Wb think that a glance at our telegraphic columns to-day will convince any one that we are warranted in employing pigeons or photograms, or old Taipo himself to help us under the burthen imposed on us by the villainous unfairness of the Telegraph administration. With a fourfold higher rats imposed on us than on morning journalism, we give our readers an amount of telegraphic news that has never been equalled by any other morning or evening journal in the Australasian colonies. The gross injustice inflicted on us will be apparent from the following : Reckoning that 1,000 words of telegram would make a column, the charge made to an evening paper at day rates is one half-penny per word, or £2 Is Sd, while to a morning paper, at nujht rate 3of one shilling per hundred words, the cost would be 10s. Notwithstanding this, we can with pride say that our journal alone of all New Zealand papers may claim that title dreamt of by Mr Vogel and others, that of being a " Colonial Journal." Our readers are aware that this was the aspiration of the projectors of the New Zealand Times at Wellington, and the method adopted for winning the character of "Colonial Journal" was that of devoting about two columns daily to news from all the provinces, which was arranged under the several headings " Auckland," " Otago," " Canterbury," &.o. This news, however, consisted of clippings from the newspapers published in the several province*, generally a week aud frequently a fortnight old; whereas our interprovincial news, more copious in ifc3olf, is served up by us to our readers hob off the wires on the very day generally on which the events have occurred, and often before they have appeared in the local papers of the several districts. If any therefore can claim realization of the somewhat Utopian fancy of a "colonial journal" we think we may. Again, with reference to the collection of authentic news, we are in the po.ufcioa to say that there is at this hour noi a city or principal town throughout New Zealand in which there is not an editor or sub-editor of a loading paper engaged as our telegraphic correspondent, and sending us by telegram the earliest intimation of any striking event. It is not to the blame of morning journalism, if telegraphic columns are not a characteristic feature ; but it is a matter on which we may legitimately do a little boasting that, while half a column of telegrams on aa average daily suffices the readers of the Melbourne Argus and the Sydney Morning Herald —the leading journals of Australia — our readers are furnished with sucli columns of telegrams as we publish daily. If the Government would only act fairly to evening journalism, or in default of that, if we cau mature our pigeon system, we hope to yet realize our ideal of what the Evening Star should be.
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1606, 7 April 1875, Page 2
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484Untitled Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1606, 7 April 1875, Page 2
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