On Dit

On Dit

Editors	Vacant as of December 1, 2024
Categories	Student magazine
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	1932
Company	Adelaide University Union
Country	Australia
Language	English
Website	On Dit

On Dit is a student newspaper published fortnightly during semester time, funded by the Adelaide University Union and advertising. ^[1] Founded in 1932, it is the third oldest student newspaper in Australia along with Semper Floreat , which was first published in the same year. ^[2] The paper replaced the Varsity Ragge which ran from 1928 to 1931, ending because of what On Dit described in its first edition as 'student apathy'. ^[3] The Varsity Ragge returned in 1934 for a single edition as a rival to On Dit. ^[4]

Name

On-dit (French pronunciation: [ɔ̃di] ) is a term for hearsay; its most literal translation is "one says," but French uses on similarly to the generic use of "they" in English. This is why less literal translations ("so I hear," "what people are saying," "rumour," "they say," "we say," "people say") may be more appropriate. ^[5] In protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific, in 1972 the editors refused to use the paper's original French-language title and substituted Heresay[ sic ]. ^[6]

History

The newspaper began as a two-page broadsheet but within a few years quickly grew to four pages. The first editors were C. R. Badger (Arts), K. L. Litchfield (Law) and C. G. Kerr (Arts), ^[7] who published the first edition on 15 April 1932. ^[8] In its early years, On Dit focussed mainly on the activities and happenings of clubs and societies at the North Terrace campus of the University of Adelaide.

From the beginning, the newspaper attracted the ire of the university administration. Its very first editorial criticised certain regulations of the Barr Smith Library – criticism not well received at the time. ^[9] On Dit's editorial team in its fifth year of existence, Helen Wighton and Finlay Crisp, later married.

One of the paper's first successes was its campaign, in 1936, for a student-elected head of the Adelaide University Union. ^[10]

The paper ceased publication in 1941 due to World War II, but resumed again in 1944.

While the paper charged a low price to its readers in its first decades, it switched to free distribution in the 1960s and remains so to this day, supporting itself with advertising and funds from the AUU. In its early years it was an organ of the Student Representative Council, which later became the Students' Association of the University of Adelaide (a body which did not survive voluntary student unionism (VSU), and therefore has since been replaced by the Adelaide University Student Representative Council). ^[11] Today, On Dit is a publication of the Adelaide University Union. ^[12]

During the 1950s and 1960s the paper attempted to resemble a professionally designed newspaper. This evolved into the Dynasty era during the 1970s and 1980s. During the latter period, the paper broke major stories. By this time, On Dit had developed a very good reputation both within the state and nationally. On Dit was considered an alternative vehicle to attending media schools for budding reporters. One problem many editors struggled with was encouraging submissions and news from University of Adelaide campuses other than the North Terrace site.

In the 1968 March orientation issue, On Dit published an issue largely dedicated to supporting a student demonstration against the gerrymander that benefited the Coalition government, then headed by South Australian politician Thomas Playford. ^[10] That same year saw On Dit publish editorials on the use of torture in Vietnam, and on Australia's treatment of Aboriginals, in keeping with the activism of much of the student press at the time.

In March 1991, university student Maria O'Brien wrote a controversial piece in On Dit about the misogyny she experienced during her two years at St Mark's College, one of the residential colleges at the University of Adelaide. That same year, a 21-year-old female student at the college was assaulted and murdered by one of the male students. ^[13]

In 2006, Edition 10 (Sexuality) of On Dit was stolen.^{[ citation needed ]} It contained an article by 'Pandora' which gave a view on the upcoming Adelaide University Union elections that was largely favourable to some candidates while disdainful towards others (in one instance likening the then Adelaide University Union President to The Lord of the Rings character Gollum, and labelling him a 'neo-fascist'). ^[14] Several editions survived. The one held by the Barr Smith Library is available to read online. ^[15] 2006 was the first year in its long history that two women edited the newspaper.

Format

For many years the paper was printed in a tabloid format on standard newsprint. This was changed to a magazine (half-tabloid newsprint) format early in 2006 to help the paper cope with financial uncertainty brought about by Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU). ^[16] The other change caused by VSU was the paper going from a weekly to fortnightly publication, making Honi Soit the only weekly student publication in Australia.

Some issues of On Dit conform to a certain theme, reflected in the graphical style, and occasionally in the articles within it. One such yearly edition is entitled Elle Dit, written primarily or exclusively by women once a year. In more recent years the paper has better resembled other free street press, though with more artistic (or at any rate abstract) covers, usually eschewing headlines, and a focus more broadly on commentary, politics and pop culture than on the popular music common to the format. ^[17]

On Dit is usually distributed outside the university in similar locations to other street press publications.

Editorial staff

Prior to 2007, in a typical year there were two or three paid editors, elected by the student body the previous year, who planned the paper. The paid editors were assisted by unpaid sub-editors, columnists and other contributors who researched and wrote individual sections. On Dit is unusual among student papers in that for much of its existence it has remained independent of the prevailing political parties on campus. In 2007, the Student Union voted to remove salaries from the editors (by way of comparison, the 3 editors in 1997 split an annual A$30,000 between them). Because of Voluntary Student Unionism, the editors now have to secure some of their funding from advertising space, and the paper has gone from a weekly broadsheet to a smaller fortnightly magazine.

Prominent past editors

Prominent past editors include former South Australia State Premier the Hon. Dr John Bannon AO; Hon. Mr Justice Samuel J. Jacobs AO QC; Elliot Frank Johnston QC; author Garry Disher; former ALP state politician Peter Duncan (Australian politician); Rhodes Scholar, Diplomat & Ambassador Charles Robin Ashwin; former South Australian MLC and current Federal Senator Nick Xenophon; ^[18] former vice-captain of the Australia women's national football (soccer) team Moya Dodd; former Secretary of the South Australian Trade Unions, Chris White; poet Max Harris AO; long-time Advertiser journalist Samela Harris and David Penberthy, editor of The Punch website, and former Advertiser journalist and former editor of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. ^[19]

Many On Dit editors over the years have gone on to work for the local daily newspaper, the Advertiser. These have included Samantha Maiden, Colin G. Kerr, Mark Davis, Daniel Wills, Richard Ogier, David Mussared, Rosemary O'Grady, the Rev. Father Will Baynes and David Walker. Editor Noel Lindblom went on to work at the other local daily paper The News while Clementine Ford became a columnist for the Sunday Mail and then later for Fairfax. Other On Dit editors to go on and work in the media have included Nonee Walsh and Roy Leaney at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Gemma Clark at radio station Nova 91.9 FM, Myriam Robin at the Australian Financial Review, and Rosemary O'Grady and Michael Jacobs at The Adelaide Review .

A number of editors have found success in the education sector as educationists and academics. These have included educator and feminist Helen Crisp (née Wighton); historian Hon. Dr John Bannon AO; educationist Neile Osman; Rhodes Scholar Herbert W. Piper; Rhodes Scholar Professor John Finnis; Jeff Scott; Dr Andrew Gleeson; Rhodes Scholar Professor Leslie Finlay Crisp; Adjunct Professor Richard Broinowski; Professor Pat Thomson PSM (at the time known as Lewicki); Paul Washington; Rhodes Scholar Professor Julian Disney AO, Clinical Associate Professor Jonathan Gillis; Dr Daniele Viliunas; Professor Peter Otto; and Research Fellow Dr Jacqui Dibden.

Current and past editors

Year	Name(s)
1932	C.R Badger, K. L Litchfield, C. G. Kerr
1935	J.O Clark
1936	H. W. Piper
1937	Finlay Crisp, Helen Wighton
1938	Elliott Johnston, Gwenneth Woodger
1939	O. E. Nichterlein
1940	S. J. Jacobs, P. M. Viner Smith
1941	John Allison
1944	Roy Leaney
1945	Elliot Forsyth, Rowen Osborn
1947	D. E. Thompson
1948	F. B. Power, K. Tregonning
1949	Gilbert Wahlquist
1950	Jeff Scott
1951	Eric Schumann
1952	Jeff Scott
1953	Jonathan Cole
1954	Brian Bergin
1955	Margaret Robertson (until July), Ian Haig (from July)
1956	Ian Haig
1957	Colin Ames
1958	Gillian Cashmore, Brian McPhee
1959	R. H. Corbet
1960	John Heuzenroeder
1961	William Baynes, Des Cooper, John Finnis
1962	Richard Broniowski, Terry McRae, John R. Slee
1964	John Bannon, Jacqui Dibden, Ken Scott
1965	Sa Harris, Piers Plumridge, John Waters
1966	Jim Beatty, Bill Latimer
1967	Julian Disney, Peter O’Brien
1968	Peter Duncan, Arwed Turon
1969	Adrian Hann, Daniele Viliunas
1970	Garry Disher, Philip Lynch
1972	Peter Love
1974	Rosemary O’Grady
1976	Peter Otto
1977	Nick Xenophou
1978	John Sandeman
1979	Nonee Walsh John Sandeman (resigned)
1980	Andrew Fagan, Geoff Hanmer
1981	Paul Hunt, James Williamson
1982	Chris Barry, Tim Dodd
1983	Jenni Lans, David Mussared
1984	Mark Davis, Andrew Gleeson
1985	David Walker
1986	Moya Dodd, Paul Washington
1987	Jamie Skinner
1988	Sally Niemann, Richard Ogier
1989	Monica Carroll, Mark Gamtcheff
1990	Steve Jackson, David Penberthy
1991	Simon Healy, Dave Krantz
1992	Vanessa Almedia, Samantha Maiden
1993	Fiona Dalton, George Safe, Richard Vowles
1994	Lorien Kay, Tim Grow, David Mills
1995	Matt Rawes, Bryan Scruby, Natasha Yacoub
1996	Christina Soong, Frank Trimboli, Kerina West
1997	James Morrison, Fiona Sproles, Ching Yee Ng
1998	Susie Bate, Paul Bradley, Chris Slape
1999	Penny Fredricks, Anthony Paxton
2000	Dale Adams, Eva O’Driscoll, Darien O’Reilly
2001	Penny Chalke, Linley Henzel, Melissa Vine
2002	Michael Fyfe, Jenny Kalionis, Linda Rust
2003	Gemma Clark, Bonnie Cruickshank, Tristian Mahoney
2004	James Cameron, Tristian Mahoney
2005	Clementine Ford, Daniel Joyce, Danny Wills
2006	Stephanie Mountzouris, Anna Svedberg
2007	Ben Henschke, Claire Wald
2008	Catherine Hoffman, Michael Nicholson, Natalie Oliveri
2009	Vincent Coleman, Steph Walker Claire Buckley (resigned)
2010	Connor O’Brien, Myriam Robin, Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo
2011	Sam Deere, Elizabeth Flux, Rory Kennett-Lister
2012	Galen Cuthbertson, Emma Jones, Seb Tonkin
2013	Casey Briggs, Stella Crawford, Holly Ritson
2014	Sharmonie Cockayne, Daisy Freeburn, Yasmin Martin
2015	Daniel McLean, Daniel Millburn, Leighton McDonald-Stewart Zhuocao Sun (resigned)
2016	Lur Alghurabi, Natalie Carfora, Celia Clennett
2017	Jesse Davidson, Tom Haskell, Jenny Nguyen
2018	Aiden Bedford, Nuer Deng, Anzelle de Kock, Ethan Penglase Hayley Mohacsy, Connie Tran (resigned)
2019	Samantha Bedford, Maxim Buckley, Imogen Hindson, Emily Savage Olivia DeZilva (resigned)
2020	Nicholas Birchall, Felix Eldridge, Taylor Fernandez, Larisa Forgac
2021	Ivan Jankovic, Stasi Kapetanos, Isobel Moore, Michelle Roylance
2022	Grace Atta, Jenny Surim Jung, Chanel Trezise Habibah Jaghoori (removed) [20]
2023	Kathers Anderson, Sebastian Andrew, Louise Jackson, Sienna Sulicich
2024	Urvi Patel Simranjeet Singh Dahia (resigned), Sarthak Khadotra (resigned)

Prominent contributors

Prominent people who have contributed to or written for On Dit include Prime Minister Julia Gillard, South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young; South Australian Labor Party Senator and Minister Penny Wong; Australian author and historian Geoffrey Dutton; comedians Francis Greenslade and Shaun Micallef; ^[21] novelists Colin Thiele and Sean Williams; South Australian Democrat Senator Natasha Stott Despoja; former ALP Federal Minister Gordon Bilney; playwright Joe Penhall; The Australian Financial Review film critic Peter Crayford; writers Clementine Ford and Russell Marks; and former Federal Liberal Minister Christopher Pyne. Australian Labor Party Senator Anne McEwen contributed to On Dit in the area of administration when she worked for the Students' Association of the University of Adelaide.

Many former On Dit editors, contributors and staff have also gone on to work for the Fairfax Media group. These have included John Sandeman, Moya Dodd, Gilbert Wahlquist, Tim Dodd, David Walker, Annabel Crabb, John Slee, Peter White and John Tanner.

Other On Dit contributors and staff to go on and work in the media have included Keith Conlon from Radio Station 5AA and journalists Jane Willcox, Barry Hailstone, Farah Farouque, Mike Duffy, Jenny Turner and cartoonist Ross Bateup. Former women's columnist Arna Eyers-White and freight manager Alex Wheaton went on to manage and edit Adelaide's fortnightly street press paper dB Magazine . Former On Dit science editor Mark Douglas went on to work with The Advertiser, The Australian, The South China Morning Post and The Times, as well as Channel 7 Australia. He was subsequently also editor of Lumen, the University's major external publication.

On Dit today

On Dit's publication is supported by the Adelaide University Union, with additional costs being covered by advertising. The paper is issued every fortnight during the semester. Ten issues are published each year, with one of these, Elle Dit (translated as "she says"), being an exclusive women's edition. On Dit prints some 2,000 copies of each issue and 2,500 of the O'Week issue.

The elected editors for 2023, taking office in December 2022 are Sienna Sulicich, Louise Jackson, Sebastian Andrew, and Kathers Anderson. ^[22]

References

1. "On Dit page". Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2009. on AUU Website
2. "Semper Floreat page".^{[ permanent dead link ‍]} on UQ Union Website
3. "On Dit" (PDF). Issue 1
4. "Varsity Ragge". hdl:2440/39485.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help) – Adelaide University archives
5. "on-dit". The Collins French-English Dictionary. 11th Edition. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
6. "Adelaide University archives".
7. The Lower Level: A Discursive History of the Adelaide University Union by Margaret M. Finnis, (1975), p. 142
8. "On Dit" (PDF). Issue 1 Vol 1
9. The Lower Level: A Discursive History of the Adelaide University Union by Margaret M. Finnis, (1975), page 144
10. Griffen-Foley, Bridget, ed. (2014). A Companion to the Australian Media. Australian Scholarly Publishing. p. 443. ISBN   978-1-925003-05-5.
11. "National Library record".
12. "AUU Website homepage". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
13. Griffen-Foley, Bridget, ed. (2014). A Companion to the Australian Media. Australian Scholarly Publishing. p. 444. ISBN   978-1-925003-05-5.
14. "On Dit" (PDF). Vol 74 No 11, page 28
15. "Serf Choices Edition"., Vol 74 No 11
16. "On Dit". Vol. 74 No. 11
17. "Burma article from 1992".
18. Walker, Jamie (28 June 2008). "From brash Young Liberal to Senate linchpin for Nick Xenophon". The Australian., by Jamie Walker, The Australian, 28 June 2008
19. "David Penberthy Bio". on The Punch website
20. James, Colin (14 September 2022). "University of Adelaide On Dit editor Habibah Jaghoori sacked over anti-Israel article". The Advertiser.
21. "Interview with Shaun Micallef".
22. "On Dit - Adelaide University Union".

External links

• On Dit Website
• On Dit Page on the AUU Site
• Barr Smith Library scanned electronic issues of On Dit available as online facsimiles
• Barr Smith Library 2007 Exhibition on graphical changes to On Dit over its 75 year existence