EMPIRE PRESS UNION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 20, 25 January 1943, Page 4

EMPIRE PRESS UNION

». THE SQUEEZE FOR NEWS

LONDON, January 23. The chief problem of the Empire Press Union has been, to ensure that the British overseas Press receives a fair share of the scanty news facilities, states the annual report of the council of the union. Almost all news has to be gathered, or rather squeezed, from Government public relations bureaux. Some of these offices are valuable, but it can hardly be said that their output of usable Press material has been proportionate to the expansion of public relations staffs. The* fighjing service departments, especially the Admiralty, .have been accused of undue reluctance to release material which, without helping the enemy, could assist the Press war effort. . . The success of the Empire-wide penny Press rate is illustrated by the increase of Press traffic in 1942 to 92,000,000 words, compared with 25,000,000 in 1938, for which reason it is not surprising that there are delays, particularly on the Australian circuit Various plans for expediting traffic are being considered, but it is unlikely that normal speed can be attained while war difficulties remain. s ° The 8.8.C. still received preferential treatment from some official quarters, but the council has been assured that the 8.8.C. is subject to equal censor^ ship with the Press. . A strong impression remained, how£ye xr> *mon& Empire correspondents, that the 8.8.C. enjoyed definite advantages because its censors were members of the 8.8.C. staff, although their appointment is nominally subi ject to the Chief Censor's approval.