NEW ZEALAND REPORTERS RECRUITED FROM DIVISION

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24272, 1 June 1944, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND REPORTERS RECRUITED FROM DIVISION

WAR CORRESPONDENTS

Few war correspondents are regularly with the troops in the front line. Most of them go in for brief periods at a time and then return to a venient base to write their‘‘copy and put their stories on to the wires. Some of them remain at the bases an construct their articles from the official few are the official cora're part of the Public Relations and with them are two radio 'broadcasters, a photographer, and two Cl Th£ a th™ e e n official war correspondents now serving, about whom this article fs written are all former members of fhe reporting staffs of New Zealand nomunaners They are W. A. Brodie, foimerly of'the “New Zealand Herald” Auckland!!. L. Hewitt, formerly of “The Press,” Christchurch, and C. R. Mentiplay. formerly of the. Post,” Wellington. Most of their pro decessors in this work have also given eX They n ha S ve rV several distinctions from war correspondents attached to newspapers and news agencies they , all served as fighting soldiers before becoming war correspondents (one ot them was severely wounded in an early engagement of the they gain no personal credit for the work they are doing, which is all written anonymously. Moreover, they are not highly paid as war correspondents go. since the most they can get is the pay of a first lieutenant in the N.Z.fi-.if., and they have no large expense allowances such as are paid to the war correspondents whose names appear oyer their stories. When an action is going forward they go forward with it; Their copy may be written in a-slit trench, in the back of a truck, or at best in a tent. There is no opportunity for them to slip back and collect their thoughts in peaceful surroundings. Such is the general background against which these men do their work. In the early days of the division the official war correspondents were not so well organised, but since the New Zealand Public Relations Service was given proper recognition and placed on an effective basis under the Public Relations officer, Captain E. G. Webber, formerly of the “Rotorua Morning Post,” they have been able to carry out their duties in much more favourable circumstances. Since Crete they have reported every engagement in which the division has taken part Respect of the Division Here in New Zealand their efforts have been subjected to some criticism, but If the conditions under which they operate were generally known more praise ths-> strictures would come their way. Whether the quality of their output has always been satisfactory is as debatable as any other question. At any rate, they have earned the respect and confidence of the divisional commander and his staff, and their reports. at least can claim to be authentic re-

(Specially written for “The Press. ) [By P.H.N.F.]

cords of what has actually occurred in the areas they purport to cover. Much of the. criticism of the official war correspondents has been directed not so much at the quality of their work as at the delay in its appearance in the Dominion’s newspapers. This is simply explainable. It arises from the very fact that the men are actually up with the troops when a campaign is going forward. Correspondents in the back areas have this one big advantage over the men at the front: that they have ready access to official communi. ques and that they are handy to both censors and the cable offices. The flashes that they send out immediately the news is available must get to the' newspapers before the more detailed dispatches that the men in the front line are required to send. Delays Inevitable Frequently, the censors and the cable offices have been a hundred or even hundreds of miles from the scene of action. This means that the front-line correspondents' stories must be sent back many miles by motor-cycle, or jeep and must be censored before they are cabled. Inevitably this causes de.: lay; and further delay is frequently occasioned when the censors, for rea. sons connected with security, decide to hold up front-line stories. This has often happened to stories lodged by theNew Zealand correspondents. The story, of the “left-hook” to the Mareth ling ' is a notable example. The New Zea. land war correspondents on that occasion were the only correspondents reporting the action; but they were: beaten to the first break on .the news when it was released from Army Head-’ quarters in Algiers, and news agency men there got it away, although, our own correspondents’ stories had been lodged and were held up. Further delays are caused by com- ■ munication difficulties, in which ' economy plays a big part. The messages are sent by a somewhat circuitous route in order to save the expense of a more direct routing which would be nearly four times as expensive. With long messages this would run over i year into many thousands of pounds. ’ Apart from this delay there Is little , disadvantage, since the New Zealand ; correspondents' stories fill in for the readers of New Zealand newspapers details of particular interest to them. Delays in censorship overseas have been vexatious but could probably la general be fully justified by reasons of security. In earlier days the New Zealand war correspondents were working undo, even greater difficulties than they are to-day. They lacked many facilities' available to correspondents who had no official status other than accreditation and they faced much discouragement To-day, largely - owing to their, own initiative, enterprise, and reliability, they have •won an honoured place with the division, are fully trusted, and are given every facility to carry on their work. They are doing an excellent job and they de’sdrve credit for it. .