JOURNALISTS COMPLAIN

Wanganui Chronicle, 1 November 1948, Page 5

JOURNALISTS COMPLAIN

ATTEMPTS TO CONCEAL FACTS OF AIR DISASTER

ASSOCIATION SAYS THIS NOT FIRST TIME “G.vG” WAS USED.

WELLINGTON. Last Night (P.A.) —“Whether or not with the knowledge of th'e Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Nash) it is blatantly obvious that there have been official attempts td conceal facts from the Press representatives covering the air disaster at Mount Ruapehu,” said the president of the New Zealand Journalists’ Association (Mr. J. C. McKinnon) in a statement today.

"We accept, the Minister’s assurances that no instruction was issued by him, or by senior officers of the police and air departments to withhold legitimate information from pressmen on the spot. It is clear, however, that such instructions have been given by someone in authority unless those immediately concerned in attempts to gag and obstruct the press assumed this authority on their own initiative. If this was the case it surely calls for stern disciplinary action.

"Taking the Minister’s protestation at its face value, it becomes obvious that various headquarters in Wellington have had the ‘buck’ passed to them by those who recognised at Ohakune that they had no authority. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the position working journalists, as direct representatives of th’e public at the scene of the resc «* operations, have been made the scapegoats.

"This is not th'e first time that the release of news has been withheld from the public through the press for no better apparent reason than to pander to the personal popularity by apprising the Minister first. It is curious that until the discovery of the wreckage ihe authorities were anxious to have the utmost co-operation from the press and journalists, but from that moment an iron curtain descended rapidly, operated not by the authorities at headquarters, according to Mr. Nash, but by some underline at the scene of activities. This is familiar technique to reporters covering important cases.

"It is obvious that some pe);ons at Ohakune have let th£ Minister and their own headquarters down badly and ai> du'e for a strong reprimand. Certainly working journalists do not intend to tolerate such situations W’ithout informing the public of what goes on. This set of circumstances will be taken up by- the New Zealand Journalists’ Association.”