THE CABLE SERVICE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 119, 18 May 1909, Page 3

THE CABLE SERVICE.

"A BY-WORD AND A SCANDAL."

[fbom ottr correspondent.] I WELLINGTON, Saturday, j The Prime Minister and his party were, I hear, highly delighted with their -trip to and reception at Kaikpura. I notice, Sir Joseph referred iii his speech to the cable service. He was on good,, safe ground when he grumbled at the paucity of news sent put by the London • agent as to the! reception by the British press and public of New Zealand's! now famous "Dreadnought" offer. It was quite "inadequate, and even what was Sent was ill-selected and, as I could easily prove to you, very badly condensed. • . • ■ The Times rates Sir Joseph right '.roundly for suggesting that we should have a cable service independent ot Australia. It is difficult to say exactly how a,n improvement could be • effected, but speaking from over twenty years' working experience in New Zealand journalism I have-no hesitation in saying that I can never remember a time when the ( cable news collector in London did his work worse than at present. One has only to look through a file of any leading paper to see how frequently items of the: greatest importance to us in^.the Colonies are entirely disregarded, whilst as to the banalities, the . silly gossip, the wild canards which are sent—-well, they have long been the contempt of. well-educated, well-informed newspaper readers. For the next few months I suppose we shall,be bored twice a week with columns of detailed information as to the matches played by the Australian team now in England, and, worse than this, the supply of really important news will be cut down, for you are well aware there is a limit to the number of words cabled. The i result will be that instead of having a, due allowance of information concerning Imperial ad European affairs of the highest importance, this will be perforce abbreviated so that the thrilling fac^ that Billy Jones of Bendigo "showed a fine defence against the bowling of Tom- Robinson of Slocum Podger."1 I don't agree with Sir Joseph that we should,have

the State meddling with the supply of cabled news from London j but the puerility, the banality, and utter uselessness of much of the stuff sent over the wires and paid for at high rates by the newspaper proprietors of New Zealand have justly become a by-word and almost ■ a scandal.