THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14977, 24 April 1909, Page 8

THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

The selection of delegates to the Press Conference- which will meet in London at the beginning of Juno seems to havo caused a good deal of .heartburning among newspaper mon all over tho Empire. In Australia journalists are rnmplairrittK that proprietors linvo shown too much readiness to accept the hospitality that was intended for mem-

hers of thoir staffs, and in Canada tho proprietors themselves aro freely criticising the system of representation. In South Africa tho trouble appears to be that neither journalists nor proprietors aro particularly anxious to go to London just now, and in some of tho smaller communities there is grumbling because their claims havo been overlooked. Evon our own newspaper men aro now parading a grievance. At its meeting yesterday afternoon the Council of tho New Zealand Institute of Journalists expressed its rogret that " in tho selection of delegates to represent New Zealand at the Imperial Press Conforeuco the literary side of journalism did not receive sufficient consideration." Tho Council's resolution is just a little ambiguous, probably because it hesitated to make its meaning quite clear, but wo presume it intended to say that tho literary sido of journalism was not adequately represented by tho delegates sent to tho Conference from this country- It would not have been very gracious to follow tho delegates, who aro now on their way to London, with an expression of opinion of this sort in any circumstances, but considering that four of tho six representatives going from the dominion are working journalists, and that a fifth is a journalist who has attained to tho dignity of a proprietor, it soems to U 3 that tho Council's resolution is singularly inopt. Tho promoters of the Conference issued their invitations to proprietors and leading members of tho editorial staffs, and probably thoy will bo surprised to see such a largo proportion of working journalists coming from Now Zealand. The Conference is not going to confine its discussions to literary subjects by any means, and wo aro suro the promoters will bo glad to bavo tho representatives of tho commercial sido of journalism among their guests. Thoy at least will make as good a figure as will the average journalist at tho banquets and garden parties and reviews and general junketings that aro to constitute such a large part of the "business" of tho Conference. It is unfortunate, of courso, that some of the leaders of tho profession could not bo spared to tako part in the deliberations, but these gentlemen can hardly complain of this v«y practical acknowledgment of the value of the work they aro doing. The whole matter is of little importance, as tho Conference, after all, is going to exercise no great influence on tho destinies of colonial journalism; but it would be unfair to allow tho Council's resolution to go forth without one word of protest.