On Dit
Encyclopedia
On Dit is a student newspaper
funded by the Adelaide University Union
and advertising revenue which is published fortnightly during semester time. Founded in 1932, it is the third oldest student newspaper in Australia
along with Semper Floreat
(which was first published in the same year as On Dit. The paper replaced its precursor the Varsity Ragge which ran from 1928 to 1931 when it ended because of what On Dit described in its first edition as 'student apathy'. The Varsity Ragge returned in 1934 for a single edition as a rival to On Dit.
and has a number of different translations. These include "so I hear", "what the people are saying", "rumour", "one says", "they say", "we say", "people say", and "hearsay". The last was a variation title of the newspaper in 1972 when due to French nuclear testing in the Pacific, the editors refused to use the paper's original French language title, opting for one of its English translations. Contrary to popular belief, the title is pronounced 'On Dee' rather than phonetically.
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.
Interestingly, On Dits editorial team in its fifth year of existence, Helen Wighton and Finlay Crisp
, later married.
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 VSU
, and therefore has today been replaced by the Adelaide University Student Representative Council). Today, On Dit is a publication of the Adelaide University Union
.
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 2006, Edition 10 (Sexuality) of On Dit was stolen. 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 Lord of the Rings character Gollum
, and labelling him a 'neo-fascist'). Several editions survived. The one held by the Barr Smith Library is available to read online.
On Dit celebrated its 21st Anniversary in 1953, its 25th Anniversary in 1957, its 50th Anniversary in 1982, and in 2007 celebrated its Diamond or 75th Anniversary.
. 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). 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.
Currently, every issue of On Dit conforms to a certain theme, which is reflected in graphical style, and occasionally in the articles within it (although this may change in 2010). A special edition of On Dit, entitled Elle Dit, written primarily or exclusively by women, is produced 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.
On Dit is usually distributed outside the university in similar locations to other street press publications.
, elected by the student body the previous year, who planned the paper. The paid editors were assisted by unpaid sub-editors, columnist
s 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 their funding from advertising space, and the paper has gone from a weekly broadsheet to a smaller fortnightly magazine.
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 Australia
n MLC
and current Federal Senator Nick Xenophon
; 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
, current editor of The Punch
and former Advertiser journalist and former editor of The Daily Telegraph
in Sydney
.
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 writer for The Punch. 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 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.
, 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
; novelists Colin Thiele
and Sean Williams (author); South Australian Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja; former ALP Federal Minister Gordon Bilney
; playwright Joe Penhall
; The Australian Financial Review
film critic Peter Crayford, 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, 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.
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
funded by the Adelaide University Union
Adelaide University Union
The Adelaide University Union was founded in 1895. The AUU currently funds six affiliated bodies. These include the Adelaide University Student Representative Council , Student Care, the Clubs Association , the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council , and the Waite Institute...
and advertising revenue which is published fortnightly during semester time. Founded in 1932, it is the third oldest student newspaper in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
along with Semper Floreat
Semper Floreat
Semper Floreat is the student newspaper of the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union since 1932, when it began as a fortnightly newsletter of only a few pages, produced by one editor...
(which was first published in the same year as On Dit. The paper replaced its precursor the Varsity Ragge which ran from 1928 to 1931 when it ended because of what On Dit described in its first edition as 'student apathy'. The Varsity Ragge returned in 1934 for a single edition as a rival to On Dit.
Name
On Dits title is FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and has a number of different translations. These include "so I hear", "what the people are saying", "rumour", "one says", "they say", "we say", "people say", and "hearsay". The last was a variation title of the newspaper in 1972 when due to French nuclear testing in the Pacific, the editors refused to use the paper's original French language title, opting for one of its English translations. Contrary to popular belief, the title is pronounced 'On Dee' rather than phonetically.
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), who published the first edition on 15 April 1932. 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.
Interestingly, On Dits editorial team in its fifth year of existence, Helen Wighton and Finlay Crisp
Finlay Crisp
Leslie Finlay "Fin" Crisp was an Australian academic and political scientist."Fin" Crisp was born in Sandringham, Victoria. Educated at Black Rock State School, Caulfield Grammar School and St Peter's College, Adelaide, where he graduated in 1934, Crisp earned a Bachelor of Arts in political...
, later married.
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
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
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
Students' Association of the University of Adelaide
The Students' Association of the University of Adelaide commonly referred to as the SAUA was a Students' Representative Council like body that existed for students at the University of Adelaide from 1973 until 2007. It was one of a number of student organisations at the university affiliated to...
(a body which did not survive VSU
VSU
VSU is an abbreviation that can stand for:*Valdosta State University*Venstresocialisternes Ungdom*Vikrama Simhapuri University*Virginia State University*Visayas State University*Voluntary student unionism*Voronezh State University...
, and therefore has today been replaced by the Adelaide University Student Representative Council). Today, On Dit is a publication of the Adelaide University Union
Adelaide University Union
The Adelaide University Union was founded in 1895. The AUU currently funds six affiliated bodies. These include the Adelaide University Student Representative Council , Student Care, the Clubs Association , the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council , and the Waite Institute...
.
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 2006, Edition 10 (Sexuality) of On Dit was stolen. It contained an article by 'Pandora' which gave a view on the upcoming Adelaide University Union
Adelaide University Union
The Adelaide University Union was founded in 1895. The AUU currently funds six affiliated bodies. These include the Adelaide University Student Representative Council , Student Care, the Clubs Association , the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council , and the Waite Institute...
elections that was largely favourable to some candidates while disdainful towards others (in one instance likening the then Adelaide University Union
Adelaide University Union
The Adelaide University Union was founded in 1895. The AUU currently funds six affiliated bodies. These include the Adelaide University Student Representative Council , Student Care, the Clubs Association , the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council , and the Waite Institute...
President to Lord of the Rings character Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
, and labelling him a 'neo-fascist'). Several editions survived. The one held by the Barr Smith Library is available to read online.
On Dit celebrated its 21st Anniversary in 1953, its 25th Anniversary in 1957, its 50th Anniversary in 1982, and in 2007 celebrated its Diamond or 75th Anniversary.
Format
For many years the paper was printed in a tabloid format on standard newsprintNewsprint
Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, and other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use in printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of...
. 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
Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
(VSU). The other change caused by VSU was the paper going from a weekly to fortnightly publication, making Honi Soit
Honi Soit
Honi Soit is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney, first published in 1929 and produced by an elected editorial team as part of the activities of the Students' Representative Council...
the only weekly student publication in Australia.
Currently, every issue of On Dit conforms to a certain theme, which is reflected in graphical style, and occasionally in the articles within it (although this may change in 2010). A special edition of On Dit, entitled Elle Dit, written primarily or exclusively by women, is produced once a year. In more recent years the paper has better resembled other free street press
Street press
Street press is a term used to describe a certain type of publishing, between zines and magazines/newspapers in terms of distribution, content and audience. They are particularly prolific in Australia, although there are also some examples from Europe and North America...
, though with more artistic (or at any rate abstract) covers, usually eschewing headlines, and a focus more broadly on commentary, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and pop culture than on the popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
common to the format.
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 editorsEditing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, elected by the student body the previous year, who planned the paper. The paid editors were assisted by unpaid sub-editors, columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
s 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
Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
, the editors now have to secure some 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 AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
State Premier the Hon. Dr John Bannon
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...
AO; Hon. Mr Justice Samuel J. Jacobs AO QC; Elliot Frank Johnston QC; author Garry Disher
Garry Disher
Garry Disher is an Australian author of crime fiction and children's literature.- Awards :*Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing, Best Novel, 2007: winner for Chain of Evidence...
; former ALP state politician Peter Duncan (Australian politician)
Peter Duncan (Australian politician)
Peter Duncan was an Australian Labor Party politician and one of the relatively few members of parliament to have not only served in both a state and national parliament, but also served as a minister in both cases....
; Rhodes Scholar, Diplomat & Ambassador Charles Robin Ashwin; former South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n MLC
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
and current Federal Senator Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
; former vice-captain of the Australia women's national football (soccer) team Moya Dodd
Moya Dodd
Moya Dodd is an Australian association football official and former player. She is a vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation.-Biography:Dodd is a partner in law firm Gilbert + Tobin....
; former Secretary of the South Australian Trade Unions, Chris White; poet Max Harris AO; long-time Advertiser journalist Samela Harris and David Penberthy
David Penberthy
David Penberthy is the editor-in-chief of News Limited opinion website, The Punch. He was editor of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, from April 2005 until November 2008.-Career:Penberthy studied at the University of Adelaide in the late 1980s...
, current editor of The Punch
The Punch
The Punch is a Nigerian daily newspaper. It is the second largest newspaper in the country in terms of circulation, with 80,000 copies published daily in 1999.-History:...
and former Advertiser journalist and former editor of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
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
The News (Adelaide)
The News was an afternoon daily tabloid newspaper in the city of Adelaide, South Australia.The newspaper was established in 1869 as the Evening Journal. In 1933, a controlling stake was taken by The Advertiser, controlled by the Herald and Weekly Times. HWT sold off The News in 1949, and Sir Keith...
while Clementine Ford became a columnist for the Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Adelaide)
The Sunday mail was founded in 1912 by Clarence Moody. Moody initially set up three newspapers - the Sporting mail, Saturday mail and the Mail. The first two titles lasted only two years and five years respectively...
and writer for The Punch. Other On Dit editors to go on and work in the media have included Nonee Walsh and Roy Leaney at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, Gemma Clark at radio station Nova 91.9
Nova 91.9
Nova 91.9 is a commercial radio station operating in Adelaide, Australia, owned by the DMG Radio Network.Along with its sister stations Nova 100 Melbourne, Nova 96.9 Sydney, Nova 106.9 Brisbane and Nova 93.7 Perth, Nova now claims to be Australia's leading under 40's brand.-Breakfast:The breakfast...
FM 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
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...
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.
Prominent contributors
Prominent people who have contributed to or written for On Dit include Prime Minister Julia GillardJulia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of South Australia. she is the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Senate....
; South Australian Labor Party Senator and Minister Penny Wong
Penny Wong
Penelope "Penny" Ying-yen Wong , is an Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia and the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Wong was the first Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment was amended on 26 February 2010, by the Prime Minister, to the...
; Australian author and historian Geoffrey Dutton
Geoffrey Dutton
Geoffrey Piers Henry Dutton AO was an Australian author and historian.Dutton was born in Kapunda, South Australia in 1922 and died in September 1998...
; comedians Francis Greenslade
Francis Greenslade
Francis Greenslade is an Australian comic actor. He and comedic partner Shaun Micallef appeared on the legal comedy Welcher and Welcher, as well as Full Frontal...
and Shaun Micallef
Shaun Micallef
Shaun Patrick Micallef is an Australian actor, comedian and writer. After ten years of working in insurance law as a solicitor in Adelaide, Micallef moved to Melbourne to pursue a full-time comedy career in 1993...
; novelists Colin Thiele
Colin Thiele
Colin Milton Thiele, AC was an Australian author and educator. He was renowned for his award-winning children's fiction, most notably the novels Storm Boy, Blue Fin, the Sun on the Stubble series, and February Dragon.- Biography :Thiele was born in Eudunda in South Australia to a Barossa German...
and Sean Williams (author); South Australian Democrat Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja; former ALP Federal Minister Gordon Bilney
Gordon Bilney
Gordon Neil Bilney is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Kingston from 1983 to 1996.Bilney was born in Renmark, South Australia....
; playwright Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter.Born in London, his first major play was Some Voices for the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award. It has twice been revived off Broadway...
; The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review is a leading business and finance newspaper in Australia.Fairfax Media publishes it in a compact format six days a week, Monday to Saturday....
film critic Peter Crayford, and former Federal Liberal Minister Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
. 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
Students' Association of the University of Adelaide
The Students' Association of the University of Adelaide commonly referred to as the SAUA was a Students' Representative Council like body that existed for students at the University of Adelaide from 1973 until 2007. It was one of a number of student organisations at the university affiliated to...
.
Many former On Dit editors, contributors and staff have also gone on to work for the Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
group. These have included John Sandeman, Moya Dodd, Gilbert Wahlquist, Tim Dodd, 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.