PRESS ASSOCIATION

Southland Times, Issue 21949, 25 February 1933, Page 5

PRESS ASSOCIATION

MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS. RADIO AND THE NEWSPAPERS. (Per United Press Association.) Rotorua, February 24. ‘‘Your association has developed an efficient organization for the collection and distribution of international and domestic news that affords its members a service equal to any in the Empire,"’ said Sir Cecil Leys, chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Press Association, in his address to the annual meeting of shareholders to-day. It was gratifying to be able to record that 1932, while it was a year of general business depression, saw no falling off in the high standards which they had come to expect from the association. The amount of cable received during the year was 1,070,000, a record, there being increases in both the international and Australian services. Subjects of outstanding importance and interest were the war debt payments and discussions; the Irish dispute over the land annuities; Britain’s introduction of a tariff; sessions of the League of Nations and Lausanne Conference; the Ottawa Conference; the Olympiad; the Lindbergh baby sensation; the American Presidential campaign and election; the Sino-Jap-anese hostilities; the developments in India in which Gandhi and the Congress leaders figured; and Atlantic and other flights. In the Australian service events of outstanding importance dealt with included the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the dismissal of the Lang Government by the State Governor, the varying course of Commonwealth and State politics, and the tours of the New Zealand All Blacks and the English cricket team. Many highly interesting political situations arose during the year, and the increase occurred in spite of determined efforts to stem it.

The New Zealand service had been efficiently conducted, and newspapers had relied on the association more than in the past to supply them with adequate reports of local happenings. They had to thank the Telegraph Department for some mitigation of the restrictions placed on the use of wires at Press rates. A reduction had been made in Sunday evening hours, but on representations from the association the Department altered the opening time, making it from. 6.30 to 7.30 p.m., a concession that was appreciated by the morning Press. Referring to the relations between broadcasting and the newspaper Press, Sir Cecil said that the world position in the matter of the rights in news was of vital importance to the association and equally to individual newspapers. A judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States had precluded the use by any broadcasting station of the contents of any newspaper without express permission in writing. The Canadian Courts, however, had decided that any commercial radio station in Canada could make use of the news once it was on the street and could broadcast it at. will. The legality of the decision was submitted to eminent counsel in London, and the conclusion reached was that while in English law there was no copyright in news as such, there was copyright in the narticular forms of language or modes of expression by which information or news was conveyed. Counsel concluded that reading the news to the public through a broadcasting microphone constituted an infringement of copyright in that it was a performance in public without the consent of the owner.

The British Broadcasting Corporation recognized property in news, and purchased Reuter’s Service at a cost of £2,000 per annum, as well as subscribing to other Press agencies. In Australia the matter of news broadcasting was definitely regulated in the rules governing wireless telegraphy. In New Zealand all messages received by the association from outside the Dominion were adequately protected from pirating for eighteen hours from the time of first publication. It was practically certain that property existed in news, and that the internal telegrams of the association could not be legally broadcast or disseminated by any other publicity agency. The question of policy was of equal importance to that of rights. Broadcasting was a public utility that would steadily expand. The 8.8. C. had shown a spirit of co-operation with British newspapers that was admirable. A striking evidence of this was to be found in a decision arrived at in December that a member of the Board of Governors should retire and a representative of the newspaper interests take his place. In Canada, where the position had been chaotic, a former Toronto newspaper editor had been appointed as the head of the new controlling body. The development of broadcasting in New Zealand would inevitably advance, and the interests of the newspapers and the broadcasting service would be best safeguarded by the constitution of the board providing for the inclusion of a newspaper man selected by the Press Association. A policy could be developed that would permit a reasonable

broadcast of news without injury to the daily newspaper. Sir Cecil concluded his address by moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. The chairman’s motion for the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet was seconded by Mr R. J. Gilmour, and carried. After a brief discussion in which the shareholders expressed appreciation of the association’s services during the year, the retiring directors, Messrs L. P. Blundell (Evening Post) and A. M. Bums (Christchurch Press) were reelected. Napier was tentatively fixed as the place for the next annual meeting, but the subject is to be discussed again in September. Votes of thanks were passed to the board of directors and the staff. At a meeting of the directors Mr A. M. Bums was elected chairman. Leave of absence for six months was granted to Mr W. Easton (Otago Daily Times) and Mr H. Horton (Auckland Herald), who will attend the Imperial Advertising and Marketing Exhibition as the New Zealand delegates.