well i wrote a letter about that too.
but it's a bit more over the place.
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Dear Honi Soit,
I take some issues with your magazine. Honi Soit? More like Honi Shit! ololololol
Firstly I wish to complain about the layout. It blows, and it blows hard. It is messy, and it is far too dense, and it sucks the life out of your writing. Cut out the garbage, and instead space out the good stuff. Quantity does not override quality, and columns do not make for enjoyable reading.
Next I bring up the issue of quality. Please find some more quality items to report on. Your drug story was top notch: It was neutral, confrontational, informative and unavailable elsewhere. Sadly, this is the only such article to reach this level of quality thus far.
I find your decision to focus on local issues (Fosters redevelopment, Azzuri's etc.) a great idea. There's no reason to make these local articles so pedestrian and boring though. Liven them up with some humour! The university is a lively place with lively people but your articles concerning the university bore the bejesus out of me with their vanilla taste. Focus on the individuals and characters of a vibrant university.
Speaking of characters, do not write yourselves out of the equation. Insert yourselves into the newspaper. The procrastitariat of this university are going to be viewing your writing for the better part of the next year, so you might as well become friends with us. Part of what made last year's Honi so enjoyable is that the lively characters of the writers could be seen all through their pieces. Even the serious articles had personality. I'm starting to see this but I want more. MOAR!
What I also want more of, is humour. If you're going to try to be funny, I suggest that you try harder and that you bring the humourous articles out of the mundane column format. Reading humour in columns is not fun. It is a chore and the layout takes the life and comedy out of what you've created. Also, you can be funny outside of lame regulars. The top 5 is not the only place where you can make a joke.
A lot of shitty stuff happens in this uni. Satire is a powerful tool in confronting this stuff, and I haven't seen an awful lot of that yet. Realise your position in the university as being the primary tool of attention-bringing, and use this to the common student's advantage. Satire, and more of it, can hardly be a bad thing for Honi Soit, and it's certainly better than some boring-ass article.
Lastly, the puzzles are not good. When a bored student in a lecture theatre turns to a puzzles page, they want something fun to pass the time with. When a puzzle requires 28 lines of explanation, it might be time to revert to the basics. A simple crossword and sudoko is fine, easy, and enjoyable to all of us! ^_^
You've made an ok start but there's a lot of room for improvement. Realise that you're the editors of Honi Soit and make the required adjustments.
Sincerely hoping that you'll make your mark,
Jim Cronshaw
Science/Arts IV
