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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 25. No. 11. 1962

Exec. Evicted

Exec. Evicted

Sir—I feel it necessary to point out to the Editor an error he made in SalientS. In this issue the news report of the A.G.M. contained personal opinion. This, sir, is a terrible situation. It is contrary to unwritten laws of journalism, that news reporters should be written as if by independent observers. Personal prejudice and bigotry in news reports are irrelevant. They are also dangerous. Beaverbrook may be an exception to this, but if our Editor is a Beaverbrook then we need a new editor.

One can imagine the chaos if this were not so. Trade Unionists reporting a Federated Farmers meeting; National supporters reporting speeches by Mr Nash. What is worse is that this error should be made by the Editor—he just did not let it go through, he wrote it. Any comments he had to make should have been in an Editorial not put in a news report in extra black type. This way they could not be missed.

In one of these paragraphs he said that students were at the meeting with their minds made up—it would seem that the Editor was one of these students, —I am etc.,

J. Powell.

—Mr Powell has a valid point, in claiming, as he does, common must not be mixed with report. It was thought, however. in the case cited above, comment, distinguished by being inset and in bold, signed Editor, could not be construed as part of the report. The opinions expressed are not those of the Editor alone: but the opinion of the Newspaper.—Editor.