Publications

1968 was a year in which a major step ahead for publications was taken: the publishing of Salient weekly. Salient now becomes the first student newspaper in Australasia to appear weekly, and if it continues the same publishing schedule in 1969—as it should. Victoria will retain its position as the New Zealand Students' Association which best handles publications matters.

This move to weekly publications would not have proved as successful as it has been if a salaried Technical Editor to supervise sub-editing had not been appointed to assist the Editor. Although there were some difficulties with this position in 1968, four people holding the position at various times during the year, there can be no doubt that without a Technical Editor it would have been virtually impossible for the editor to have handled all the responsibilities of a weekly paper.

It should be pointed out, in relation to Salient, that not only is Salient better organised for publication than many other student papers, but also that its relations with the Executive of Students' Association are better structured than in other universities where major executive-student paper clashes have occurred. The editor of Salient can only be over-ruled by the Executive—through its Publications Board— on matters involving possible libel. The editor of Salient alone determines the editorial policy and news content of Salient. All major financial decisions concerning Salient are made in the the first instance by the Publications Board as a sub-committee of the Executive, which ratifies or otherwise its decisions. It is because of the existence of this structure for resolving any disputes between Salient and the Executive that no serious conflict of any kind arose between Salient and the Executive last year. In fact, such conflicts have not occurred in the last three years—a record shared by few other student associations. So long as the present decision-making machinery operates, and the Chairman of the Publications Board uses tact and good sense in his dealings with Salient, there will be few crises in the relations between Eexecutive and Salient.

The publications of CAPPICADE involves many distribution problems which, in my view, though not in the Publications Board's, are really the province of Capping Committee. I would recommend that while Publications Board should retain the power of accepting quotations for the printing of Cappicade, and appointing its editor its authority should end at that point. The selling of CAPPICADE should be fully integrated with other Capping functions.

I would also recommend that future applicants for the position of Editor of either Student Handbook or CAPPICADE have some experience in subbing, and have worked with the Technical Editor of Salient for some period. In this way some of the difficulties in appointing inexperienced Editors might be avoided.

I would like to thank Bill Logan who assisted me on every occasion possible last year in my work as Publications Officer, and to all the members of the 1968 Publications Board. What has been done by Publications Board is the culmination of work over the last three years by a variety of people, especially Mr. H. Rennie and what has now to be done is mainly to build on a firmly established structure. Without the fostering of a professional outlook towards reporting and sub-editing since 1965, weekly publications would certainly have been impossible.

—Owen Gager