THE UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 74, 20 December 1929, Page 8

THE UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION

JUBILEE OF FOUNDATION YESTERDAY

PROUD RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, December 19. To-day is the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Press Association Ltd. The present chairman of the association is Mr. A. G. Henderson, managing editor of the “Christchurch Times,” and to-day Mr. Henderson issued the following statement in connection with the jubilee: “The United Press Association, which to-day reached the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, is probably unique among news-gathering organisations in the world. The idea of co-opera-tion amongst newspapers was not actually new fifty years ago, but the,idea of a complete organisation for all the newspapers in a country is without parallel. Even to-day the great cooperative associations of other countries are exclusive, not inclusive, and they have developed as aids to competition, whereas our organisation is comprehensive, and its object from .the beginning has “been to give the best possible service to the public under the most economical conditions. „ Best News Service in the World.

“It is often claimed that New Zealand has the best news service in the world to-day, and in many respects the claim is sound. No country at all comparable with the Dominion can match ifs'daily summary of news of the world, and. it is quite safe to assert that nowhere else in the world are people better informed regarding foreign affairs or kept more closely in touch with affairs in their own country. “For this satisfactory condition the United Press Association is mainly responsible. In conjunction with Australian news services it lias acquired the right to use all. the main news services of all' Countries, and its daily summary from London, which is the news centre of the world, covers the principal current events in every country. In addition, agents in America send messages regarding the United States and Canada, and whenever necessary special correspondents in other countries send early reports of unusual happenings. “Every, year,” • Mr. Henderson continued, “sees an expansion of reports. The cable messages received by the association and distributed to newspapers now aggregate a million words a year apart' from official British wireless reports, which also are handled by the association. The whole system is one of mutual self-help so far as the newspapers are concerned, and it works on the /whole admirably, and whatever its, shortcomings may. be its merits aye outstanding. A Proud Record. “During its fifty years of existence the association has sometimes been subjected to. iharp and even bitter criticism, and an entirely Wrong impression of its operations haS occasionally been created. The association-has no party colour: it indulges in no comment; its function i« purely that of a reporter, and it aims at', distributing news that is accurate and dependable. Like every other institution that is.humanly, conducted it is liable to ®Wpr,,': sometimes . through an excess of caution,’ sometimes through, an excess of seal, on the part Of individual correspondents, but its mistakes have been amazingly few. From its nature the association is bound to allow its correspondents a full measure of discretion, and.it is obvious that no system that did not encourage the initiative and sense of responsibility of its agents could possibly succeed.

"The beginnings of the association have been described by the late Sir George Fenwick, who was in fact the prime mover in its actual foundation. It is a cause of great grief to newspaper men that Sir George Fenwick did not live to preside over the jubilee meetings of the association.”