The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1933. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19682, 27 December 1933, Page 6

The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1933. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESS.

One of the most popular pastimes of a certain type of rather mediocre politician is to attempt to draw a laugh from otherwise bored hearers by having a fling at the Press. Obviously the Press, which comes daily into close touch with every section of the community must inevitably tread on the corns of someone, while there is always a tendency, even in an enlightened community to take for granted the service the Press renders. In a half bantering way, the learned professor who responded to the civic welcome tendered the students and lecturers attending the W.E.A. Summer School, remarked that if he should be tempted to say something funny or out of the ordinary the Press would seize upon the jesting and forget to publish the truths he may utter. The criticism was voiced in the kindest way, but the suggestion was left in the minds of the students that the Press thrives on sensations and eccentricities. To a certain degree the criticism is well-found, if applied to the yellow journalism of England and the United States. We do not think, however, that the Press of New Zealand can be held guilty of such a complete departure from the high ideals of the best type of English journalism. Nevertheless there are certain journals which seem to act as scavengers battening upon private woes in cases of death, murder and divorce, for the sake of the sensationalism which such woes provide as a circulation boosters. Protests of a somewhat similar, if of a more emphatic nature, were recently voiced in England. Quite recently Mr St. John Ervine, famous journalist and playwright, at a meeting of the Institute of Journalists in London, Condemned vigorously those journalists whose “sole proficiency was in the direction o£ exploiting private grief, pursuing unhappy victims of circumstances, and doing generally what no decent man cared to do.” The Institute decided unanimously to send to the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association a resolution deploring this tendency and calling upon them to deal with it. This protest was an important sequel to a letter of St. John Ervine’s in The Times in the same tenor, which has aroused keen interest throughout England. Of the numerous letters to The Times which supported this revolt of the public against “yellow journalism,” none roused more indignation than that of Lady Ellerman, who revealed how, on the day she brought home the body of Lord Ellerman, who had died abroad, she

“was confronted at the home with groups of Press cameramen, who responded with laughter to a request that they go away. At the cemetery, men With cameras, leaping over graves, were vying with one another to be first on the scene. As the coffin was lowered the silence was broken by the clicking of cameras.”

This ghoulish disregard of ordinary principles of common decency, and its public condemnation in England, bring home forcibly the true nature and functions of the Press in our world of to-day. Dissemination of news by written records is, of course, quite ancient, almost two thousand years old, for clay tablets and cylinders in Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt recorded news, even down to court gossip! Leading English journals, however, commenting on the attacks on certain classes of yellow journalism, point out that to-day the primary function of a newspaper is to supply news. And, since human nature remains essentially the same, the news demanded by the modern public is the same kind of news that was given to the Roman public by the “Acta Diurna”— political information, society gossip, law reports, births and deaths, crimes, trials, accidents, sport, weather, and any unusual happenings. Of such items the most popular are those with a definite “human interest,” emotional colour, and touch of the extraordinary. Thus', featuring of sensational elements is not new, and in fact the newspapers to-day are not as “yellow” as the news sheets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when we find a “News-Book” advertising:

"News, Rare, New, True. News, Delicate, Dreadful, Horrible. Bloody news from France and Ireland, you never heard the like before you were bom.” Manifestly, the protest against yellow journalism is well founded, but we think it can be said of the Press of New Zealand that it does not relish sensationalism, nor does it feature jesting at the expense of truth; indeed, as has been pointed out by leading newspapers in England and Australia, the papers which have observed the finest journalistic ethics, lived up to the highest traditions of the English press, and have catered for intelligent readers have flourished, and are to-day financially, as well as in prestige, stronger than their sensationalist rivals. There is now a larger demand than ever for a well-informed dignified, solid Press. “Massocracy” is disappearing with the growth of international communications, the spread of higher education, and the educative influence of the

radio. The man-in-the-street is now becoming a citizen of the world, and he watches with discernment and intelligence, . the march of world happenings through the well-balanced news services provided for him in the columns of the daily press. TWO SUMMER SCHOOLS. Timaru is to enjoy the unique distinction this week of housing two summer schools —the Canterbury Centre of the Workers’ Educational Association, is holding its thirteenth annual summer school, while the' first Summer School of Drama will be conducted under the control of the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League. Both schools, although interested in widely varied subjects, have a good deal in common, and it is anticipated that mutually-beneficial exchanges of views will take place in the close association of two schools, striving for the same goal. The W.E.A. movement has enjoyed long years of activity in the development of adult education. At one time, it was suggested that the Association was merely beating the air, but the need for adult education is becoming more and more realised, as an intelligent contemplation of the state of the world to-day is indulged in. The other day, a doctor of philosophy, addressing the boys attending Timaru Boys’ High School, stated that he was forced to apologise to the youth of to-day for the chaotic conditions into which the adults had plunged the world. Obviously the need for adult education is most pressing to-day, in view of popular ignorance of economics and finance. Against this it has been said that there is little popular demand for instruction in economics; indeed the area officials say quite frankly that the economic classes are invariably poorly attended. We know, however, that the literature, art, and dramatic classes of the W.E.A. in Timaru are full of life, because of the activity of the members in association with community drama in South Canterbury. The summer school, moreover, provides adequate facilities for the study of a well-balanced course of instruction in practical and cultural subjects. “Education and comradeship under ideal conditions,” are offered by the school. It is because of the high aims of the W.E.A. movement that we welcome the staff and students to Timaru, and if we may be permitted to offer our good wishes for the success of the school, we would express the hope that there may go out from the school to the centres represented, an enlightening influence which will substantially advance adult education along sound and cultural lines. The first Summer School for Drama, held in New Zealand is being anticipated with a good deal of interest. In South Canterbury, the pioneering work in community drama was commenced, and right down the seven years in which drama festivals have been held, community interest in the study and presentation of plays and in play writing has not only been sustained, but increased. It is fitting therefore that the first national summer school of drama should be held in Timaru. That the holding of the school in this centre, contemporaneously with the W.E.A. Summer School, is peculiarly fitting on view of the keen interest the literature and dramatic class of the Timaru branch of the W.E.A. has manifested right down the years, as one of the foundation members of the South Canterbury Drama League. The two summer schools, which we welcome to Timaru, will no doubt attract considerable public interest, and it is hoped that the citizens of Timaru and district, no less than the enthusiasts encamped at the two schools, will not be slow to interest themselves in two movements which are worthily aiming at widening the vision, raising the ideals and improving the educational standards of the adult population of the province.