BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1948 NOT UNDERSTOOD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 35, 20 December 1948, Page 4

BAY OF PLENTY BEACON Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1948 NOT UNDERSTOOD

In that it helps to inform people of the doings and opinions of others, a newspaper’s function is largely educational. But one thing about which it rarely informs the public is itself. Perhaps that explains why there is so little intelligent understanding outside newspaper offices of what goes on inside them.

That is also why the people who are doing their best to produce something that will meet the needs of the greatest possible number of readers often find themselves hindered by those very people who, with a little understanding, could be most helpful. So, not without a certain diffidence, the Beacon has decided to tell the world a little of how it functions. As an introduction to the subject, let it be said that this article is prompted by the complete ignorance of the workings of a newspaper and of the duties of the people who are employed by it exhibited by an official of a minor organisation who telephoned the Editor the other day and tried to tell him what he should and should not publish. In fact, he wanted to give us orders, and seemed hurt when he was told that he could buy a limited right to do that at advertising rates. At the outset of this .discussion, then, let it be clearly understood that only the people concerned in the production of the newspaper are in a. position to know just how much of anything, and what class of matter, can and should be published in it. •There are many reasons for that statement, but the main ones are that we employ qualified staff for that purpose; and that the Editor himself, and behind him the proprietors, are responsible for anything offensive or libellous that finds its way into the paper’s columns, and the penalties for such publication are heavy. That applies, incidentally, as much to advertising as to news or correspondence. Therefore, it must become quite clear that any belief that anything submitted for publication must be published in the form in which it is received by this office is quite erroneous. Every newspaper, THIS ONE INCLUDED, reserves the right to publish only that which its editorial staff considers suitable for publication. Because there is only limited space in each issue, it must be easy to understand that everything submitted cannot be published in full. Because there is only limited time to get it into type, it must be understood that not everything can be published the moment it is received. We have just on 2,000 subscribers to cater for. We think we are doing it reasonably well because, of those 2,000, not more than perhaps one a year comes in with any valid complaint. From time to time, some of them offer constructive suggestions, and those we are always glad to receive. However, there have been one or two rare cases of outsiders attempting to kick us around. They have all stubbed their toes. We have said before, and we say again, that we want as many items of local and district news as we can get, and we want them representative of as many different interests as possible. It is our policy to try to give each item prominence according to its reader interest. We admit readily that our judgment in that regard is not ' always infallible, but do suggest with all modestv that trained and experienced journalists’ judgment of relative news values is likely to be better than that : of outsiders who know less than. • nothing of the work of gather- . ing. and presenting news to the ' public, This newspaper is a part of l this confmunity. It wants to be i

an increasingly vital part, and for that reason wants to make its aim of constructive service as clearly understood as possible. .. We welcome readers’ interest, not only in what they read, but in how it is produced. We want them to understand our problems, and to give us a chance to understand theirs. Therefore, there is always a friendly welcome at the Beacon office for anyone who wants to know more about his local newspaper, because we feel that anything we Can add to his knowledge in that regard will help us to be able to co-operate with him and others like him to make this the best country newspaper service in New Zealand. But such an ideal can be achiever only by the fullest possible understanding and co-operation.