SALON background & editorial policy

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Background

SALON began in October 2001 as a way of engaging with Fellows who were unable to attend weekly London meetings, planned to be something lively and readable. It was a time when the Society was instrumental in the formation of APPAG (All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group) and Heritage Link, providing the Secretariats for both and becoming more involved in Government consultations and select committee enquiries. Hence, public policy has always been a major theme within the newsletter, and commenting and contributing to debate rather than simply reporting is a key function of SALON, hence its name being both an acronym for the Society itself, and evoking the intellectual Salons of the nineteenth century.

Editorial policy

Unless otherwise stated, SALON is not the official voice of the Society, but aspires to give voice to the Fellowship, so contributions of news and opinion from the Fellowship are actively encouraged. The editor of SALON has editorial freedom from the Officers and Trustees of the Society on the basis of adherence to the following editorial values:

Truth and accuracy: SALON strives to be accurate and truthful in all its content. It will be honest and open about what we don’t know and what is speculation. It encourages feedback and debate on all the themes and issues it covers.

Diversity: SALON strives to reflect and give voice to the diversity of the views of the Fellowship.

Editorial independence: SALON is written for the Fellowship but is independent from the Society’s executive.

Accountability: SALON is accountable to the Fellowship through the Society’s Publications Committee. SALON will be open in admitting mistakes and is willing to learn from them.

Views and opinion: SALON seeks to balance rights to freedom of expression and information with its responsibilities to respect privacy and maintain accuracy. SALON aims to foster debate by publishing a broad spectrum of views that are focused and constructive in considering the material past and the heritage sector. Individuals, organizations and users are all invited and encouraged to contribute content to the editor at every opportunity.

Functionality and technology: SALON ensures that it is available in a range of common formats so that it is accessible to the majority of the Fellowship, though these will evolve and change as the web develops.

Planning applications and employment issues: SALON may report what is being said about planning applications or issues involving individual employment cases where this information is already in the public domain, giving sources and seeking to give a balanced account but avoiding comments that might give the impression that the Society has a view; the exceptions will be where the Society is collating opinion to submit evidence to a planning enquiry (such as the ill-fated Stonehenge Improvement Scheme), in which case it will be made clear what the Society’s agreed position is.

Authorship: no member of the SALON team speaks or writes on behalf of the Society. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Trustees of the Society or the Society’s employees.

Errors in SALON: where SALON is notified of an error by a Fellow or other reader, SALON will seek to communicate that error back to the readership in the Feedback section of the newsletter at the next available opportunity, and to ensure that the person who has communicated the information is kept informed of the correction to the error.

Complaints: all complaints should be directed in the first instance to the editor of SALON. Receipt of the complaint will be confirmed within five days and a full response sent to the complainant within ten working days. If the complainant is not satisfied with the response they are encouraged to contact the Society’s General Secretary or Officers. The Society’s Publications Committee will monitor the number and substance of complaints.

Publisher: the Society of Antiquaries of London is the publisher of SALON.