NEW ZEALAND PRESS

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 August 1935, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND PRESS

PRIDE IN LOCAL PAPERS. A t eview of the recent growth of the daily newspaper in Britain and the influence of the Press upon the community were placed before members of the Y.M.C.A. Optimists’ Club it a -n Thursday by Mr. Brian L.tv.. •, M.A., LLB.. of Upper 'Tutt, who was formerly legal adviser ‘o several newspapers in London. Mr. Davies refer: ed to the rise of the daily newspaper under the guidance of Lord Northcliffo and referred brief’y to the appearance of another type of paper generally referred to as the ■Yellow Press," anti said that New Zealand was fiii Innately free from 'he latter class of paper and. he beHeved. would remain free from it. There had been a big change in newspapers during the last 50 years, Mr. Davies said. Fifty years ago the journalist considered that it was his duty to instruct and improve the pub-lic:’to-day the journalists endeavoured to inform, inte.est. and entertain. The roots of this new journalism were planted in a little room in Fleet Street, London, in ISSS when the Harmsworth brothers produced the first copy of “Answers."

Mr. Davies wont on to trace the progress of the newspapers founded by these brothers. one of whom was later to become Lord Northcliffe. and of the entry of Lord Beaverbrook into the newspaper field in 1!*1 I when he acquired the “Daily Express.” He also spoke of the struggles of the first daily Labour paper and of the ultimate move to the forefront made by the “Daily Herald” from 1929 onwards.

A SNOWBALL GROWTH. The snowball started in ISSS had grown t<> tremendous proport ions, ho said. At the present time there were II national daily papers in London with an aggregate circulation of about 15,000.000. In addition there were three evening papers with a circulation <>f about 2.000.000 each, but the saturation point had not yet been

reached. Modern conditions fostered newspaper reading and the influence • f the Press had grown to a great extent. To illustrate the power of the Press. Mr Davies said that during the slump the Chancellor of the Exchequer had appealed to the public to pay their income tax before a certain time, al though he had no power to compel the payment. The newspapers supported the appeal, and so great was their influence that people lined up in queues and waited in the street for the privilege of paying. “Obviously you don’t need me to tell you of the power of the advertising columns of the newspaper.” Mr. Davies .-•aid. “As business men you will readily H-alise that if you can sell :m article by advertising in a paper the paper can sell a policy through its news columns as well. This tremendous power is subject to abuse, and abused it has been. It is a great tribute to those in charge of the papers that it has not been abused more. There have been cases of hounding public men. attacking private individuals, and of giving pain through

■ gossip columns and the other undesirable methods of yellow journalism." YELLOW PRESS DOOMED. Mr. Davies said ho believed the “Yellow Press" was doomed, because ithe public were tiling of it as was i shown bv the increasing penalties im--1 nosed by juries for deliberate libels. ■ln addition journalism could never L'tand still; it had to advance or die. hind the only way that the “Yellow j Press” could advance was towards a 'more virulent form of yellow fever. ■ In N<-w Zealand the “yellow” typo • of newspaper was most noticeably absent. Mr. Davies said, and he believed licit would continue to be the case. i The absence of the “Yellow Press" was. •ho considered, due to two things: i First. the high sense of public duty on {the part of those controlling the papiers, and. second, because the Press [of New Zealand was decentralised. New Zealand had not got a national Press Isweeping the country nor the cut•throat war that raged in other places. "As a result there is an intense local pride in the newspapers that cir-

culate in each district," he said. “The man in the street comes to look oil the local paper as his own and gets a proper pride in it, and for that reason there will be no yellow journalism in Now Zealand.” An eminent Japanese who had recently visited the Dominion had said that New Zealand had as well balanced a Press as any country anywhere, Mr. Davies concluded. "I will add to that by saying New Zealand has as dean a Press as you will tind in any country." he declared, “and that is by no means the least thing that New Zealand should cherish, and of which she should lie properly proud.”