U.N. paying newspapers

Press, 30 May 1981, Page 9

U.N. paying newspapers

NZPA-Reuter United Nations A senior United nations information official has defended payments made by the United’ Nations to newspapers for articles favourable to it and expressed regret that the American and British press had spurned the offer. The official. Mr Yasushi Akashi, who is the organisation's under-secretary-gen-eral for public information, held a news conference after the "New York Times” had reported that the United Nations had given $U5432,000 to 15 newspapers to publish its views.

The newspaper said that the recipients included such prestigious publications as “Le Monde,” of Paris, and the "Asahi Shimbun,” of Tokyo, which has a daily circulation of 10 million copies. Each newspaper had received about SUS4B,OOO to print articles about the economic imbalance between the developed and developing countries and the United Nations’ belief'that this should be changed.

Mr Akashi said: “One of

our sincere regrets is that no newspaper from the United States or the United Kingdom was prepared to join."

A reliable source said that “The Times" and the “Guardian" in Britain and the “New York Times” and the “Washington Post" had been offered but had declined the United Nations-sponsored articles. Mr Akashi said that all the United Nations had done was to reimburse the newspapers which had printed the articles for the paper used. He praised their “moral support" of the United Nations in its campaign for a new international economic order.

The project, which had been launched in 1979. was financed by the Japanese Shipbuilders' Foundation and Mr Ryoichi Sasakawa. a conservative Japanese businessman. Together they had given SUSI.2S million, which had been exhausted. The United Nations was seeking more funds. because the newspaper editors concerned wanted the project to continue.