‘Push-button’ news a challenge to papers

Press, 14 March 1977, Page 6

‘Push-button’ news a challenge to papers

Newspapers should not be afraid of new technology,, said Lord Barnetson, chair-! man of Reuters news ■ agency, in Christchurch, yesterday. He was referring! to developments like the; transmission of news over a, leased television channel, j which Reuters is doing in; the United States. “There’s nothing sacro-i sanct about the printed 1 word," said Lord Barnetson, i “We are in business to communicate, and if we can do| so in other ways than on • bits of paper, then we should welcome it.” The electronic medium I was a dimension which the! newspaper industry might be! able to exploit. It should notbe regarded as a threat. The! American philosopher. Mar- j shall McLuhan, had declared 1 that the end of the Guttenberg galaxy was at hand, and the coaxial community was next. This was a monstrous projection. “I am just as happy about the printed word today as I was 10, 20 and 30 years ago,” said Lord Barnetson, who has been a newspaperman all his working I

sjlife, including editor of the 1 . i Edinburgh “Evening News”, i ■; “Publishers ought not turn • their back on the new tech-; 'inology. They should have! ’[the attitude of opportunism,! ! !not a dog-in-the-manger; l | outlook. It is news that we I [are in business to deal ''with.” [ In New York, Reuters will! ■jsoon start using a television j I;channel for the transmission| •I of news at speeds of up to I four million words a minute. jMr Michael Nelson, Reuters' : general manager, said that ! the service was intended particularly to bring into 11 private homes information ijnot available in newspapers. Called video-textual services, they enable the subscriber to call up the desired jinformation by use of a! ''small key pad. and draw on) ■ a vast store of data from! 1 [Reuters’ computers, being, ' j transmitted continuously at a fast rate. ; The kind of information M available would be super- '! market prices, stock market 5 1 prices, what was for lunch • at the local school — open-j ■ling up completely new mar;Ikets for the agency. Mr Nel-'

s i son said that the system icould just as easily be used] to transmit the ordinary; ..news of the day. .1 Lord Barnetson said that ' the new technology would ! provide better marketing opportunities and better means [of serving readers. As i inflation drove the purchase i price of newspapers higher and higher, they must give ;better and better value for [money. ! Lord Barnetson is visiting New Zealand with five other members of the board of; Reuters, Messrs S. G. G.j Clarke. C. D. N. Cole (chairman of the British Press] Association), H. R. Dickin-) son, Lyle Turnbull and Michael Nelson. The board las been meeting in Sydney for the first time, and is (here to attend the opening ']Of the New Zealand Press I Association’s annual meeting. The meeting in Australia land the visit to New Zeai lland mark the 30th anniver--Isary of the agreement t i whereby the Australian i Associated Press and the •I New Zealand Press Associ■jation became partners in •'Reuters.