“HERE IS THE NEWS”

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 29 October 1941, Page 2

“HERE IS THE NEWS”

HOW BULLETINS ARE PREPARED 8.8. C. SCRUPULOUSLY CAREFUL Captain Sir lan Fraser, M.P., who is on the Board of the 8.8. C. explained to his fellow’ M.P.’s in the Commons how the News Bulletins are prepared. He said: — “Let me explain the methods of preparing the news bulletins. The news comes in on the tape r.achine, as in any other news room by day and by night. Men shape it up into a news bulletin. Ninety per cent oi it is already censored; sixty per cent of it is inspired. That means that it is either the impeccable prose of a soldier, sailor or airman, or the inspired view in writing of a civil servant. "The moment it is inspired, it becomes almost sacrosanct. It is assumed that civil servants, soldiers, sailors and airmen not only know what they want jto say, but know best how to say it. That is frequentlj’ untrue. They are not open, as they should be in my judgment, to guidance from experts in the presentation of news, and especially in the presentation of oral news. "There is a difference in the kind of writing that is suitable for visual reading and that W’hich is necessary for oral presentation in the news j bulletin. You cannot expect civil servants and Service men to know I that. The news has to go backwards anti forwards. Threequarters of a minute may be the time taken for an announcer to read a piece of news, but it has probably travelled to five Ministries for approval and consideration, and has then gone to the Ministry of Information for approval on policy. The marvel is that such an accurate, prompt and interesting news bulletin is produced every night. Great praise should be given to the new’s men of the 8.8. C., w’ho work in very difficult conditions, and always against the clock. “May I venture to make a constructive suggestion. There ought to be, somewhere in the offices of the commanders in the field anc. of the commanders in the field and of the men who make up the news bullet...s, representatives of the Ministry of Information or of the B B C. to guide and help, and their advice—it could only be advice—ought to be sought by the com. manders or by their staff officers who make up the bulletins. “May I illustrate what might happen in the Middle East. A communique will come in from General Headquarters. and along with it will come tw > or three messages from Reuters, the Press Association and others. The ordinary newspaper is subject to censorship. but the news editor may put together the Government communique or part of it and the messages from Reuters, the Press Association and others, and make an intelligible paragraph for his readers "Not so the 8.8. C. news editor. He must produce the official and I think that that is right—but he may not produce any agency message relating to the matter, with reference to the Service Department concerned. So to and fro goes the conversation, ringing up the Air Ministry and the War Office. "The War Office leaves a senior officer in charge up to the last minute, ’ but no senior officer in Whitehall is | going to tell the news-editor at the j 8.8. C. that he may or may not release a Reuter's message if the communique |of the commanding officer does not n enlion what is mentioned jn the mesi "The War Office man plays for safety first.’ He says. ‘No, if it is not j contained in the message you must not j mention it.' Consequently, the news is j withheld. I am not blaming the officer .at the War Office or the commander on the spot, but a great many commanders do not realise what use the Press and the BB C. can be to them and they do not make full use of them. A better liaison is required between the man J who has to write the communique—■ [the soldier, sailor or airman—and the Press and the 8.8. C., than there is toda.