommittee, the Editor and Technical Editor of Craccum are paid $720 each for their work on that newspaper. Comparison of the amount of technical work and editorial work undertaken in the case of Craccum with similar work in the case of Salient is complicated by the difference in the frequency of publication of the two newspapers. However, it is immediately obvious to the eye that there is less technical work involved in Craccum than there is in Salient. On the editorial side, the policy appears to be more passive than is the case with Salient but closer comparison is difficult.

Comparisons with some of the Australian universities whose newspapers are of reasonable quality would appear to be worthwhile and the subcommittee may wish to ask one of its number to write to some of these papers enquiring about their salary structures, accordingly. I do know that the Editor of National U-a fortnightly newspaper of rather less than Salient's size but of high quality (it is the best in Australia this year so far as I can see)—is paid $2400 per annum.