UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3954, 24 December 1929, Page 18

UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.

«*. JUBILEE OF FOUNDATION. WELLINGTON, December 19. To-day is the jubilee of the foundation of the Press Association of New Zealand. The conference at which it was formed was held at Timaru on December 19, 1879. Those present were Sir George Fenwick (Otago Daily Tinies, Dunedin), who was chairman, Mr W. Reeves (Lyttelton Tinies and Star, Christchurch), Messrs A. G. Horton (New Zealand Herald, Auckland), H. Brett (Star, Auckland), H. Blundell (Post, Wellington), A. G. Fraser (Morning Herald, Dunedin), J. W. Jago (Star, Dunedin), and H. Belfield °(Herald’ Timaru). The association started with 48 members. In commemoration of the first meeting the jubilee meeting of the association is again to be held at Timaru on February 20 next. STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN. CHRISTCHURCH, December 19. The chairman of the association, Mr A. G. Henderson, managing editor of the Christchurch Times, issued the following statement in connection with the jubilee: The United Press Association, which to-day reached the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, is probably unique among news gathering organisations in the world. The idea of co-operation amongst newspapers was not actually new 50 years ago, but the idea of complete organisation for all newspapers in a country is without parallel. Even today the great co-operative associations of other countries are exclusive, not inclusive, and they have developed as aids

to competition, whereas our organisation is comprehensive and its object from the beginning has been to give the best possible service to the public under the most economical conditions. It is often claimed that New Zealand has the best news service in the world to-day, and in many respects the claim is sound. No country at all comparable with the Dominion can match its daily summary of the news of the world, and' it is quite safe fo assert that nowhere else in the world are the people better informed regarding foreign affairs or kept more closely in touch with the affairs in their own country. For this satisfactory condition the United Press Association is mainly responsible. In conjunction ■with the Australian news services it has acquired the right to use all the main news services of all countries, and its daily summary from London, which is the news centre of the world, covers the principal current events in every country. In addition, agents in America send messages regarding the United States and Canada, and whenever necessary special correspondents in other continents send early reports of unusual happenings. Every year secs an expansion of the reports. The cable messages received by the association and distributed to newspapers now aggregate 1,000,000 words a year apart from the official British wireless reports, which also are handled by the association. The whole system is one of mutual self-help so far as the newspapers are concerned. It works on the whole admirably, and whatever its shortcomings may be its merits are outstanding. During its 50 years of existence the association has sometimes been subjected to sharp and even bitter criticism, and an entirely wrong impresion of its operations has occasionally been created. The association has no party colour. It indulges in no comment; its function is purely that of a reporter and it aims at distributing news that is accurate and dependable. Like every other institution that is humanly conducted it is liable to error, sometimes through excess of caution, sometimes through excess of caution and sometimes through excess of zeal on the part of individual correspondents, but its mistakes have been amazingly few. From its nature the association is bound to allow its correspondents a full measure of discretion, and it is obvious that no system that did not encourage the initiative and sense of responsibility of agents could possibly succeed. The beginnings of the association have been described by the late Sir George Fenwick, who was, in fact, the prime mover in its actual foundation. It is a cause ofgreat grief to newspaper men that Sir (Jeorge Fenwick did not live to preside over the jubilee meetings of the association.