1938-1978

In 1939 and during the early part of the war Salient consistently analysed the imperialist character of what was happening, arguing that New Zealand need not be drawn into a conflict that was not ours.

As the anti-fascist character of the war became clear with the attack on the Soviet Union the policy changed. By 1943 Salient was playing a leading role in Wellington's Liberty Loan campaign, and it continued to proclaim the cause of anti-facism until the end of the 1940s.

During the early 1950s there was a dramatic change in policy and Salient developed into an in house gossip sheet with a heavy emphasis on unimaginative reporting of sport. The climax (and end) of this trend came in 1956; the editor of that year going on to work for Reuters in S.E. Asia, effectively a PR job for South Vietnam's Marshall Ky.

Salient in the 1960s relied a lot on a straight newsy format, reprinting or rewording items of interest to students. By the end of the decade radicalism of various kinds had firmly established itself. NZUSA had become a fully fledged national student body surrounded in controversy, and took up a good deal of news space.

In the 1970s Salient continued and developed issues from the 60s (Vietnam and South Africa in particular) and established considerable analytical strength. A campaigning approach to local issues brought legal action and threats of legal action on several occasions. Government has come in for consistently strong criticism, and the work of the SIS has been a persistent feature.

On the next few pages we have reprinted samples from every fifth year of Salient publication. The selection cannot do justice to the dedication and hard work put in by successive Salient staffs; nevertheless, we hope it will give readers some idea of our history.

Simon Wilson