Robin Carson

In this issue , rather than stating my opinion on a topic , I would like to tell you a little about News &

Views , how to make a submission , and what happens to material that comes to us . Sometimes , stating a point of view — or even reporting on an event — can seem pretty daunting ; but it really does not need to be so .

First of all , just so you know , the N & V staff is tiny . I ’ m the editor , and Vi Oko is the assistant editor . That ’ s it . If there is typing to be done , we do it . If there are emails to be answered , we do it . The two of us are responsible for both copyediting and proofreading . We take the material we are given , rework it to fit in the magazine , and send it along to our really talented graphic artist at the ATA , Hazel Adair , who actually makes the magazine itself . Jerry Stefanyk , ARTA ’ s Associate Executive Director , takes an unofficial look at the final product to assist with proofreading , but that ’ s the entire staff .

In the upcoming spring issue , we will be featuring ARTA ’ s 50 th anniversary . The material we receive for that issue will be passed along to the 50 th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee that has a special coordinator for anniversary material .

Incidentally , that special issue will still have the usual material in it , such as In Memoriam , our columns , and the like . The material from the 50 th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee will be in addition to that .

When a submission is made to the magazine and we decide to print it , it gets edited . There are no exceptions , even if you add the little note , “ Print this ‘ as is ’,” which is just not possible , with the exception of classified advertisements . As well , we cannot return material to you after editing so that you can check it , since there is just not enough time to do so .

We editors do two things . The first of these is to ensure that the material will fit in the magazine . Often , we are sent articles that are very long , and these must be cut to fit . About 800 words fit on a page — fewer , if there are photographs . So , if you were to send us , say , 2,500 words , that would be over three full pages of text . As you know , most of our articles are just a page or two .

Second , we work on mechanics and expression . The idea here is to reduce the number of words and to make the writer sound better . Reducing the number of words , simply means weeding out the unnecessary , so that “ I ’ d like to say that the folding of paper is important …” be comes , “ Folding paper is important … .” We also quietly correct spelling and punctuation , and apply Canadian standards to both .

Decisions about what to print are often difficult to make . We must abide by legal standards for printed material , but beyond that , N & V is pretty much free to print whatever is in the interests of ARTA ’ s membership . Are there political considerations , or considerations related to our advertisers ? Of course there are , but these are not dealt with ‘ under the table .’ Most of you will have seen the back-and-forth that

In My Opinion continues on page 35 .

ALBERTA RETIRED TEACHERS ’ ASSOCIATION News & Views Volume 19 21 , No . 32