THE WORLD’S NEWS

Southland Times, Issue 25310, 13 June 1935, Page 5

THE WORLD’S NEWS

NEWSPAPER PRODUCTION TALK ON JOURNALISM In an informal talk on “Modem Journalism” to the girls attending the Educational Week in Smith’s Hall yesterday morning Mr R. J. Gilmour, managing director of the Southland Times Company, outlined the wide ramifications of the news service called upon to supply the reading material for a daily newspaper. This country had quite an exceptional public as far as the newspapers were concerned, Mr Gilmour began, insofar as there was no country in the world where the average standards of intelligence or education were so high. After giving the meaning of news—the interesting happenings, activities and interests of the public—Mr Gilmour dealt with the manner in which newspapers discharged their principal service to the public: that of giving it news. ' Broadly speaking, the news could be divided into three sections: Local news, Dominion news and world news. Sources of News Gathering. The local news was gathered by reporters and country correspondents, but that outside the province was supplied by a co-operative organization called the Press Association. By arrangement, all of the newspapers co-operated in collecting the news and disseminating it to one another. Nothing happened of general interest in a centre 'without its being reported to the other newspapers. Referring to world news, he said it was rather a remarkable thing that an event of importance, no matter where it happened, was reported to New Zealand the next day. This also was done on the co-operative principle. The big London newspapers maintained foreign correspondents in all the important centres of the world. It was their duty to record any item of importance, such as the disastrous earthquake in Quetta. The New Zealand newspapers paid each year a large sum of money for the right to use the news which poured into London from foreign correspondents. People who came to New Zealand were astonished to find that under this system the Dominion was better served than were the individual newspapers at Home. The speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by acclamation on the motion of Mrs W. H. Ward, Dominion president. Times Office Visited. In accordance with the principle of giving a practical insight into the subjects on which lectures had been given, the girls were then shown oyer the Times Office, where the workings of the linotype, stereotype and rotary machines were explained. The process of producing a newspaper frori the.material received from the various news sources was thus revealed. The girls were also presented with copies of the paper run off by the rotary printing press. Specially printed on the front page was an appropriate heading to commemorate the occasion.