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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 1. February 27, 1948

Salient Goes to Print: Allah be Praised

Salient Goes to Print: Allah be Praised

The Editor walked into the sumptuous Headquarters of Salient one day, ad found a 900-word article on the file. He read it and thought it was about time that somebody knew just how the paper was run. A little investigation revealed that it had been written by one of the staff, apparently as an apology for his non-attendance at the allocation meeting the previous night. We print it, probably to bolster up our flagging morale or inflate our ever-present self-esteem.

Fortnightly, generally promptly, the Salient reader pays his thrippence and digests the College news. Few consider how this news is got to him.

At the beginning of each year, a notice calls for voluntary staff as sub-editors, reporters and other officers. There is no pay attached to, these positions, and no "perks" other than a free copy of the current Salient.

On Wednesday night (st night) Salient is issued, and the same evening sees the staff meet for assignment for the next issue. Every club meeting has to be allotted tentative space. Editorial, special articles, features, illustrations, advertising space, must all be considered two weeks ahead of issue, and a balance struck. The Art department is first off the mark. Decision is made as to what illustration is needed. The artist has to be contacted and the original drawn, or a photo has to be acquired or taken, prints made, and be in the block-makers' hands by Friday (3rd day) afternoon. It takes ten days to make a block.

Subbing

The bulk of material is handed in by reporters on Wednesday (8th day) when the subbing staff sorts out the wheat from the chaff, and prepares what is to be published. Newspapers sub-edit mainly with scissors and paste but professional reporters write to a formula, so that necessary cuts can be made without having to recast. Salient contributions, without exception, have to be recast—which means re-writing.

Now it is one thing to re-write a clean typescript, and quite another to re-write or even read a pencil copy written on the back of an old letter, with corrections re-corrected in pencil. (Yes, it actually happens). Such copy, though it be word perfect, must be typed before it can go to the printer. The compositor makes two correct taps per second on a machine ten times more involved than a typewriter, every second of the working day, so cannot be expected to edit copy wholesale. If such copy MUST go in, it is subject, and rightly so, to surcharge. A major fault In both reporters and contributors is that copy is too discursive and loosely written. All such copy has to be re-written. Finally, a "style" is set for Salient as for every other publication, which should be generally followed. The professional writer follows style no matter to which paper he is writing. He also writes to the space available whether it be 100 words, or 1,000. Yet, if by any unforseen chance his space is short, and his copy must be cut, it can be slashed to the bone with scissors and paste, and yet remain a reasonable, balanced write-up.

While we cannot expect such a standard from Salient contributors, the present standard can be bettered. There should not be the need for one sub-editor alone to re-write 2,500 words of a single issue as happens now.

As much material as possible is typed before it goes to the printer. Good legible ink script can be passed if necessary. Heads, sub-heads, leaders, legends and general typography are worked out for every article, and the whole of the edited MSS are sent to the printer by Thursday (9th day). Sunday (12th day) sees the editors and subs busy again proof reading and doing make up. Each page is pasted up from the proofs, and this paste-up goes back to the printer on Monday (13th day) for printing so that Salient can be issued two days later Stop Press items often displace other material so that the whole page has to be re-arranged.

Salient's Tone

It must be remembered that reporters and other staff are also students, often part-timers, getting the paper out at considerable personal inconvenience.

Reporters cannot be expected to give over every night in the week to cover meetings. Hence coverage devolves upon club secretaries, or a member of the club appointed publicity officer to keep Salient informed of what goes on. Some activities, of course, are covered automatically. e.g.. Exec meetings. NZUSA, VUCSA. meetings, films and special assignments. It is up to the clubs themselves to make their activities known to the reporter who covers that particular branch. There is too. a letter box in Salient door.

Salient, like any other paper, is willing to print any news item of general interest to students. It is willing to print writing, illustration, cartoons, photos or sufficient merit and general appeal. We have been accused at various times of dirty yellow journalism. Red Revolution, and of presenting only one side of a question. We have no apologies to make. We print practically every MS that comes to us, and are rarely overset for more than an issue or so, and so if only one side of a question appears, it can only be assumed that the other side has been moved to burst into tears, but not into print.

The aim of Salient is to publish every week. Unless there is a greater increase in both quantity and quality of MSS. this will not be possible. A few hints may not be misplaced:—

You think that something should be done about something? Then say so!

You have a constructive criticism to make? Then make it! You disagree with a viewpoint expressed by another contributor? Then give us yours! You have read a new book of great interest? Review i!

In writing, make a rough draft, saying all that you want to say. Next day, read it over, tear it up. And rewrite it. Leave it another day. Now write it again, cutting out all those high falutin phrases, compressing it by half, and getting into the guts of the matter. Leave it another day, and then edit harshly. With radical surgery cut out those pretty phrases that remain, excise those loose words and constructions. Type a fair copy, or write it legibly in ink, and send it in. Later you will be able to run off copy that can go to the printing unmarked by subbing.

Finally, remember that Salient is "An Organ of Student Opinion." is sent to many other universities. The views in Salient are read not only in NZ, but also Australia. Canada. USA. Great Britain and South Africa, so it is not purely parochial. Your opinions are of interest to the rest of the College and may be of still more interest to the outside student world.

page 12
A cursory glance through ten years of Salient reports on Tournament and sporting clubs shows a lamentable series of failures to obtain the coveted shield, but a most praiseworthy optimism and a great deal of very hard work put in by hopeful athletes. At times, individual members of clubs and individual teams have hit the headlines in local or national sporting meetings. Salient, however, which deals in headlines, thinks that perhaps it would be better to forget the minor victories and major losses and present the following headline from Vol. 1 No. 7 (April 27, 1938) as a beacon and a spur to further endeavour:—

Cinderella's Dream Comes True V.U.C. Wins Tournament Shield Stout Work at Auckland