FUNCTIONS OF PRESS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 40, 17 February 1932, Page 13

FUNCTIONS OF PRESS

THE COURSE OF EVENTS

WORD TO ADVERTISERS

A MUTUAL BENEFIT

(ByTetegraph.) (Special to'V"The Evening Post.")

AUCKLAND, 16th February.

"Bioadly speaking, it is faix1 to claim that it is through the <*ieat news services organised by the newspaper Press that the public is enabled day by day to follow the course of events, not merely in their own city and country, but in practically every part of the globe," said Mi. *C. W. Eaile, C.M.G., president of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association of New Zealand, in an;. address. before the Auckland .Chamber of Commcico this evening. The. daily newspaper,, Dioadly speaking (said Mr. Eaile), reflects the standards and outlook.;, of : the community it serves. In small and remote communities closely wrapped up in their own immediate affairs tb daily newspaper tends to become parochial, concentrating its efforts on gathering together those news items relating to local happenings which most appeal to its readers. This.is Avhat its readci-i iv the main want,v and it is the primary business of'a newspaper to supply the needs of its readers. In larger communities with wider and more diversified interests the daily newspaper enlarges its field of news collection to meet the requirements of its readers for more general information, and so in its turn also becomes a reflection or interpreter of the daily life—the tastes, the interests, the ideas of the people within the range of its influence. It has been said of the daily newspaper that it is a vehicle for the satisfaction of - human wants, and that, in three diverse ways. Tt'is primarily a collector- and distributor of news; secondarily, it is a vehicle of opinion; and, thirdly, it serves as the great introducer of business aa between buyer and seller. THE DAILY TASK. We are told that the world is to each individual only what he knows about it, that even the imagination cannot build a true- conception of the world without facts to base it on. The more facts and. the more accurately those facts are assembled the less danger of misunderstandings and the greater the prospects of sound progress. It is the. business of the daily, newspaper to provide its readers with the facts—to, as quickly as possible, day by day give full tidings of all urgent things that Have happened 01 are about to happen. I* gathers, compiles, selects, edits, and publishes information about tendencies and events that are of immediate interest and concern The lango- must cover as far as possible th^ whole interests of the community, so t t wo may have an informed public opinion, so that accuiatc judgments may bo reached in the conduct of the every day affairs o± hie; so that the tiend of pub lie feeling may, be truly^ gauged and public policy 'soundly shaped to meet the'needs of ' changing conditions, and so that aboye all things the public wol fare may, be wisely served and safeguarded. , REFLEX OP PUBLIC OPINION. Jfn aT'-ineinorable. occasion, the first Imperial Conference held m (London in 1909,-the then Prime Minister, Mi. Asquith^ in "the course of a reterence to the daily Piesb, c.\p;essed this opinion:— < If; is the baldest of tiuisms, he said, to asseit that, at any late in the m- .. teijjal between;, one dissolution ana another, the Pi ess is the'only authentic mirror and reflection of the public opinion of the time. . . . Theio is uo one who has held any lesponsible position in public affairs heie who will not admit that the Pi ess, be its shojt comings what they may, is, to the (government of the Day, the most potent, the most flexible, and tho-most trustworthy auxiliary, which in 'the performance of its primaiy duty to keep in closo touch with the national life, any Government in any country can possess. Here is a recognition fiom a gieat statesman (one who ii\ his day had suffered not a little at the hands of a hostile Press)—a recognition of the important part played by the Press as a reflex of public opinion—as an interpreter of the national life. THE PEOPLE'S INFORMANT. The head of one of the largest adveitismg publicity scivices in the United States, discussing tho Pi ess in relation to public opinion and govern ment, sticfesed another point of view "In these days," he remaiked, "to keep abieast of tho gi owing complexity ot life, we must depend for knowledge on sources outside ourselves. Through its news columns the Press affoids what basis tho general public have for tho intelligent judging of local, State, national, and mtei national affans." It may be aigued.that this view overstates the positjon—that theie aie othei means o£ mfoimation than the Press. There is no necessity to contest this argument. Bioadly speaking, it is fair to claim .that it is through tho gieat news services organised throughout the whole world. by the newspaper press that the public is enabled day by day to follow, the course of events, not merely in their own city and country, but in practically every