Salient Notes

It was a dark and stormy night. A shot rang out. A woman screamed. Meanwhile back in the Salient Office, the staff suffering from a collective cold went on working long into the night. The workers were sustained by the culinary delights of Ahfo Wong, and serenaded by the singing of their leader. Among those who braved the bluster (of weather and editor alike) were:

Les Atkins, Margot Bourke, Gordon Campbell, Christine Clegg, Graeme Collins, Jesus Christ, David Cunningham, Mark Derby, Noel Gledhill, Alison MacKay, Patrick O'Hagan, Wiki Oman, Neil Pearce, Marty Pilott, Babette Polly, Bruce Robinson, David Rutherford, Graeme Simpson, Brendan Smith, Claire Smith, Billie Joye Stewart, David Tripe, David Waghorn, Lloyd Weeber, Annabel Young, Audrey Young, Ahfo Wong, Karen O'Neil.

The photos were taken by Keith Stewart (Grub) and the issue was edited by Roger Steele.

A letter we received this week, from a certain "Tiddles" asked how one gets to be a staff member of Salient. The answer is simple — you just walk in the door. We don't have a staff as such, we just have a lot of occasional helpers. Anyone can help, whether or not they have talents. Just come in or ring up. There's plenty of things to do in here. Proofreading, doing corrections, sticking copy together, selecting pictures, filing, thinking up headlines — anyone can do these small but important jobs. As far as specialist jobs go, we need photographers, cartoonists, sub-editors, typists, etc.

News writing: Anybody can write for, Salient. "If you were there. Salient was there". Tell us what's on around the place. Either you write it up, or we write it up, or both. We'd like to cover everything.

Reviews: Anyone can write reviews. It helps to be interested in what you're writing about, and to have some familiarity with the topic. Our reviewers are not beyond criticism: if you think you can write a better review of a book, play, film, show, record, do it. We have some sort of system for getting such things reviewed. Come and see us, and we'll organise.

Features: If you've got a pet topic, or done some research into something interesting, there could be a feature in it. Come and have a talk about the approach, or take your own. It doesn't necessarily have to follow any 'line'. We've got a lot of ideas that need working on. If you want to get into investigative journalism, so do we.

Meetings: From time to time we have a meeting here for Salient workers and other interested people. The idea is to criticise what we've done and make collective decision and plans for future issues. The next meeting is at 7pm on Wednesday, March 27. If you can't get to that, come in any other time. There is no pressure on anybody to work or produce. Everybody's opinions count. Whether you've got five minutes a week or five hours, you can be part of Salient.

Advertising Manager: Chris MacKay (Home phone: 64-698).

Salient Office: Middle Floor, Student Union Building. Phone 70-319.

Letters: Can be put in the box outside the Salient office or sent to Box 1347 Wellington.

Published by Victoria University of Wellington Students Association, Private Bag, Wellington and printed by Wanganui Newspapers Ltd., Drews Avenue, Wanganui.