Labour Daily May Close

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30212, 17 August 1963, Page 13

Labour Daily May Close

iN.Z Preu Aun.—Copyright) LONDON, Aug. 16. The fate of the Leftwing “Daily Herald” was widely discussed by other British newspapers today. The controllers of the “Dally Herald" want to substitute a new newspaper for the “Daily Herald.” To do this they need the agreement of the Trades Union Congress which owns 49 per cent of the stock of the newspaper. The “Daily Telegraph" commented in a leading article that independence was a newspaper’s life-blood. To be tied to a party machine, as the “Daily Herald” formerly was, was the worst fate. “The next worst is to have a vast part-political vested interest like the T.U C breathing down the editorial neck,” it added.

A leading union official. Sir Tom O'Brien, said that with nine million trade unionists, the “Daily Herald” should have a flve-to-six million sale, not one-and-a-third million, the “Daily Telegraph" reported. “The workers simply don’t want to buy it," Sir Tom O'Brien said. At a conference between T.U.C. representatives and the International Publishing Corporation, Mr Robert Willis, a printing union official, said that the paper owed its difficulty to the fact that it was poor value for money. Unlike some other papers, it did not provide enough reading for a 40-mlnute journey to work and the morning-tea break. The “Daily Ma.l” reported that Mr Willis and a few of his TUC. colleagues were anxious to fight to save the “Daily Herald” for the Labour movement

However, the majority view was that this did not seem to be practical. “The Times” predicted a lively debate on the subject at next month's Trades Union Congress. A leading article Ln the “Guardian” said: “The T.U.C., which Is being asked to relinquish its share in the ‘Daily Herald,’ probably hag no choice. “It cannot, or will not raise the money to carry the paper on separately. . . . “Members of the T.U.C. may be sad to see the last formal links severed, while grateful that the new paper will keep men at work. Although it must face a tough struggle. It should have at least some chance of survival"

The International Publishing Corporation is owner of the “Daily Mirror'’ whose daily circulation is more than 4.6 million copies.