The War and Publicity.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15462, 15 December 1915, Page 6

The War and Publicity.

The modification of the British censorship mentioned in one of yesterday's cable messages marks, we hope, the beginning of a belated movement by the British Government towards wisdom in the management of publicity. "While military and naval news will continue subject to tho Censor's blue pencil, news of foreign affairs will bo left to tho censorship of the patriotism and commonsense in the newspaper offices. That Britain lias signally failed in tho department of publicity cannot be disputed ; wc do not think anybody defends the strango policy that has been pursued. Similarly, if Germany lias any conspicuous success to her credit, it is her management of the news. Tho British authorities have appeared almost to knpw nothing of tho psychology of public opinion, while tho Germans, making blunders enough, have yot shown that they realise how a Avar should be i reported in order to get tho best results. Some timo ago "The Times" J advised the Government that there was j room for such a Minister as a Minister of Publicity, whoso business it would be to attend to "the despatch of accurate " news to foreign countries, tho courteous reception of foreign visitors, "the enlightenment of the world about " our naval and industrial strength, ar.d "of our own people about the i oed for "still greater effort." Tho faults of the censorship are mainly these: "In " eomo cases it has contrived to convey "misleading impressions. Not only has " it prevented the transmission of news " that would inevitably reach neutral " countries in course cf time, but it has " suppressed or 'doctored' Ministers' "speeches and commanders' reports, "aiid it has, above all, made no effort. " to disseminate reliablo intelligence." Instead of cultivating tho goodwill and sympathy of the neutral Press, it has hampered and discouraged the correspondents of American and European newspapers. It is only lately that foreign correspondents have been invited to seo the Fleet-. In Germany, foreign correspondents have been welcomed, entertained, furnished with ample means to see everything that the Germans wished them to see. While the London telegrams to the American Press are heavily censored, often to the point complete uninterestingness. tho Germans daily supply tho American Press with skil-fully-written "human" tales, and excellent photographs designed to show the German soldier as a kindly invader and a terrible adversary. In South America the newspapers receive next to nothing from British sources, but the Germans in America seo to it that these journals aro abundantly fed with news, not all of it untruthful, and all of it interesting, but all of it designed to create exactly the impression desired by Germany. Throughout the neutral countries the activities of the Wolff Bureau are manifest. The wonder is. indeed, that there is either sympathy with the Allies, or belief in their strength, in any neutral country. Some of tho performances of the Press Bureau are foolish almost beyond belief. The Bureau

has. lor example, sometimes suppressed, in London messages to American newspapers, extracts from English journals, despitos the fact that four or five days latorVhose English journals would rcach Xcw Yurie. If Britain, having the dissemination of truth for its object, had displayed a fraction of the energy and skill Germany has devoted to misleading the neutrals and flooding the world with I lies, it is possible that tho course of

the war would have been changed. There is to-day in New Zealand bookshops a pamphlet written by Dr. Dernburg—and written with very great skill —giving a completely fako account of tho origin of the war and tho relative positions cf the belligerents. That is one small indication oi' German thoroughness. Against it Great Britain has done next to nothing. It has appeared that the British Government has believed that tho neutrals would uaturally take an anti-German view. What a French wriier has said with special reference to Bulgaria is true generally: 'The Whitehall attitude was " to fold its arms and to trust the Bulgarians to reach by themselves si just "appreciation of the shining virtues of " the Allies and of the iniquity of the " Germans." Tho relaxation of the censorship is a step in the right direction, for, without abandoning the existing power to punish indiscretions and offences, it hands over to trained journalists the discharge of a duty for which Government officials are quite unfitted.