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Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 2. March 5 1979
Salient: The Inside Story on how it Gets Out
Salient: The Inside Story on how it Gets Out
Introduction
So here you are - you've arrived refreshed from a weekend's drinking for another week at varsity, you've picked up the Salient that $3.50 of your Students' Association fee paid for and you're heading off to read it in your first lecture of the week. But have you ever wondered exactly how it arrives here? How it gets made? Well, if you did, here you are! If you follow the numbered boxes in sequence you will encounter the major steps in the preparation of Salient.
1
The Articles
Before writing any stories, articles etc, you you should check with the Editor (for 1979 Peter Beach), to check that he wants a story on that topic. If he doesn't you will be wasting a lot of time writing it. Also checking first means that he will be able to make sure that space is left for it and will also ensure that no duplication occurs with a number of people writing articles on the same topic.
Although anyone is free to submit articles to Salient, there can be no guarantees that any article (whether it has been discussed with the editor beforehand of not) will automatically be printed, nor that it will be printed in the form in which it is submitted. This is because the editor has ultimate responsibility for the paper and therefore must have final control over it.
Aside from feature articles, which are usually planned by the editor, and commissioned personally, there are several types of articles that people can walk in and offer to do. So if any of this list interests you, come in and see Peter about them. The deadline for copy is the Wednesday the week before publication (eg for the next issue, the deadline is Wed. 7 March).
Reviews
Salient regularly receives large numbers of books to review, ranging from books on politics to Science Fiction and humour. Likewise we get complementary tickets to most of the films and plays that are on, as well as a small number of free records. The great perk of writing a review ofcourse is that you get your name in print (you also get to keep the book/record, and all tickets to shows are free).
To help you know what tickets, books etc we have for review, each week we will be printing a list of what we have available. So if any of them look interesting to you, come in.
Sports
Over the years Salient has given very poor coverage to the performance of the sports teams fo the University, and sports generally. This has not been part of a deliberate policy of slighting these activities, but is due to a total lack of people prepared to write such articles. If 1979 brings a flood of sports writers, then there will be a comensurate increase in the number of "sporty" articles which appear in Salient. If not, unfortunately this whole area will remain unreported.
Cultural Events
While many of these get covered under reveiws, there are a large number of cultural activities which do not fall directly under their ambit, such things as exhibitions and rock concerts, to say nothing of all the little irregular cultural events that some of the 200,000 Wellingtonians run. The regular Salient writers (whoever they may be) seldom have the time to cover these adequately, but amongst 6,000 Victoria students, there will be some who do go and feel some report would be worthwhile. So why not write one yourself?
Creative Writing
As well as being an organ for reports, politics and general information about what's going on and how good it is, Salient also provides a forum for creative work of various types. The more poems, short stories (no more than about 2,000 words please) we get in the more will be printed.
We will of course give preference to work that has some relevance to students interests, but if you've got something that you think is worth publishing, bring it in.
Graphic Work
People who have read Salient over the years, will doubtless have noticed that the same old graphics keep getting trotted out again and again. We don't do this from choice, but rather because we have no-one around to give us new graphics. If we did get some graphic artists in, not only would you see new and more varied graphics, but they might fit the stories in a better way.
We also have openings for people to do comic strips or "funnies", so bring in your folder or your pen and dazzle us with your artistic brilliance.
2
Sub-Editing
Even though a writer should proof-read an article before submitting it, invariably there will be improvements which can be made, for clarity, grammar or brevity. These changes are made in the sub-editing stage. At the same time the sub-editor will specify how the article has to be presented. This involves decisions on the size and style of type to be used, the width of the column, the sub-headings which might be used. They might write an introduction, or highlight certain parts of the article. Although not always an easy job, sub-editing is one of the most important aspects of newspaper work.
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3
Typesetting
The typesetter that Salient has is really a form of glorified electric typewriter. It prints onto paper, using a fancy carbon ribbon to give a clearer impression than the fabric ribbons that most typewriters are fitted with. But visually it looks almost identical to an ordinary electric typewriter.
In common with IBM typewriters (as our machine is an IBM typesetter), the machine does not have individual metal striking pieces for each symbol on the keyboard of the machine (as manual typewriters have). Rather impressions of all the symbols are carried on a metal ball (a golf-ball or font). When a key is pressed the golf-ball first turns so as to turn the appropriate letter to the front of the golf-ball and it then strikes the ribbon. The advantage of using this method is that by changing golf-balls it is possible to get a wide range of type styles and sizes. On our machine we can get six different sizes of type in about fifty different styles (if that is we could afford to buy all the golf-balls available).
The major difference between a type-setter and a typewriter is that, on a typewriter each letter is the same width (ie an "i" takes up as much space width-ways as as "m") but on a typesetter each letter has its own width (eg an "m" is three times as wide as an "i").
Rather than typesetting right across the page, we type in columns of generally a width of 6cm. This gives four columns of the same width across the page, which we have found the most satisfactory arrangement.
4
Proof Reading
As typesetter operators, like typists, inevitably make mistakes, all the copy is proof-read against the original manuscript after it has been typeset. When as mistake is found, the whole line in which it appears is re-typeset and the correct line pasted over the line with the error.
5
Stripping
No — it's not what you think! Stripping is the preparation of the copy for layout. When it comes out from the typesetter, the articles are printed in strips, each the width of a column (about 6 cm). But there are often spaces in the middle of articles which must be closed up, done by cutting the paper and moving the copy up into the gap, then gluing it down there. Corrections are stuck on, the excess paper which generally surrounds the copy is cut off and generally the article is got into the condition where it can just be stuck down onto the page.
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6
[unclear: Letrasetting]
While the typesetter has a fair range of [unclear: rizes], they do not go large enough for [unclear: headlines] and these are therefore "letraset". Letraset is a form of transfer, the letter is placed in the appropriate place, the plastic covering the letter is rubbed and the letter appears, stuck to the paper beneath. In this way words are built up, letter by letter.
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7
Layout
As we will explain later, Salient is [unclear: ninted] by a process known as Offset. This [unclear: nvolves] taking a photograph of a comple[unclear: tely] laid out page, this image is then [unclear: transered] directly to the page of the [unclear: newspappaper] In other words what you put down is [unclear: xictly] what the final newspaper page will [unclear: ook] like.
Layout is the process of getting the page [unclear: eady] for the photograph. Using a sheet [unclear: f] suitably lined paper (showing the exact [unclear: ize] of the final newspaper page) all the [unclear: arious] processes described above are [unclear: irought] together.
The stripped copy is cut into sections which will be the columns in the final page, [unclear: nd] then stuck down with glue. The [unclear: letraet] headlines, with any graphics or [unclear: photographs] are similarly placed. Any straight [unclear: ines] that are required are inserted, and the [unclear: tage] is given a final proof-reading. It is [unclear: hen] ready to go to the printer.
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While this may [unclear: ound] simple and straight-forward, it doesn't quite work like that. For a start you have only a certain amount of space available, and this space must be filled without leaving gaps. A judicious choice of photos, graphics and headlines are used to make the article fill up the space allocated it and no more.
As soon as these "non-copy" items arrive there is the problem of where to put them so that the page looks tidy and easy to read - for example photos are often used to break up otherwise long columns of copy which would be difficult to read. Lines can be used to separate stories or box sections of copy (as is done here).
This must all be done so that the page ends up looking "balanced" ie. the relationships between the various components of the page work together to produce an attractive (and hence more likely to be read) page.
While it can be tedious, frustrating and tiring, layout is the most tangibly creative part of working on a newspaper, and often the most satisfying.
8
Printing
After all the pages have been laid out the whole set of them is sent up to our printers (Wanganui Newspapers Ltd) and we have no more to do with until the newspaper arrives on Monday morning - when we gloat over it,
Offset printing, which is used for Salient, is a very complex process and it is not possible to do more here than merely sketch out the basics. When the layout pages arrive, they are photographed and massive, same-size negatives are produced. These negatives are then processed to give a printing sheet which is a "positive" ie black where the layout page was black and white elsewhere.
The printing plate is then transferred to the press, having first been chemically treated so that ink will only adhere to the "black" parts of the plate. The plate is inked and this inked impression transferred to rubber rollers, which in turn transfer the ink to the page. This process happens simultaneously for all the pages (both sides of the paper are printed at once by two sets of rollers, one on top and one underneath). They are then collated, bundled and eventually sent down to your eagerly waiting selves.
Well that's it. Not a comprehensive account at all, but enough to show you the outlines of the various processes. We hone that having at least some idea of how it is made, you will feel more inclined to come in and help on Salient. We don't work on a permanent staff system, we depend on the people who just drop in and help out. Whether for an hour or an evening, it all helps. The Salient office is on the middle floor of the Union Building at the Graveyard end, so why not pop in and have a look around.